Overview

Last updated: March 2026

Tertiary-qualified New Zealanders continue to have higher incomes than those with only a school qualification, or no qualification. The weekly income difference for those with a degree relative to those whose highest qualification is a school one has averaged around 37% over the last decade (and was 36% in 2025).

Figure 1: Median weekly earnings premium for employed people aged 25 to 64 with different levels of qualification, relative to those with school qualifications only (2013 to 2025)

The median weekly income advantage for those with a Level 4-6 tertiary certificate or diploma (which is typically vocationally- or trades-oriented) has been, on average, around 18% since 2015 (and was 16% in 2025). Level 1-3 tertiary qualifications provide less advanced training, often oriented to specific vocational skills, and at a level equivalent on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework to upper secondary school qualifications. Many people leaving school with no qualifications choose this pathway to further their education and skills in specific vocational areas. On average, weekly incomes for people holding a Level 1-3 qualification are 11% lower than those with a school qualification, but 8 percent higher than those with no qualifications.

Those with no qualifications, on average, received 19% less weekly income than someone with school qualifications.

Median weekly incomes increased overall by 2 percent between 2024 and 2025. The increase was greater for adults with Level 4 or higher qualifications, while those with a Level 1–3 tertiary certificate experienced a 3.5 percent decrease in median weekly income. As a result, income premiums for people with higher-level tertiary qualifications widened in 2025, reflecting the stronger income performance among those with more advanced qualifications.

Income premiums for tertiary‑educated adults tend to rise during periods when labour‑market conditions weaken, reflecting the greater vulnerability of workers with lower‑level qualifications. Over the past decade, shifts in employment growth and changes in the structure of the labour market have continued to influence these patterns. In recent years, income premiums have fluctuated, with the advantage for those with Level 4–6 tertiary qualifications increasing from 12% in 2023 to 16% in 2025, and the premium for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher rising from 32% to 36% over the same period. Meanwhile, adults with no qualifications continued to earn substantially less than those with school qualifications, with an income gap of –17% in 2025. These trends also reflect wider wage movements, including increases to the minimum wage and stronger wage growth in higher‑skilled occupations, which have shaped the relative earnings of different qualification groups.

An obvious reason why education benefits income is that it increases the likelihood of being employed. No employment means no earnings, and adults with lower‑level qualifications remain less likely to be in work. This accounts for much of the income differences described above.

Figure 2 shows that education continues to provide a wage advantage, though the gaps are smaller when comparing hourly earnings rather than total weekly income. Over the last decade, the median weekly income of people aged 25 to 64 with a degree has averaged around 36% higher than that of those with only school qualifications. However, the hourly earnings premium for degree‑holders has been slightly higher but still substantial, averaging 37% more.

Workers with a Level 4–6 tertiary certificate or diploma earned around 11% more per hour, on average, than workers whose highest qualification was a school one. This compares to an average weekly income difference of 16% when looking across all adults with these qualifications, including those not currently employed. This reinforces the point that employment rates, not just wage rates, drive much of the overall income gap between qualification groups.

Figure 2: Median hourly earnings premium for employed people aged 25 to 64 with different levels of qualification, relative to those with school qualifications only (2013 to 2025)

Hourly earnings for workers with tertiary qualifications have continued to show steady growth in recent years. Wage increases have been supported by strong labour‑market demand in higher‑skilled occupations and by policy settings such as ongoing increases to the national minimum wage, which have particularly benefited workers without tertiary qualifications. These factors have helped maintain wage levels across qualification groups, even as employment patterns have continued to differ.

Notes about the data

1. The data used here comes from Statistics NZ, Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) and New Zealand Income Survey (NZIS) data. The NZIS data is run as an annual supplement in the June quarter of the HLFS.
2. Weekly income is the actual income received during the June quarter survey week. It includes income from wages and salaries, self-employment, and government transfers for all adults aged 25 to 64 whether employed or not. It does not include private transfers or income from rents and investment.
3. Hourly earnings are the usual hourly earnings from a person's main job, including where this is from self-employment, for employed people aged 25 to 64. Employed, in this context, relates to people with earnings from employment. This is smaller in scope than the official measure for employed, which also includes those who worked unpaid for relatives.
4. School qualifications include both New Zealand and overseas school qualifications.
5. Quality of data: The statistics provided here are estimates based on sample surveys. Most official surveys are designed to produce national estimates. Where estimates are made for sub-populations, sampling errors may seriously limit the use of that information. The estimates for the sub-populations have been assessed as generally reliable for the purposes of this indicator, but readers should note that in many cases differences between Level 1-3 tertiary qualifications, and other levels of education below degree-level are not statistically significant at the 95% level of confidence. Changes in median income or earnings between years are generally also not statistically significant at the 95% level of confidence.  Non-statistically significant differences, however, can still suggest genuine differences, especially where they follow a pattern that is consistently repeated over time.