Average Salary in China

Table of Contents

How much money does an average Chinese worker earn?

An individual working in China makes around 29,300 CNY per month on average. A worker working on an hourly wage basis makes around 10 CNY per hour.

The government of China has set a minimum wage standard that allows employees to earn more than 9,000 CNY per month on average for certain job types.

Other factors affecting salary include employer’s size and industry sector. Certain industries are offering salaries that are 30% higher than the average salaries of larger companies in the same sector.

On an overall note, research states that Chinese employees are among the top earners globally with some earning as much as 400,000 CNY annually.

Employers need to pay their employees based on market standards if they wish to attract skilled individuals into joining them or maintaining their current workforce.

Salary Distribution in China

Salary Scale

In China, salaries start at 7,410 CNY per month. The lowest salary scale given is for unskilled and manual laborers who work in construction and farming. For example, a carpenter earns an average of 8,000 to 14,000 CNY per month.

The highest-paid position in China is a vice general manager which can give an annual income of over one million yuan.

Salary Median

The median monthly wage is 31,100 CNY, which implies that half of the population earns less than 31,100 CNY and the other half earns more than 31,100 CNY.

Percentiles

25% of the population earns less than 17,300 CNY, whereas 75% of the population earns more than 17,300 CNY.

75% of the population earns more than that amount. In other words, a quarter of the population in China only makes about 17,300 CNY.

How much does the median salary vary from the average pay?

The median wage means that half of all people who work in China make less than this amount and half of them make more than this amount. While the average pay of individuals over a fifteen-year period has gone up overall since 1998, the median salary has fallen somewhat.

This reflects a growing gap between those who are high earners and those who are low earners among Chinese workers.

A reason for this phenomenon might be because jobs have become divided into lower-paying blue-collar jobs and higher-paying white-collar jobs as opposed to before when they were both relatively equally compensated for performing an equivalent job.

In addition, many Chinese workers take on a second job, which can lead to a reduction in income for the primary job.

Salary Comparison in China by Years of Experience

How does one’s salary increase in China?

Salary in China increase based on years of experience in similar positions.

The wage difference between employees with 2 to 5 years of experience and those with 10 to 15 years of experience is around 25%.

The difference in salary between someone who has been working for 1 year or less and an employee who has worked for 10 to 15 years is 45% higher than the former.

In most professions, the average monthly income reaches its peak after about 20-30 years but can vary from industry to industry.

However, education level also plays a significant role in one’s earning potential as well as other factors such as work performance.

Salary Comparisons Based on Education

What influence does your degree of education have on your salary in China?

A person’s education definitely has an influence on their salary.

The higher level of education you have, the more likely it is that you will make a higher income. For example, someone with a Master’s or Ph.D. degree would make much more money than someone who only finished high school.

Your salary in China could also vary depending on what region of China you are working in.

For example, if you are looking for work in Beijing, then your chances are better to get a higher paying job compared to other areas of China because companies can afford to pay employees more due to Beijing’s main position as the capital city and central location for many businesses operating out of China.

China does not usually differentiate between qualifications and experience when determining an individual’s salary.

This means that your education and degree level could be the only things that will determine how much you are paid.

Since, as mentioned earlier, those with higher levels of education make more money it would follow that those people also have a better opportunity for advancement or to start their own business due to the amount of knowledge and experience they already possess.

For example, if someone has a Master’s degree in China as opposed to having finished high school, then this person is likely able to find a job much faster because they know what types of companies or institutions they can apply to and what kind of career opportunities each company provides its employees.

Gender Salary Comparison in China

On average, men workers in China earn 10% more than their female colleagues across all industries.

In some fields, such as finance and IT, men have an advantage by about 20% while there is no significant difference in construction, education, and healthcare industries.

A reason why there is a low percentage of women working in the finance industry which has the biggest gap in pay between men and women.

In addition, taking into account that more male workers are also employed on a full-time basis compared with women workers who often work on a part-time basis which gives them less chance to get a promotion.

China’s Average Annual Pay Increase Percentage

In China, how much does yearly pay increase cost? How often do workers get pay raises?

Employees in China are expected to get a wage rise of around 9% every 15 months.

This means that on average, they get a pay raise around once every 8.3 months.

Chinese workers will receive their yearly salary increase in February and August each year and most of them will be given an additional monthly wage of at least 800 CNY (USD 122.00)

According to one survey of over 60,000 employees across many sectors in China, workers must wait an average of 14 months for their first raise and 21 months before the next increase.

If you are earning 7500 CNY (USD 1167.50), you would be looking at around 83,750 CNY (USD 12,715) per year more than your base salary.

2022 Annual Increase Rate by Industries

Information Technology – 6%
Construction – 3%
International Trade – 5%
Healthcare – 5%
Transportation – 5%
Retail – 4%
Professional Services – 3%
Education – 4%
Finance and Insurance – 3.5%

Booming businesses tend to provide more frequent and larger increases.

There are exceptions, but in general, a company’s status is directly linked to the country’s or region’s economic situation. These statistics fluctuate.

Average Salary Increase Rates by Level of Experience

Junior-level employees in China get a salary increase rate of 9.2% every year, while for senior-level employees in China the salary increase rate is 4.5%. The average salary increase rate for junior-level employees in China is 9.2% every year.

Remember that these salary increase rates may fluctuate depending on the company.

China’s Bonus & Incentive Rate

How frequently and how much are bonuses given in China?

Chinese people usually get a bonus twice a year, once during the Spring Festival and another one at the end of the year. Some companies also give their employees a higher salary for good performance once or twice a quarter.

The Chinese government is planning to implement the Labor Contract Law from January 2012 which will clearly state how frequently can employers pay their part-time workers bonuses.

In China, as it might be expected, more money is given as a bonus as an incentive to work harder during holiday seasons such as the Chinese New Year and Mid-autumn festival. The amount of bonus varies per employer but on average they are about 5% – 7% of an employee’s monthly salary before tax deductions.

Some employees in China prefer not to receive bonuses in cash but instead in goods such as a new cellphone or household appliances. This is because it’s easier for them to save up the bonus by using the given products.

Bonuses Types

Individualized Performance Bonuses

These are different than other kinds of bonuses because they are not meant for everyone. They are given to workers who go above and beyond in their jobs, or who contribute more to the company than others might in the same position.

These types of bonuses are typically given out yearly, rather than at set times during the year (like weekly or monthly bonuses).

Furthermore, Individualized Performance Bonuses cannot be counted on every year because there is no way to know if someone will earn one before it actually happens.

Corporate Performance Bonuses

These are common methods of compensating corporate executives and some employees.

Corporations have been known to award bonuses as a reward for company-wide performance, as well as an incentive for workers to achieve goals that benefit the corporation as a whole.

Companies set some achievable goals as incentives for the bonus, such as earnings per share or revenue goals. The amount of compensation tied to those goals is expressed in the form of a percentage, becoming eligible for 100% of their bonus if they hit all their targets.

In this system, plans are usually designed with a sliding scale so that if one metric falls below target levels, there is no payout on that component at all.

Goal-based Rewards

Goal-based rewards have been a successful program at increasing customer loyalty towards the business as it provides them with rewards based on their individual achievements.

This further motivates customers to continue working toward the goals they have set.

For attraction and retention, businesses need to know what their customers want and how they can accomplish it.

Holiday/Year-End Bonuses

These are seasonal feature in many workplaces that compensates employees for their work throughout the year.

It is mostly cash bonuses that are settled in one lump by employers and given to its workers during Christmas and New Year holidays, but in some companies, it might be additional paid vacation days (which can also lead to higher pay depending on how much time is given adding up).

However, not all companies give Holiday/Year-End Bonuses; instead, they sometimes offer gifts like gadgets or additional benefits such as food allowances.

Bonus Rates by Job Title

What qualifies a profession for good bonuses and great wages in China?

In China, a bonus can make up a majority of a person’s income, and it all depends on the type of job they have. A lot of foreign teachers in China will tell you that their salary is actually quite low for what they do or where they live.

The main reason why these people are living comfortably in China is that oftentimes their actual salary doesn’t include their bonuses.

In China, jobs like drivers, receptionists, and customer service have the potential to have the best bonuses.

On top of that, management-level jobs can sometimes even have a monthly salary that is easily triple the base salary.

The reason why these professions are so high paying is that China’s economy has been soaring in recent years and they rely on this income to pay employees well for ensuring it continues to grow.

In order to be qualified for some of these job positions, you need a bachelor’s degree but more importantly, you need good English skills which makes it easier for foreigners with degrees from foreign countries or people who grew up speaking English as their first language.

Bonuses by Seniority in China

In China, bonuses are given to employees based on seniority. Senior employees will have a greater bonus amount than junior employees. Typically, the higher the seniority, the larger the bonus given to that employee.

Managers and assistants receive a large sum of money as bonuses at Chinese New Year. In most cases, they may even double their salary from what they were paid before Chinese New Year.

In China, there is also a mandatory service charge which is taken from an employee’s pay because it is seen as “the law.”

Salary For Famous Professions in China

Airlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense

Aerospace Engineer – 36,500 CNY
Air Traffic Controller – 32,700 CNY
Airplane Pilot – 61,500 CNY
Flight Attendant – 19,000 CNY
Ticketing Agent – 14,200 CNY

Architecture

Architect – 36,300 CNY
CAD Drafter – 15,100 CNY
Construction Estimator – 17,000 CNY
Design Engineer – 36,100 CNY
Draftsman – 21,300 CNY
Landscape Architect – 26,700 CNY
Surveyor – 23,500 CNY

Auto and Motor / Vehicle Manufacture

Auto Electrician – 19,400 CNY
Auto Mechanic – 21,500 CNY
Beautician – 16,700 CNY
Body Repairer – 14,400 CNY
Car Painter – 24,200 CNY
Car Salesperson – 17,000 CNY
Car Washer – 18,800 CNY

Medical / Healthcare / Hospital / Caretaker

Medical Equipment Technician – 19,500 CNY
Nurse – 23,800 CNY
Pharmacist – 36,900 CNY
Physical Therapist – 32,100 CNY
Physician Assistant – 38,000 CNY
Radiation Therapist – 22,800 CNY
Veterinarian – 26,700 CNY

Paralegal

Archivist – 11,600 CNY
Detective / Investigator – 34,600 CNY
Forensic Technician – 23,000 CNY
Private Detective – 28,900 CNY

Real Estate and Property Management / Building and Construction

Apartment Manager – 24,200 CNY
Assistant Property Manager – 19,500 CNY
Building Electrician – 16, 100 CNY
Construction Worker General Labor – 21,600 CNY

Business Management and Administration / Banking and Financial / Business Analyst

Bookkeeper – 16,200 CNY
Financial Planner – 38,000 CNY
Human Resources Director – 43,500 CNY
Industrial and Labor Relations Specialist – 28,300 CNY
Logistics Coordinator – 26,100 CNY
Office Manager / Office Supervisor – 19,700 CNY
Project Coordinator – 27,900 CNY
Property Manager – 22,500 CNY

China’s Hourly Wage

China’s average hourly earnings are 170 CNY. This indicates that the typical Chinese worker makes about 170 CNY per hour. This hourly wage also depends on where in China the employee is located.

For example, a worker in Shanghai will make about 220 CNY per hour while a worker in Tibet will only take home 90 CNY per hour on average.

China’s hourly wage is also dependent upon the job type and age of the individual working.

Generally speaking, Beijingers earn more than other Chinese workers each day. In addition, hourly wages increase for individuals who have been employed for longer periods of time.

Salary Comparison: Public vs. Private

Around 6% more than their private-sector counterparts, Chinese public workers earn more than their private sector.

The average public worker earns 43,881 CYN a month, whereas the average private-sector worker earns just less than 40,000 CYN each month.

Examining this statistic by region reveals that Northeast China has the highest mean income for public workers at 52,836 CYN per month.

Public workers in China are paid more than their private-sector counterparts because there is no free market for labor.