Real median pay during each prime minister's tenure
Every prime minister since 1991, ranked by how real median pay changed from their first day in office. Politare shows what happened during a tenure; it does not claim the office-holder caused it.
| # | Prime minister | In office | Total | Per year | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Helen Clark | 10 Dec 1999 – 19 Nov 2008 from Q1 2000 | +8.7% Q1 2000 → Q3 2008 | +1.0%/yr | |
| 2 | Jacinda Ardern | 26 Oct 2017 – 25 Jan 2023 | +8.4% Q3 2017 → Q4 2022 | +1.5%/yr | |
| 3 |  John Key | 19 Nov 2008 – 12 Dec 2016 | +8.1% Q3 2008 → Q3 2016 | +1.0%/yr | |
| 4 | Christopher Luxon | 27 Nov 2023 – now | +1.1% Q3 2023 → Q2 2025 | +0.6%/yr | |
| 5 | Bill English | 12 Dec 2016 – 26 Oct 2017 | +0.4% Q3 2016 → Q3 2017 | +0.4%/yr |
Sorted by total, highest first. Every row is indexed to the last quarter complete before the first day in office ("from" marks a start that had to move because that period had no data, or because the period cut it); Levels are per cent changes, rates are differences in %; "per year" compounds levels and divides rates. Tenures with under 12 months, or under three observations, are left out. NZ$ per quarter, in today's money, last four quarters · Stats NZ Linked Employer-Employee Data (LEED_Q1W_007, Aotearoa Data Explorer), from tax records, not seasonally adjusted, averaged over the last four quarters: median earnings of a job held the whole quarter, every territorial authority (T99Z), adjusted for inflation with the CPI · New Zealand data · as of Jul 2026.