How much of a pay rise to ask for: pay review calculator
Put in your salary, the date of your last rise and the date of your review. The calculator shows how much prices have risen since your last rise and how much pay rates across New Zealand have moved, gives the range between the two, and adds any amount for a bigger job to reach a figure to ask for.
Worked out for the example. Change the boxes to make it yours.
| Your salary now | $72,000 |
|---|---|
| Time from your last rise to the review | 2.1 years |
| Prices since the December 2024 quarter | +5.6% |
| Pay rates across New Zealand, at 2.0% a year | +4.3% |
| Salary to keep level with prices | $76,028 |
| Salary to keep pace with pay rates | $75,094 |
| The range | $75,094 to $76,028 |
| Added for a bigger job | $2,000 |
| Your asking figure | $78,500 (+9.0%) |
| The rise you are asking for | $6,500 a year before tax |
- Prices: Stats NZ's consumers price index (all groups), from the quarter of your last rise to the June 2026 quarter, the latest published.
- Pay rates: Stats NZ's labour cost index for all salary and wage rates rose 2.0% in the year to the June 2026 quarter; the calculator carries that pace over the time from your last rise to your review.
- The asking figure is rounded up to the next $500.
Your Career, on the Career and Timesheets plan. Your account sets the date of your next pay review on your current job, after asking, and Your Career reminds you six weeks before it.
The two measures
The first is prices. Stats NZ's consumers price index shows how much the cost of living has risen since your last rise: the calculator takes the index for the quarter your last rise fell in and the latest quarter published, the June 2026 quarter. A rise of that size keeps your pay level with prices, so it holds what your pay buys. The second is pay rates across New Zealand. Stats NZ's labour cost index measures how pay for the same work changes, and all salary and wage rates rose 2.0% in the year to the June 2026 quarter. The calculator carries that yearly pace over the time from your last rise to your review, so a gap of two years counts about twice.
The range and the asking figure
The range runs from the lower of the two measures to the higher. The bottom of the range is where a rise starts to be a real one rather than a cut in disguise, and the top is what keeping up with both prices and other workers needs. The asking figure is the top of the range plus any amount you add for a bigger job, rounded up to the next $500, because a round figure is easier to discuss and leaves room to settle. In the example, prices rose 5.6% from the December 2024 quarter to the June 2026 quarter and pay rates about 4.3% over the 2.1 years from the rise to the review, so on $72,000 the range is $75,094 to $76,028, and with $2,000 for a bigger job the ask is $78,500.
When to add more
The two measures only keep you where you were. If your job has grown, with new duties, people to lead or results you can point to, put a figure on it in the last box. Bring the evidence: our guide to preparing for your performance review covers gathering it, and asking for a pay rise covers the conversation itself. The pay review request template puts the request in writing.
What the calculator cannot know
Neither measure says what your role pays elsewhere. If people doing your work are paid more by other employers, that is a separate and often stronger case, and our guide to salary negotiation covers making it. The price figures run to the June 2026 quarter, published on 21 July 2026; the September 2026 quarter is due on 22 October 2026, and the labour cost index for the same quarter on 4 November 2026. No law requires a yearly rise, so the review date and how it works come from your employment agreement or workplace policy.
Questions
How much of a pay rise should I ask for in NZ?
Start from how much prices have risen since your last rise and how much pay rates across New Zealand have moved, then add for anything your job has grown by. Stats NZ's consumers price index rose 4.1% and salary and wage rates rose 2.0% in the year to the June 2026 quarter.
What is a normal pay rise in New Zealand at the moment?
Stats NZ's labour cost index shows salary and wage rates for the same work rose 2.0% across all sectors in the year to the June 2026 quarter. That is an average: it measures pay for the same work, so rises from promotion are not counted, and many people received more or less.
Should my pay rise at least match inflation?
A rise at least as large as the rise in prices since your last one keeps what your pay buys level. Anything less is a fall in real terms. There is no legal right to it, so it is a case you make at your review.
Is it reasonable to ask for more than inflation?
Yes, when your job has grown or your work is paid more elsewhere. Bring evidence of what has changed: new duties, results, or the pay for similar roles.
What happens when I save my pay review?
Your account sets the date of your next pay review on your current job in Your Career, after asking. No pay is added until a rise is agreed. Your Career is part of the Career and Timesheets plan.
Sources
- Employment New Zealand: setting pay, pay reviews and pay rises.
- Stats NZ: Consumers price index, June 2026 quarter.
- Stats NZ: Labour market statistics, June 2026 quarter.
- Stats NZ: Labour cost index (salary and wage rates), June 2026 quarter (Excel).
More free tools: see all the calculators.