Pay by Role
Healthcare · New Zealand

Physician Salary in Wellington, NZ

The average physician in Wellington, NZ earns $149,698 per year — about $9,961 /mo after a simplified national tax estimate. Physicians diagnose and treat illness, drawing on years of medical training and specialization.

Showing amounts in USD (USD default; source data is NZD). FX as of Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:02:31 +0000. Convert currencies

After tax?

$119,758/yr

~20% effective national income tax on the median. Excludes most payroll/social levies and local taxes.

Open prefilled calculator →

Afford rent?

$1,652/mo 1BR

About 17% of estimated take-home — ~$6,477 leftover /mo after modeled costs. Modeled, not a listing.

Cost of living calculator →

Compared with…?

% vs Wellington median (FX-adjusted abroad).

Average salary
$149,698
gross / year
Est. take-home
$119,758
~20% effective tax
Hourly equivalent
$71.97
based on 2,080 hrs/yr
vs. New Zealand avg
-25%
below average

Gross salary figures come from public labour-market data. Take-home, rent, savings, inflation, and trends are simplified models for research — not payroll, listings, or immigration advice. Methodology.

Physician salary range in Wellington

Pay varies with experience, employer, and specialization. Here is the typical distribution for this role in Wellington, NZ.

$99,03110TH$124,36525TH$149,698MEDIAN$179,06275TH$225,12390TH
Estimated pay distribution — the curve peaks at the median and widens with the pay range.
PercentileAnnual salary
10th percentile (entry)$99,031
25th percentile$124,365
Median (50th)typical$149,698
75th percentile$179,062
90th percentile (senior)$225,123

How does your salary compare?

Enter what you earn (or an offer) to see where it ranks for a physician in Wellington, NZ.

Your percentile
50th

$149,698 puts you in the 50th percentile. You earn more than about 50% of physicians in Wellington, NZ. That’s right around the typical pay for this role.

$99,031$149,698$225,123

Salary insights

A typical physician in Wellington, NZ earns about $260,000 a year and pays about 25% below the New Zealand average. Living costs sit near the global baseline (COL index 100). After a simplified tax estimate, typical rent, and everyday costs, a median earner might keep around $11,250 per month. Relative to the national median (a common remote/location-flexible benchmark), this city pays less by about 25%. An illustrative model tied to local inflation and the role’s outlook suggests pay has risen about 13% over the last few years. Treat every figure as an estimate for research — not a personal offer or immigration advice.

Data-grounded summary from this page’s pay, COL, tax, and trend models — not a generative essay unrelated to the figures.

Cost of living, rent & savings

Wellington’s cost of living is 100 vs. a baseline of 100 (US national average). After adjusting for local prices, the median physician salary is worth about $149,698 in baseline-priced terms.

Est. rent (1BR)
$1,652/mo
Other living costs
$1,848/mo
Savings potential
$6,477/mo after tax & costs

Rent and leftover use a COL-scaled single-adult model and the same simplified tax estimate as above (Flat ~20% effective-rate estimate. Rough national income-tax estimate; excludes social security, local taxes, and credits.). Adjust assumptions in the COL calculator.

Inflation

Approximate recent consumer-price inflation in New Zealand is about 2.7% per year. Use the inflation calculator to adjust a past salary or offer for purchasing power.

Remote equivalent

The New Zealand national median for this role is about $200,365— a common benchmark for remote or location-flexible offers. Local Wellington pay is 25% lower.

Historical trend

Illustrative median pay over the last few years — about +13% across the window.

$133,001
2022
$136,974
2023
$141,119
2024
$145,322
2025
$149,698
2026

Illustrative model based on approximate inflation and the role’s long-term outlook — not a surveyed year-by-year history.

Visa information

Accredited Employer Work Visa

Job offers from accredited employers underpin most skilled temporary visas; residence pathways depend on skill level and points.

Difficulty for typical skilled hires: moderate. General orientation only — confirm on the official New Zealand immigration site before relocating or accepting an offer.

Compare Physician pay

See how a physician stacks up against similar healthcare roles in New Zealand.

What’s your take-home?

Calculator opens with this page’s median ($149,698) and New Zealand tax model — tweak hours, period, or offer amount.

Physician salary in other New Zealand cities

Same role, different city — % gap is vs Wellington.

CityMedian
Manukau, NZ$200,365/yr
Hamilton, NZ$200,365/yr
Tauranga, NZ$200,365/yr
Dunedin, NZ$200,365/yr
Lower Hutt, NZ$200,365/yr
Auckland, NZ$141,062/yr
Christchurch, NZ$129,546/yr

Physician salary in other countries

Capital/largest city sample for each market. % gap converts foreign medians into NZD before comparing with Wellington.

CountryLocal median
United States flagUnited Statese.g. Los Angeles$341,000/yr
Vietnam flagVietname.g. Hanoi$12,833/yr
Indonesia flagIndonesiae.g. Jakarta$23,867/yr
Argentina flagArgentinae.g. Buenos Aires$33,604/yr
India flagIndiae.g. Mumbai$41,993/yr
Philippines flagPhilippinese.g. Quezon$43,216/yr
Colombia flagColombiae.g. Bogotá$52,781/yr
Switzerland flagSwitzerlande.g. Zürich$243,423/yr
Israel flagIsraele.g. Jerusalem$243,731/yr
Thailand flagThailande.g. Bangkok$56,388/yr

Related Healthcare jobs in Wellington

Job openings & next moves

Sponsored

Browse live job openings for this role, or close the skills gap that separates the median from the top percentiles.

Calculators and comparisons to dig into take-home pay, living costs, and period conversions.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average physician salary in Wellington, NZ?
The average physician salary in Wellington, NZ is about $260,000 per year, or roughly $125.00 per hour.
What is the salary range for a physician in Wellington, NZ?
Most physician salaries in Wellington, NZ fall between $172,000 (entry level) and $391,000 (senior level). The 25th–75th percentile band is $216,000 to $311,000.
How much does a physician make per month in Wellington, NZ?
A typical physician in Wellington, NZ earns about $21,700 per month before tax, based on the annual median of $260,000.
How does Wellington, NZ pay compare to the New Zealand average?
Wellington, NZ pays about 25% below the New Zealand average for a physician.
What is the cost-of-living-adjusted physician salary in Wellington, NZ?
After adjusting for local prices (cost-of-living index 100, where 100 is the US baseline), the median physician salary in Wellington, NZ is worth roughly $260,000 in US-baseline terms.
What skills do physicians need?
Common skills for a physician include Diagnosis, Treatment, Clinical judgment, Ethics, Research. Actual requirements vary by employer and seniority.
Is physician a growing career?
Employment for physician roles is projected to change by about +3% over the next decade. Local demand in Wellington, NZ can differ from the national outlook.
What is take-home pay for a physician in Wellington, NZ?
A simplified national income-tax estimate puts median take-home near $208,000 per year (about $17,300 per month), or roughly 20% effective tax on the gross median. Real net pay varies with local taxes, benefits, and filing status.
How much rent might a physician pay in Wellington, NZ?
A modeled modest 1-bedroom runs about $2,870 per month in Wellington, NZ, scaled from a US baseline by the local cost-of-living index (100). Actual listings vary by neighborhood and size.
Where do these Wellington, NZ salary figures come from?
Figures on Pay by Role are aggregated from public labour-market salary APIs, shown in NZD, and refreshed periodically. They are estimates for informational purposes only and are not a guarantee of individual pay.