Which part of New Zealand gets the most government work? The answer matters because it shapes which regions grow, which ones shrink, and where your tax dollars actually create jobs.

Last year, government agencies issued 25,054 tenders across the country. Auckland companies won 2,938 of them. That's nearly as many as the entire nation combined at 3,011, which includes work not tied to specific regions. (Source: MBIE, procurement)

Canterbury came second with 2,574 contracts. Wellington, the seat of government, won just 2,047. That puts the capital in third place behind two regions where fewer politicians actually work.

Now look at the bottom. Northland, a region of 204,000 people, secured 1,111 government contracts. Auckland, with 1.7 million people, won nearly three times that number. Even accounting for population, the gap is stark. Auckland has 8.3 times Northland's population but wins only 2.6 times the contracts per capita.

Bay of Plenty tells a similar story. With 345,000 people, it won 1,307 tenders. That's fewer contracts than Otago, which has 257,000 residents and secured 1,765 tenders. Something beyond population size is driving these numbers.

The pattern becomes clearer when you group regions. The top three (Auckland, Canterbury, Wellington) captured 7,559 contracts. The bottom three (Northland, Hawke's Bay, Bay of Plenty) won 3,550 between them. Government spending is concentrating in cities that already have the most resources.

This matters because government contracts do more than buy services. They fund local suppliers, create jobs, and keep money circulating in regional economies. When Northland misses out on a $2 million IT contract, that's $2 million not spent in Whangārei cafes, not paid to local subcontractors, not invested back into the region.

Waikato and Manawatū-Whanganui sit in the middle, winning 1,770 and 1,472 contracts respectively. They're getting work, but not nearly at the rate of the big three. Hawke's Bay, with 181,000 people, secured just 1,132 tenders despite being home to major horticultural and wine industries that supply the nation.

The data doesn't explain why Auckland dominates. It could be that companies cluster there because that's where previous contracts went. It could be that government buyers default to suppliers they already know. Or it could be that Auckland firms simply have more capacity to bid.

But the result is the same: your tax money flows to the same places, year after year, widening the gap between New Zealand's winners and everyone else.