New Zealand Salary Information

How much is the average New Zealand salary, and how do wages vary by industry in New Zealand? How much does your NZ wage need to be to have a comfortable lifestyle in New Zealand?

It is difficult to compare incomes in the UK and New Zealand as the statistics collected by each country are not directly comparable and the cost of living in each country is also different. As a rough guide:

Average UK Salary

In April 2009 the median UK earnings for adults working full-time were £489 per week gross (before tax), giving a gross median annual salary of just under £25,500. Average UK hourly earnings (excluding overtime) for full time employees were £12.34 (before tax).

Average New Zealand Salary

In the September 2009 quarter the New Zealand median weekly income from wages and salary was $934 per week (before tax, excluding overtime), giving a gross annual salary of $48,600. The average hourly earnings in New Zealand (before tax, excluding overtime) were $25.42.

New Zealand Salary Statistics by Industry

Some emigrants from the UK report that they don't feel they are paid as much in New Zealand as they were the UK, but others may find that their professions are better paid in New Zealand.

We crunched some income by industry data from the UK and New Zealand. We've only compared the industries where the categories appeared to be mostly equivalent, and the statistics are from 2009 in both cases. The comparison is against the average gross (pre-tax) hourly income before overtime:

As you can see, some industries, notably wholesale trade, public administration, education and health care are better paid in New Zealand than the UK when compared to the average wage in each country. Other industries work out about the same, and yet others are better paid in the UK, notably construction and finance & insurance.

How much does your New Zealand Wage need to be?

This is simultaneously an essential question to have answered before you accept a job in New Zealand, and such a subjective question that it is almost impossible to answer. The amount of income you will need to live comfortably in New Zealand will of course depend on your lifestyle, the size of your family, where in the country you live, how much of a mortgage you have.

To give you some idea, Statistics New Zealand's Household Economic Survey asked households in 2008 whether they felt that their household income was adequate to meet their everyday needs. They found that households with a gross income of above $57,000 generally felt that their income met their everyday needs. Households with incomes above this level generally felt more and more satisfied, although there were still households with incomes of over $142,000 who felt poor!

New Zealand Immigration Department research from 2007 suggested that 46% of the principal applicants for skilled category visas from UK/Ireland were earning more than $50,000 a year before tax, with a further 35% earning between $30,000 and $50,000. Happily, only 8% of immigrants from the UK and Ireland surveyed were dissatisfied with their jobs. Overall, it appears that migrants from the UK and Ireland do well in New Zealand.

Broadbase International will work with you every step of the way to help you make a confident start to your new life in New Zealand. Please contact us if you have any questions about the financial side of life in New Zealand, and don't forget to order your free copy of our comprehensive New Zealand Guide.