Highest paying jobs in New Zealand
The 30 best-paid jobs in New Zealand, ranked by TEC's median pay estimate before tax. Where jobs in one group share a figure, the row lists each of them. TEC does not say these are full-time figures.
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Ranked by median pay estimate
Judge: $504,050
Most common pay: $448,875 to $559,225
Iwi chief executive: $437,500
Most common pay: $250,000 to $656,250
Coroner: $378,000
Chief executive: $375,000
Most common pay: $212,000 to $537,000
Paediatrician: $266,680
Specialist Physicians: $226,680
Most common pay: $206,030 to $247,330
Allergist and immunologist, Cardiologist, Internal medicine physician, Neurologist, Rehabilitation medicine physician
Other Medical Practitioners: $226,680
Most common pay: $206,030 to $247,330
Dermatologist, Emergency medicine specialist, Obstetrician and gynaecologist, Ophthalmologist, Pathologist, Radiologist, Sports medicine physician
Dental Practitioners: $226,680
Most common pay: $206,030 to $247,330
Dentist, Oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Orthodontist, Prosthodontist
Anaesthetist: $226,680
Most common pay: $206,030 to $247,330
Psychiatrist: $226,680
Most common pay: $206,030 to $247,330
Surgeons: $226,680
Most common pay: $206,030 to $247,330
Public health medicine specialist: $226,680
Most common pay: $206,030 to $247,330
Air traffic controller: $198,000
Most common pay: $115,000 to $233,000
Chiropractor: $194,974
Most common pay: $175,487 to $214,461
General practitioner: $188,000
Most common pay: $130,000 to $258,000
Real estate branch manager: $174,000
Most common pay: $115,000 to $270,000
Information technology architect: $172,000
Most common pay: $131,000 to $208,000
Consultant physician: $172,000
Most common pay: $120,000 to $285,000
Actuary: $157,000
Most common pay: $99,000 to $244,000
School principal: $154,175
Most common pay: $136,089 to $172,261
Investment fund manager: $154,000
Most common pay: $105,000 to $239,000
Engineering manager: $154,000
Most common pay: $121,000 to $192,000
Mining engineer: $150,000
Most common pay: $97,000 to $195,000
Pilot: $150,000
Most common pay: $92,000 to $246,000
Information technology manager: $148,000
Most common pay: $107,000 to $192,000
Nurse practitioner: $147,512
Most common pay: $143,946 to $151,079
Epidemiologist: $143,000
Most common pay: $114,000 to $174,000
Geothermal technician: $143,000
Most common pay: $109,000 to $163,000
Architectural manager: $142,000
Most common pay: $108,000 to $179,000
Sonographer: $141,493
Most common pay: $131,156 to $151,830
Median pay estimates before tax from Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)). TEC builds them from Stats NZ Census, IDI and Inland Revenue data. They are estimates only, and the most common range is TEC's own, not a percentile range. Source
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.