Queenstown is described by Statistics New Zealand as a medium urban area with an area of . It had an urban population of making it the 35th-largest urban area in New Zealand. In 2016, Queenstown overtook Oamaru to become the second-largest urban area in Otago, behind Dunedin. The Queenstown urban area as defined by Statistics New Zealand doesn't include Lake Hayes or Arthurs Point, which are contiguous with Queenstown but are designated as separate urban areas. The combined population of the three urban areas is .
