New Zealand
Latest Average Wage
+2.6% · 5 years
$60,896
Country Comparison
New Zealand vs South Korea
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
New Zealand
vs
South Korea
$60,8962025
Latest Average Wage
South Korea +0.6%
(vs New Zealand)
$61,2592025
+2.6%2025
5-Year Wage Change
South Korea +0.5 pts
(vs New Zealand)
+3.1%2025
+15.5%2025
10-Year Wage Change
South Korea +2.8 pts
(vs New Zealand)
+18.3%2025
81.62024
Overall Price Level
New Zealand +21.5 index points
(vs South Korea)
60.12024
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
South Korea
Latest Average Wage
+3.1% · 5 years
$61,259
Wage Milestones
New Zealand
10 Years Ago
$52,727 (2015)
Historical Peak
$62,034 (2021)
Latest Wage
$60,896 (2025)
South Korea
10 Years Ago
$51,769 (2015)
Historical Peak
$61,259 (2025)
Latest Wage
$61,259 (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)South Korea (KOR)
Overall
+21.5 index points
100
81.6vs60.1
Food
−34.0 index points
100
102vs136
Clothing
−26.8 index points
100
76.2vs103
Housing
+67.0 index points
100
105vs38
Health
+8.6 index points
100
45.6vs37
Transport
+18.2 index points
100
92vs73.8
Recreation
+20.0 index points
100
91.6vs71.6
Restaurants & Accommodation
+20.6 index points
100
103vs82.4
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
South Korea's latest average wage is $61,259 for 2025, about 0.6% higher than New Zealand's $60,896 for 2025 — a relative difference calculated from the two reported values. In annual terms the gap comes to about $363 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 +0.6% for South Korea. The five-year horizon reverses the ordering — New Zealand at +2.6% and South Korea at +3.1% — so the latest year is not the whole story. 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 38 for South Korea. Measured on the US=100 scale, the two readings for this category are 67.0 index points apart, New Zealand above South Korea. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Health: New Zealand reads 45.6 and South Korea 37 for 2024, just 8.6 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Transport at 18.2 index points apart. Closeness here describes the index readings only, not the baskets behind them.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
New Zealand and South Korea report nearly the same PPP-adjusted average annual wage: $61,259 for 2025, against $60,896 for 2025. The difference is 0.6% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $363 a year, which is small next to either figure. 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. Over ten years New Zealand recorded +15.5% and South Korea +18.3%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction. For most side-by-side readings the two wage levels can be treated as equivalent within this dataset.
Wage Direction
The five-year direction is shared here: both series rise, with different momentum on each side. New Zealand has risen across the reported horizons, with a one-year change of +0.7% and a five-year change of +2.6%. South Korea sits at the highest point of its series — $61,259 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +18.3%. The shared direction still leaves room for different speeds: +3.1% for South Korea against +2.6% for New Zealand, so the distance between the two levels keeps shifting. 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 South Korea's reads 60.1, each measured against the United States reference of 100. New Zealand reads higher in 6 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 38 for South Korea, a gap of 67.0 index points. At the other end, Health brings the two closest — 45.6 versus 37, a gap of just 8.6 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, New Zealand reads above 100 in 3 of its 8 reported categories, and South Korea in 2 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
