Auckland has a number of important educational institutions, including some of the largest universities in the country. Auckland is a major centre of overseas language education, with large numbers of foreign students (particularly East Asians) coming to the city for several months or years to learn English or study at universities - although numbers New Zealand-wide have dropped substantially since peaking in 2003. As of 2007, there are around 50 NZQA certified schools and institutes teaching English in the Auckland area.

Auckland has a multitude of primary and secondary schools. The city also has several private schools. Auckland contains New Zealand's three largest (by full-time student numbers) high schools: Rangitoto College, Avondale Collegeand Massey High School respectively. It also contains New Zealand's largest Catholic school, St Peter's College.

Amongst the most important tertiary educational institutes are the University of Auckland (City, Tamaki,Grafton Campus and satellite campuses)Auckland College of Education (Epsom and Tai Tokerau Campus), Massey University (Albany campus) and the Manukau Institute of Technology (Otara campus), with Unitec New Zealand (Mt Albert campus) being the largest technical institute in Auckland.