New data that found more Māori are getting bachelor's degrees also reveals people with the tohu make nearly $27,000 more than those without the qualification.
More than 9000 tāngata whenua obtained a Level 7 qualification or Bachelor's Degree between 2006 and 2013, Statistics New Zealand information on education and training shows.
The median income for people without a bachelor's degree was nearly $19,500 while people with the qualification received an income of nearly $47,000.
Adrienne Stringer of the Census Customer Delivery team at Statistics New Zealand was hopeful the data would help inspire more people to do a bachelor's degree.
She said the median income was very significant.
Ms Stringer believed the data was an incentive to encourage people to further their education and get qualifications that were reflected in their income.