New Zealand
Latest Average Wage
+2.6% · 5 years
$60,896
Country Comparison
New Zealand vs Japan
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
New Zealand
vs
Japan
$60,8962025
Latest Average Wage
New Zealand +21.3%
(vs Japan)
$50,1832025
+2.6%2025
5-Year Wage Change
New Zealand +4.8 pts
(vs Japan)
−2.2%2025
+15.5%2025
10-Year Wage Change
New Zealand +17.1 pts
(vs Japan)
−1.6%2025
81.62024
Overall Price Level
New Zealand +22.4 index points
(vs Japan)
59.22024
Wages are PPP-adjusted average annual wages; price levels use the United States reference of 100. Years shown are each country's latest reported observation.
How Wages Have Changed
Follow PPP-adjusted average annual wages in constant prices across both economies.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
Japan
Latest Average Wage
−2.2% · 5 years
$50,183
Wage Milestones
New Zealand
10 Years Ago
$52,727 (2015)
Historical Peak
$62,034 (2021)
Latest Wage
$60,896 (2025)
Japan
10 Years Ago
$51,027 (2015)
Historical Peak
$52,662 (1997)
Latest Wage
$50,183 (2025)
Compare Everyday Price Levels
See how eight consumer price categories compare with the United States reference value of 100.
United States = 100 · Differences shown in index points
New Zealand (NZL)Japan (JPN)
Overall
+22.4 index points
100
81.6vs59.2
Food
−10.0 index points
100
102vs112
Clothing
+5.2 index points
100
76.2vs71
Housing
+56.5 index points
100
105vs48.5
Health
+11.7 index points
100
45.6vs33.9
Transport
+7.6 index points
100
92vs84.4
Recreation
+13.2 index points
100
91.6vs78.4
Restaurants & Accommodation
+30.4 index points
100
103vs72.6
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
New Zealand's latest average wage is $60,896 for 2025, about 21.3% higher than Japan's $50,183 for 2025 — a percentage worked out directly from the two reported figures. In annual terms the gap comes to about $10,714 on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, New Zealand shows the stronger movement at +0.7%, against −0.5% for Japan. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +2.6% against −2.2%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Housing shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 105 for New Zealand against 48.5 for Japan. That is a separation of 56.5 index points on the US=100 scale, with New Zealand on the higher side and Japan on the lower one. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Clothing: New Zealand reads 76.2 and Japan 71 for 2024, just 5.2 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Transport at 7.6 index points apart. Two readings this close mean the category sits at nearly the same point of the US=100 scale for both.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
A clear separation shows in the latest wage figures — New Zealand at $60,896 for 2025, and Japan at $50,183 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 21.3% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $10,714 a year. Because both values already sit on the same USD PPP, constant-2025-price footing, the comparison adjusts for price-level differences between the two economies. For scale, neither series has moved by that much within any single reported year, so the gap is structural rather than the product of one unusual observation. Over ten years New Zealand recorded +15.5% against Japan's −1.6%, so the current levels were reached on visibly different long-term paths.
Wage Direction
This pairing shows two wage paths pulling apart rather than tracking each other. New Zealand has risen across the reported horizons, with a one-year change of +0.7% and a five-year change of +2.6%. Japan continues to drift below its peak, with a one-year change of −0.5% and a five-year change of −2.2%. With New Zealand gaining in real terms at +2.6% over five years and Japan at −2.2%, the five-year measures move away from each other rather than closing in. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
New Zealand's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 81.6, and Japan's reads 59.2, each measured against the United States reference of 100. New Zealand reads higher in 7 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Housing: 105 for New Zealand against 48.5 for Japan, a gap of 56.5 index points. At the other end, Clothing brings the two closest — 76.2 versus 71, a gap of just 5.2 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, New Zealand reads above 100 in 3 of its 8 reported categories, and Japan in 1 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
