2001 Census: Incomes 2001
Highlights
The 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings was held on 6 March 2001. The census usually resident population count of those aged 15 years and over was 2,889,537 people. All New Zealand adults were asked two questions relating to their income. The first, question 25, asked people to mark all the sources that contributed to their income in the 12 months leading up to census day. The second, question 26, asked about their total income before tax in the 12 months leading up to 31 March 2001, even if they made a loss or did not receive any income. New Zealand residents aged under 15 years and all overseas visitors were not required to answer these questions. See the explanatory notes for more detail.
In this document, the terms 'people', 'adults', 'working age population' and 'New Zealand adults' all refer to the census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over. Those people in the census usually resident population aged 15 years and over who identified with the Mäori ethnic group are referred to as Mäori adults. Similar terminology is used for those identifying with the European, Pacific peoples, Asian and Other ethnic groups.
Respondents were given the choice of 13 different income categories. It is not possible, within the scope of this document, to discuss each topic in terms of all of these categories. Therefore, the income distribution has been split into three broad bands with boundaries at $15,000 and $40,000. The selection of the income band boundaries was mainly restricted by the income categories themselves. These boundaries gave roughly a 40:40:20 split.
Data quality
All individuals who did not answer the income question or the sources of income question have been excluded from all relevant analyses except this section on data quality. Changes to the form of the ethnicity question have resulted in some data that is not consistent between 1996 and 2001. Data between 1991 and 2001 was less affected and therefore has been used as the basis for comparison in these highlights for the Mäori population.
Analysis of data from the 2001 Census shows that 11.1 percent of the census usually resident population aged 15 or over did not answer the personal income question (question 25). This compares with 9.3 percent in 1996 and 5.3 percent in 1991. In 2001, 6.2 percent did not answer the sources of income question compared with 5.6 percent for 1996. The analysis in the following paragraph illustrates the extent of non-response to the income questions. While this analysis only covers the personal income question, similar patterns of non-response were observed for the sources of income question. Users of this data need to be aware of high non-response rates for some groups. The 'Not Stated' category in each table corresponds to non-response.
The levels of non-response to the personal income question varied between population groups. Following a similar pattern to 1991 and 1996, 12.1 percent of females and 10.1 percent of males did not answer the income question. When analysed by age, higher non-response rates occurred in the 80 years and older age groups and the 15 to 19-year age group than in the other age groups. When looked at by region, the non-response rates varied from a high of 15.5 percent in Northland to 8.3 percent in Otago. Large variations were noted when non-response rates were analysed by ethnicity. The Pacific peoples ethnic group had the highest non-response rate of 18.8 percent while 6.1 percent of Europeans did not answer the income question. Within the ethnic groups there were some populations who had a higher non-response rate than others; for example, 33.2 percent of Pacific females in the 15 to 19-year age group did not answer the income question.
Personal income
The median income for the census usually resident population aged 15 years and over was $18,500 in 2001, compared with $15,600 in 1996 and $14,100 in 1991.
Since 1991 there has been an increase in the percentage of people in the income categories above $30,000 while the proportion of people in the $5,001-$10,000 income category has fallen by 9.3 percentage points. The proportion of New Zealand adults with income over $40,000 rose from 8.8 percent in 1991 and 12.9 percent in 1996 to 18.6 percent in 2001. The proportion of adults receiving an annual income of $15,000 or less fell from 52.7 percent in 1991 and 48.8 percent in 1996 to 43.3 percent in 2001.
Figure 1
Total Personal Income for the Total Population, 1991, 1996 and 2001
Changes in the distribution of personal income have occurred as a result of a general increase in wages and salaries and from increases in benefits and pensions. In the 1991 Census, 54.1 percent of the working age population were employed; in 1996 this rose to 60.4 percent and in 2001 it was 61.7 percent. These increases, together with a decrease in unemployment, a drop in the proportion of people in receipt of a pension or benefit and changes to benefit and pension eligibility, have contributed to the changes in the income distribution.
At the 2001 Census the median income for the population who identified with the Mäori ethnic group was $14,800. The proportion of Mäori receiving an annual income over $40,000 was 10.2 percent and that receiving $15,000 or less was 50.6 percent. This compares with 3.2 percent and 64.5 percent respectively in 1991.
Figure 2
Total Personal Income for the Mäori Ethnic Group Population, 1991 and 2001
Between 1991 and 2001, the proportion of Mäori in the $5,001-$10,000 income band decreased 13.6 percentage points to 16.3 percent, while the proportion in the $30,001-$40,000 income category doubled to 10.7 percent. Other higher income categories also showed an increase. Over the same period, the percentage of Mäori employed increased and those unemployed dropped.
Age
Figure 3 shows that the majority of 15 to 19 year olds received a low annual income (90.2 percent received an annual income of $15,000 or less). A high proportion were studying (62.7 percent said they undertook some study in the four weeks prior to the census). Only 19.0 percent were employed full time, 26.5 percent were employed part time and 12.8 percent stated they were unemployed.
Figure 3
Percentage of Adults with Incomes Below $15,000, Between $15,001 and $40,000, and Above $40,000, by Age, 2001
As people get older their annual income is likely to increase. For people in the age groups between 20 and 64, the proportion who received between $15,001 and $40,000 ranged from 34.3 percent (60 to 64 year olds) to 51.3 percent (25 to 29 year olds), while those who received over $40,000 ranged from 15.5 percent (60 to 64 year olds) to 30.9 percent (45 to 49 year olds). As people near 65 years of age, the proportion receiving an annual income of $15,000 or less rises steeply: for the 50 to 54-year age group the proportion is 28.3 percent while for the 65 to 69-year age group it is 62.9 percent. The proportion remains reasonably constant for people aged 70 years and older, reflecting the dependence on New Zealand superannuation of these age groups.
The majority of Mäori in the 15 to 19-year age group who stated that they received an income, received a low annual income (89.9 percent received an annual income of $15,000 or less). For Mäori in the age groups between 20 and 64, the proportion who received between $15,001 and $40,000 ranged from 31.5 percent (60 to 64 year olds) to 41.8 percent (25 to 29 year olds), while those who received over $40,000 ranged from 2.2 percent (20 to 24 year olds) to 17.8 percent (45 to 49 year olds).
Sex
The median income for females was $14,500 and the median income for males was $24,900.
Figure 4
Percentage of Adults with Incomes Below $15,000, Between $15,001 and $40,000, and Above $40,000, by Sex, 1991, 1996 and 2001
As can be seen from figure 4, there was a higher proportion of females receiving an annual income of $15,000 or less (51.8 percent) than males (34.3 percent), while there was a higher proportion of males receiving an annual income of over $40,000 (26.4 percent) than females (11.2 percent). For those people receiving an annual income of more than $40,000, females comprised 30.9 percent of the total in 2001 compared with 22.9 percent in 1996 and 17.4 percent in 1991. There are indications that this narrowing occurred in the highest income categories. For those people receiving an annual income of over $50,000, females comprised 26.9 percent of the total in 2001, compared with 19.1 percent in 1996 and 14.3 percent in 1991. For those receiving over $100,000, females comprised 19.4 percent in 2001, up from 15.9 percent in 1996.
In the 2001 Census, the median annual income for Mäori males aged 15 years and over was $18,600. Mäori females had a median annual income of $13,200.
Sources of Income
Many people received income from more than one source during the year. These people were counted for each source ticked and so totals may add up to more than 100 percent. For people who received income from more than one source, the main source of income could not be identified.
Fifty-seven percent of New Zealand residents aged 15 years and over gave 'wages, salaries, commissions, etc paid by employer' (wages and salaries) as a source of income, the same percentage as in 1996. In 2001, 25.9 percent of adults received income from 'interest, dividends, rent and other investments' (interest and dividends) and 16.7 percent stated that 'self-employment or a business they owned and worked in' (self-employment) was a source of income (27.0 percent and 17.8 percent respectively in 1996). For Mäori, 58.6 percent stated wages and salaries as a source of income.
Figure 5
Sources of Income by Age, 2001(1)
(1) Some categories of sources of personal income have been combined in this graph as follows:
Employment includes wages, salaries, commissions, etc paid by employer and self-employment.
Government benefits includes community wage - job seeker, community wage - sickness benefit, domestic purposes benefit, invalids benefit and other government benefits including government income support payments or war pensions.
Other sources includes interest, dividends, rent and other investments, regular payments from ACC or a private work accident insurer, other superannuation, pensions, annuities (other than New Zealand superannuation, veterans pension or war pension), student allowance and other sources of income, including support payments from people living in other households.
As can be seen in figure 5, New Zealand superannuation or veterans pension (New Zealand superannuation) as a source of income was widespread for those aged 65 and over with at least 90.2 percent stating that they received income from that source. Of the people who gave New Zealand Superannuation as a source of income, 53.8 percent stated that they also received other sources of income. As this question asked about the previous 12 months it is not possible to ascertain whether people received these sources at the same time as New Zealand superannuation.
Government benefits include community wage - job seeker, community wage - sickness benefit, domestic purposes benefit, invalids benefit and 'other government benefits (including government income support payments or war pensions)'. The proportion of New Zealand adults who said they received some income from one or more of these sources in the 12 months leading up to census day was 16.5 percent. Of those who received at least one form of government benefit during the past year, 48.5 percent indicated this was their only source of income. The percentage of people of Mäori ethnicity who said they received at least one government benefit was 34.9 percent, and 58.2 percent of that population stated that a government benefit was their only source of income.
Receipt of income from government benefits were most common in the age groups between 20 and 34 years and the 60 to 64-year age group: 31.1 percent (20 to 24 years); 25.1 percent (25 to 29 years); 22.2 percent (30 to 34 years) and 23.0 percent (60 to 64 years).
As would be expected, the age groups reporting the highest receipt of student allowance were the 20 to 24-year age group (12.7 percent) and the 15 to 19-year age group (7.7 percent).
While wages and salaries was the most common source of income for both urban and rural populations (57.5 percent and 51.5 percent respectively), there was a large difference in the proportions of those reporting income from self-employment. Fourteen percent of those living in an urban area received income from self-employment as opposed to 33.5 percent of those living in a rural area.
The nature of the sources of income question means that it is not possible to identify how much income came from each source unless the respondent only gave one source of income. For the total population, 21.0 percent of people who gave wages and salaries as their sole source of income stated that they received an annual income of more than $40,000, while 30.8 percent of people who gave self-employment as their only source of income stated that they received an annual income of more than $40,000.
For the Mäori population, 14.4 percent of those who gave wages and salaries as their sole source of income stated that they received an annual income of more than $40,000 compared with 28.8 percent of people who stated that self-employment was their only source of income. Government benefits were most common in the age groups between 20 and 34 years and the 60 to 64-year age group: 52.3 percent (20 to 24 years); 45.1 percent (25 to 29 years); 42.3 percent (30 to 34 years) and 40.5 percent (60 to 64 years).
Regions
Wellington Region had the highest proportion of people receiving an annual income of over $40,000 (24.6 percent) and also the lowest proportion of people receiving $15,000 or less (37.8 percent). Auckland was the region with the second highest proportion of people receiving over $40,000 (22.7 percent) and also the region with the second lowest proportion of people receiving $15,000 or less (40.1 percent). The region with the highest proportion of working age people receiving an income of $15,000 or less was West Coast with 51.7 percent followed by Northland with 49.6 percent and Gisborne with 49.4 percent. The regions with the lowest proportions of people receiving more than $40,000 were Gisborne (12.4 percent) and West Coast (12.7 percent).
Of those Mäori receiving an annual income of more than $40,000, the highest proportion was in Wellington (14.5 percent) followed by Auckland (13.7 percent), while the lowest proportion was in Gisborne (6.2 percent). Northland had the highest proportion of Mäori people receiving $15,000 or less (59.9 percent), followed by Gisborne (58.6 percent), while Wellington had the lowest with 42.5 percent.
Urban and rural
When analysed in terms of urban and rural populations, the populations with the highest proportion of people receiving more than $40,000 were 'main urban' areas and 'other rural areas' (those rural areas not including settlements of 300 people or more) both with 19.8 percent. Minor urban areas had the lowest proportion of people receiving over $40,000 (11.7 percent). The population with the highest proportion receiving $15,000 or less was the minor urban areas with 50.0 percent while those living in other rural areas had the lowest proportion with 40.4 percent.
For Mäori receiving $15,000 or less, the highest proportion (56.8 percent) were those living in the other rural areas.
Qualifications
Results from the 2001 Census confirmed that the level of income an individual receives is closely related to their level of qualifications. Those people whose highest qualification was a bachelor degree or higher were most likely to receive an income above $40,000 (42.3 percent and 55.2 percent respectively). Furthermore, 11.5 percent of those who had a higher degree and 8.1 percent of those who had a bachelor degree received an income in excess of $100,000. Of those with no qualifications only 8.2 percent had an annual income in excess of $40,000 and 0.9 percent had an annual income above $100,000, while 55.0 percent of these people received an annual income of $15,000 or less.
The ratio of males to females with bachelor degrees or higher was 51 males to 49 females. Of males who held a bachelor degree or higher, 58.1 percent received over $40,000 compared with 34.2 percent of females. Also, 15.3 percent of males with this level of qualification received over $100,000 compared with 2.9 percent of females.
For the Mäori population, those whose highest qualification was a bachelor degree or higher were most likely to receive an income above $40,000. Fifty-three percent of Mäori who held a higher degree received an income of over $40,000. This proportion was higher than that for those whose highest qualification was a bachelor degree (34.8 percent). Furthermore, 8.3 percent of those who had a higher degree and 3.7 percent of those who had a bachelor degree received an income of more than $100,000. Of those with no qualifications only 5.0 percent received an annual income in excess of $40,000 and 0.3 percent had an annual income above $100,000, while 58.6 percent received an annual income of $15,000 or less.
The ratio of males to females in the Mäori population with bachelor or higher degrees was 42 to 58. This is not reflected in the proportions of males and females with those qualifications receiving over $40,000 (48.5 percent and 32.5 percent respectively).
Labour force characteristics
Care should be taken when comparing income or source of income data with labour force characteristics. Although the annual income and sources of income questions (questions 25 and 26) refer to a period of 12 months, those relating to employment and labour force (questions 27 to 37) refer to the week prior to census day and those relating to unemployment (questions 38 to 40) refer to the four weeks leading up to census day. Also, the questions relating to status of employment, occupation and industry (questions 29 to 34) refer to the respondent's main job only.
Status in employment
Status in employment identifies whether employed people work for themselves or others. The categories are paid employee, self-employed without employees, employer and unpaid family worker.
Results from the 2001 Census showed that those who were employers in their main job were more likely to receive a higher income than those who were self-employed without employees or were paid employees. The results show 52.2 percent of employers received an annual income above $40,000 compared with 27.7 percent of those self-employed without employees and 25.7 percent of paid employees. Also a total of 16.7 percent of employers received annual incomes of more than $100,000 compared with 4.8 percent of self-employed without employees and 2.1 percent of paid employees. In comparison, 24.3 of those paid employees and 24.9 percent of those self-employed without employees had incomes of $15,000 or less while 10.5 percent of employers had an annual income of $15,000 or less. Of those who stated that they made a loss, 39.5 percent were self-employed and without employees.
Of the 77.2 percent who stated that they were in paid employment, 24.3 percent received an annual income of $15,000 or less while 25.7 percent received more than $40,000.
Of the Mäori population who provided their status in employment, 88.1 percent were paid employees. For Mäori paid employees, 15.1 percent received an income of more than $40,000 and 28.7 percent received an annual income of $15,000 or less.
Full-time and part-time employment
A person is classified as being in full-time employment if they usually work 30 hours or more per week, while a person usually working between 1 and 29 hours per week is classified as being in part-time employment.
Males in full-time employment in the week prior to the census had a median annual income of $35,000 compared with $28,900 for females in full-time employment. Females in part-time employment received slightly more than males working part time ($11,600 and $10,900 respectively). The median income for unemployed males and females was similar at $7,600 and $7,500 respectively. The median annual income for males not in the labour force ($10,600) was similar to that for females not in the labour force ($10,300).
Figure 6
Full-time and Part-time Employed by Total Personal Income, 2001
There were 2.6 times more females working part time than males, while 1.6 times more males worked full time than females. Figure 6 shows 63.7 percent of part-time workers had annual incomes below $15,000 while only 5.6 percent received annual incomes above $40,000. In contrast, 12.9 percent of people who worked full time in the week prior to census night received incomes below $15,000 during the year. The proportion of full-time workers who had annual incomes over $40,000 was 33.9 percent.
Mäori males and Mäori females in full-time employment had median annual incomes of $28,500 and $25,300 respectively. Mäori females in part-time employment earned slightly more than Mäori males working part time ($10,800 and $10,100 respectively). Unemployed Mäori males had a slightly lower median income than unemployed Mäori females ($7,500 and $8,700 respectively). The median annual income for Mäori males not in the labour force ($7,900) was lower than for Mäori females not in the labour force ($9,300).
For Mäori part-time workers, 67.5 percent had an annual income below $15,000 and 3.1 percent had an annual income of over $40,000. For Mäori people who worked full time in the week prior to the 2001 Census, 18.2 percent had an income of $15,000 or less and 20.3 percent over $40,000. There were twice as many Mäori females working part time as Mäori males.
Occupation
For those working full time in the week before census night, the professional occupation group had the highest proportion of workers receiving income over $40,000 (61.8 percent of this occupation group) followed by the legislators, administrators and managers occupation group (56.7 percent). Only 11.5 percent of full-time workers in the elementary occupations group (for example labourers, caretakers and cleaners) received an annual income of over $40,000.
Of full-time workers, the sales and service workers occupation group had the highest proportion of workers receiving an annual income of $15,000 or less (24.2 percent). This was followed by the elementary occupations (23.6 percent) and agricultural and fishery workers (23.4 percent). The professional occupation group had the lowest proportion of full-time workers receiving $15,000 or less (5.2 percent).
Among part-time workers, the service and sales workers and elementary occupations groups had the highest proportion of people receiving incomes of $15,000 or less (80.2 and 79.9 percent respectively). These occupations also had the lowest proportions of part-time workers with income above $40,000 (both 1.1 percent).
For Mäori full-time workers, the professionals occupation group had the highest proportion receiving over $40,000 (44.6 percent) followed by legislators, administrators and managers with 43.9 percent. For the Mäori population, the agricultural and fishery workers had the highest proportion of full-time workers with an annual income of $15,000 or less (34.0 percent), and the legislators, administrators and managers occupation group had the lowest proportion with 8.7 percent.
Among Mäori part-time workers, the service and sales workers occupation group had the highest proportion of people receiving $15,000 or less with 78.0 percent. This occupation group also had the lowest proportion of people receiving more than $40,000 (0.9 percent).
Industry
For those working full time in the week before census night, the industries with the highest proportion of workers receiving over $40,000 were the electricity, gas and water industry with 55.8 percent and the mining industry with 52.9 percent (although both these populations were small) followed by the education industry (51.5 percent). The accommodation, cafes and restaurants industry had the highest proportion of people with an annual income of $15,000 or less (30.3 percent), followed by the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry (22.9 percent). In contrast, only 4.0 percent of people in the finance and insurance industry and 4.6 percent of people in the electricity, gas and water supply industry had an annual income of $15,000 or less.
For Mäori full-time workers, 36.1 percent of those in the accommodation, cafes and restaurants industry, 33.6 percent of those in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry and 5.6 percent of Mäori full-time workers in the electricity, gas and water supply industry had an annual income of $15,000 or less.
Of the part-time employed, those working in the accommodation, cafes and restaurants industry had the highest proportion of people with an annual income of $15,000 or less (81.1 percent) closely followed by the retail trade industry (79.9 percent). Those working part time in the finance and insurance industry had the lowest proportion of people with an annual income of $15,000 or less (37.7 percent).
For Mäori employed part time, the industry with the highest proportion of workers with an annual income of $15,000 or less was the retail trade industry (82.7 percent) and the lowest was the finance and insurance industry with 44.5 percent. The industry groups with the highest proportion of people receiving over $40,000 were the mining (29.4 percent) and electricity, gas and water supply industries (11.1 percent) (both with very small populations).
Ethnicity
As with the question about sources of income, the question about ethnicity allowed a person to tick as many boxes as they felt necessary to describe their ethnic background. A person ticking the New Zealand European, Mäori and Tongan boxes on the form, for example, would be counted three times - once each in the European, Mäori and Pacific peoples ethnic groupings. As a result of this, percentage totals add up to more than 100 percent. This analysis does not include those who did not specify any ethnicity and/or an income category.
The median personal annual income for all adults aged 15 years and over who answered the ethnicity question was $18,600 in 2001. For those with European ethnicity the median income was $19,800, while for those identifying as Mäori the equivalent figure was $14,800. The median income for Pacific peoples was $14,800 while the equivalent figures for the Asian and 'Other' ethnic groups were $10,400 and $11,400 respectively.
Figure 7
Percentage of Ethnic Groups (Total Responses) with Incomes Below $15,000, Between $15,001 and $40,000, and Above $40,000, 2001
For each ethnic group the proportion of females receiving an annual income of $15,000 or less was greater than for males. The distribution between the three income bands was more even for both males and females of European ethnicity than for the remaining ethnic groups.
When analysed by age, the income distributions for all ethnic groups were similar for people in the 15 to 49-year age groups. In the older age groups, those of European ethnicity had a higher proportion of people with higher incomes compared with those for the other ethnic groups.
Total family income
For each income category there is a median income. The median incomes, corresponding to the income category ticked by each family member aged 15 years or over, are added together to give the family income for that family. The result of this calculation indicates which family income category is allocated to the family. See Explanatory Notes for more information on how family income is calculated. Families with no stated income have been excluded from the following analysis.
Nearly 17 percent (16.9 percent) of families had an annual family income of $20,000 or less, while a total of 54.5 percent of families had an annual family income of $50,000 or less.
A comparison of family income by family type shows that half (49.5 percent) of one-parent with children families received $20,000 or less compared with 5.6 percent of couples with children and 13.7 percent of couples without children. Only 11.9 percent of one-parent with children families received more than $50,000, compared with 44.7 percent of couples without children and 61.1 percent of couples with children.
Total household income
Household income is calculated in a similar way to family income, except all members of the household are considered. Households with no stated income have been excluded from the following analysis.
The proportion of New Zealand households with an annual household income below $20,000 was 24.3 percent, with over half (56.6 percent) of one-person households receiving an annual income below this amount. The proportion of households with an income above $50,000 was 39.1 percent, while 11.5 percent had an income of $100,001 or more.
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