Average annual salary of an employee in China 2011-2021

In 2021, an employee working for a non-private company or organization in urban areas of China earned around 106,800 yuan annually on average. That year, the year-on-year growth rate of the average salary ranged at 9.7 percent nominally and 8.6 percent real.

Regional differences in salary levels

Salary levels in urban China have seen a significant rise between 2011 and 2021. During that period, average annual salaries of employees in non-private urban units have grown from 41,799 to 106,837 yuan per year. Yet as of 2021, large income disparities still existed between different regions in China. While employees in Beijing enjoyed the highest annual salaries on average, Henan province and Heilongjiang province in central and northeastern China displayed the lowest average annual salaries. Regions with lower income levels are mainly located in central China or in the former centers of steel and heavy industry in Northeast China, whereas the coastal regions and municipalities in general still provide comparatively higher salaries.

Occupational salary differences

Moreover, a considerable salary discrepancy exists between different occupational groups in China. As of 2021, people working in IT services were atop the list earning about 201,500 yuan per year on average, whereas people in the education sector reached approximately 111,400 yuan. Agricultural industries ranked at the lower end with an average annual salary of around 53,800 yuan in 2021.