Median annual income
Includes income from all sources – including income support.
- The Cook Island Maori adult population had a median annual income of $14,800 in the year to March 2001 – the same as the median annual income of the Pacific adult population. The median annual income for the New Zealand adult population was $18,500.
- The median annual income of Cook Island Maori adults who were in employment in the week preceding the 2001 Census was $23,900 – equivalent to 86 percent of that of the New Zealand population ($27,700).
- The real median annual income (adjusted for inflation to 2001 dollars) of Cook Island Maori people increased by 10 percent from $13,500 in 1991 to $14,800 in 2001. Over the same period, the real median annual income of the Pacific population and the New Zealand population increased by 16 percent and 11 percent respectively.
- New Zealand-born and overseas-born Cook Island Maori had similar median annual incomes ($14,900 and $14,800 respectively) in 2001.
- In 2001, the median annual income of Cook Island Maori women was equivalent to 74 percent of that of Cook Island Maori men ($13,300 compared with $17,900). The gap between the sexes narrows for those in employment – with the median annual income of employed Cook Island Maori women equating to 82 percent of that of employed men ($21,300 compared with $26,000).
- Figure 8.2 shows that Cook Island Maori women were proportionately more likely to be in income bands under $20,001, while Cook Island Maori men were more likely to be in bands of $20,001 and over.
Income sources
- Wages and salaries were received by 56 percent of Cook Island Maori adults in the year to March 2001. The equivalent proportions among the Pacific and New Zealand populations were similar, at 58 percent and 57 percent respectively, as figure 8.3 shows.
- Income from self-employment or a self-owned business was received by 4 percent of Cook Island Maori adults – the same proportion as the Pacific population in 2001. By comparison, 17 percent of the New Zealand population received income from this source.
- Four percent of Cook Island Maori received income from interest, dividends, rent or investments in 2001 – the same as the Pacific population. Just over a quarter (26 percent) of the New Zealand population received income from these sources in 2001.
- Thirty-eight percent of Cook Island Maori received some form of income support at some stage during the 12 months prior to the 2001 Census. 'Income support' refers to monetary support from the government, excluding ACC payments and New Zealand Superannuation.
- New Zealand-born and overseas-born Cook Island Maori were equally as likely to have received income support in 2001 (both 38 percent). The comparable figures for the Pacific and New Zealand populations were 33 percent and 19 percent respectively.
- Cook Island Maori women (44 percent) were more likely to have received income support than Cook Island Maori men (31 percent) in 2001.
