Manurewa is home to some of New Zealand's happiest migrants.

A survey by market research company Cultural Connections quizzed more than 600 migrants asking "How happy were you when you first arrived in New Zealand?" and "How happy are you now?"

The survey broke the results down by ethnic group and electorate.

Nationally, New Plymouth, Taranaki-King Country and Selwyn were rated highly by newcomers.

But those in Auckland's Mangere and Mt Roskill were the most unhappy.

Migrants from the Philippines rated their happiness levels at 8 out of a possible 10, up from 6.8 when they first arrived.

They are followed by South Koreans which went up from 6.7 to 7.9 and the British from 7.1 to 7.9.

The least happy migrants are those from India on 6.9, which is behind the Americans on 7.2.

Cultural Connections researcher Eric Chuah hopes the research will spur change in the areas it's needed.

"We've also try to understand migrants from which particular electorate are happier than the others. to spark a conversation of what drives happiness and what can we do about it?

Mr Chuah said Filipinos come here to work, and easily assimilate into Kiwi culture.

"The wages here in New Zealand are actually much more because of the living conditions here.

"Filipinos are quite fluent in English."

Though Mr Chuah said Americans are told it's amazing here, but they appear to struggle with the cost of living when it comes to getting settled.

"There's potentially overselling of New Zealand. When you come over here you might be faced with other challenges. A common one is looking for a job."