Wealth and income percentiles in New Zealand
How much net worth or income does it take to be in the top 10% or top 1% in New Zealand? Model estimates for 4.0 million adults aged 20+, reference level 2025.
Net worth thresholds in New Zealand
Net worth is private assets (property, deposits, securities, business ownership) minus debt, per adult. Thresholds show the minimum net worth needed to belong to each group.
| Group of adults | Threshold, NZD | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | NZD 227,000 | USD 131,000 |
| Top 10% | NZD 1,510,000 | USD 871,000 |
| Top 5% | NZD 2,610,000 | USD 1,500,000 |
| Top 1% | NZD 6,770,000 | USD 3,900,000 |
| Top 0.1% | NZD 27,500,000 | USD 15,900,000 |
| Average (mean) | NZD 743,000 | USD 429,000 |
Income thresholds in New Zealand
Income is a harmonized pre-tax economic income per adult used for cross-country comparison. It is broader than wages and includes capital income, pensions and some imputed components.
| Group of adults | Threshold, NZD | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | NZD 67,900 | USD 39,100 |
| Top 10% | NZD 159,000 | USD 91,400 |
| Top 5% | NZD 230,000 | USD 133,000 |
| Top 1% | NZD 552,000 | USD 318,000 |
| Top 0.1% | NZD 1,910,000 | USD 1,100,000 |
| Average (mean) | NZD 99,400 | USD 57,300 |
New Zealand in a global context
New Zealand has 0.07% of the world’s adults. About 45.9% of them are in the world’s top 10% by net worth and 7.0% are in the global top 1%. By income, the shares are 47.7% and 3.0%.
The median adult in New Zealand is in the global top 11.6% by net worth and the global top 10.5% by income. New Zealand is home to about 0.51% of the world’s top 1% by net worth.
Data quality and sources
Scores run from 1 (strong direct national source coverage) to 5 (mainly modelled).
| Measure | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Net worth | 3 | Country-specific WIR/WID estimates with broad wealth shares and means. Not a complete national individual distribution; large parts of the curve and extreme tail are modelled. |
| Income | 3 | Country-specific WIR/WID estimates with broad income shares and means. Not a direct official national wage/register distribution; thresholds between groups are modelled. |
- World Inequality Report 2026: Country Sheets
- World Inequality Lab TN 2026/04: Global Inequality Update
- World Inequality Report 2026: Country Sheets
- World Inequality Lab TN 2026/04: Global Inequality Update
Amounts are converted at fixed exchange rates of 2025-12-31; they do not adjust for purchasing power. Thresholds in the extreme top are modelled and uncertain.
Frequently asked questions
How much net worth do you need to be in the top 1% in New Zealand?
About NZD 6,770,000 in net worth (assets minus debt) per adult, according to the WealthPercentile model for 2025. The top 10% starts at about NZD 1,510,000.
What is the median income in New Zealand?
The median adult in New Zealand has a broad pre-tax economic income of about NZD 67,900 a year. This measure is broader than wages: it includes capital income and some imputed components, so it is higher than a typical payslip.
How many adults in New Zealand are in the global top 1%?
About 7.0% of adults in New Zealand are in the world’s top 1% by net worth, and 3.0% by income.
How reliable are these numbers?
They are model estimates. The data-quality score for New Zealand is 3/5 for net worth and 3/5 for income, where 1 means strong direct source coverage and 5 means mainly modelled.