A high-profile research team has found a small number of people consume the lion's share of the country's health, justice and social welfare services.
The Dunedin Study - which has followed 1037 children born in the early 1970s - also accurately predicted in children as young as three, who would cost the country the most.
It accounts for people with criminal convictions, on welfare support, who are obese and often require prescription refills.
Study director Professor Richie Poulton says those children tended to be in more deprived environments and scored poorly on brain health tests at age three.
Prof Poulton says the findings should be a springboard for preventative programmes to help children acquire the skills they lack.
"They have difficulties in terms of acquiring skills, like reading and writing and numeracy, and they were also children who exhibited low levels of the ability to regulate their emotions."
Deputy director Professor Cameron Grant says it's further proof that the early childhood years are crucial to lifelong development.
"What this work can't tell us is 'why?', and 'what works?' to mitigate the effects of early disadvantage," he says.
The researchers say the findings shouldn't be used for stereotyping or stigmatising people.
"There is no merit in blaming a person for economic burden following from childhood disadvantage," they say in their paper.
The research was published in the Nature Human Behaviour journal on Tuesday.
Newshub.
