The highest-paid workers in the South Island were in Canterbury ($950 a week, up from $921) followed by Southlanders ($921 up from $903).
The only region to see a decline in weekly earnings this year was Waikato, where they fell 1.6 per cent from a median $921 a week to $906.
The lowest-paid workers in the country were in the Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast regions, which are lumped together in the data, who pocketed $832 a week this year, a 2.7 per cent increase on last year.
This was followed by Northlanders, who earned $854, just $4 a week more than 2016.
In Taranaki, weekly median income rose from $844 to $959 in the year to September 25 - a 13.6 per cent bump on a year ago.
However, it follows a 6.2 decrease in weekly earnings the year before.
Taranaki Chamber of Commerce chief executive Arun Chaudhari said the region's economy was closely tied to global shifts in commodity values, namely crude oil and global dairy prices, which had undergone significant shifts over recent years.
"The saying that the region's economy is driven by black gold and white gold -- oil and milk -- remains true," he said.
"Oil and gas is slowly regaining momentum, which is attracting more employment in the engineering, geology, seismic and related industries. Similarly dairy prices are returning to historic averages after a sharp decline in 2015-16."
Beyond these core industries, Taranaki was seeing strong activity across the tourism, non-conventional energy and food sectors.
Overall, New Zealand workers earned an average median weekly income of $959, up from $924 in 2016 - a 3.8 per cent increase.
There was a 5 per cent increase the previous year and a 2.4 per cent bump the year before that.
In 2005, Kiwi workers were earning a median of $640 a week gross across all regions.
