Graduate starting salaries in New Zealand: what to expect and what to ask for

Where reliable graduate pay data comes from

The most useful source is the Tertiary Education Commission's post-study outcomes data, last updated in February 2026. It uses linked government data, including tax records, to show what domestic graduates actually earned. For graduates under 25, the median one year after a degree or graduate diploma was $62,000, and $80,000 for graduates five years out, in September 2025 dollars.

There are three cautions. These are annual earnings, counting only graduates in work (earning more than half the minimum wage over the year), so part-time and part-year work pulls some figures down. Nursing and law are narrower fields within health and society and culture. And the Commission notes they are research figures from linked government data, not official statistics. Tahatū's occupation profiles add the most common pay range for each occupation, and ads that show pay tell you what employers are offering now. For a later-career view, the Ministry of Education reports that employed people aged 25 to 34 with a bachelors degree or higher earned a median of $38.84 an hour in the June 2025 quarter.

Grad programme bands versus direct-entry roles

Structured graduate programmes, run by some large firms, banks, consultancies and public sector agencies, usually pay a set starting salary to every graduate in the intake, and may include a planned rise after the first year and rotations through different teams. The salary may be published, or shared at interview if you ask. Our guide to graduate programmes in New Zealand covers how they recruit.

Direct-entry roles, where you apply for a specific junior job, vary more. Pay depends on the employer, the region and how scarce your skills are. Look at ads for similar roles that show pay, and ask the recruiter for the band.

The starting-out wage and when it applies

From 1 April 2026, the adult minimum wage is $23.95 an hour. The starting-out wage, $19.16 an hour, applies only in narrow cases: 16 and 17 year olds in their first six months with an employer, 16 to 19 year olds in industry training of at least 40 credits a year, and 18 and 19 year olds who have been on a benefit for six months or more and have not since worked six continuous months for one employer. It never applies to someone who supervises or trains others, or to anyone aged 20 or over, so it does not apply to most graduates. The training minimum wage, also $19.16, can apply from 20 to someone in industry training of at least 60 credits a year.

Negotiating as a graduate without overreaching

For programme roles with a fixed intake salary, the salary is usually not negotiable, but the start date, relocation help and your first placement sometimes are. For direct-entry roles, a modest, evidenced ask is reasonable: relevant internships, part-time work in the field, or scarce skills. "Based on what similar roles are paying, I was hoping for around $65,000. Is there flexibility?" is polite and specific.

Avoid overreaching with figures from senior roles or from overseas. When the offer arrives, get it in writing and check the whole package: whether KiwiSaver is on top of the salary or included in it, the leave, and when the first pay review falls. Our guide to getting your first job out of study covers where entry-level roles are advertised.

What the number is after tax, loan and KiwiSaver

At 2026/27 rates, on tax code M, with ACC at 1.75%, KiwiSaver at 3.5% and a student loan, $62,000 is about $1,668 a fortnight, or $1,843 without the loan. $52,000 is about $1,458 with the loan, and $76,000 about $1,952. The loan takes 12% of everything over $24,128 a year, which is $175 a fortnight at $62,000. If you earn between $24,000 and $70,000, and do not receive Working for Families, you may also qualify for the independent earner tax credit, up to $520 a year, which these figures leave out.

The Offer Comparer works out two offers after tax, with or without a student loan, and needs no account, which helps when the difference between two first offers is a few thousand dollars.

Compare first offers on what reaches your account