In 2020, an employee working for a non-private company or organization in urban areas of China earned around 97,400 yuan annually on average. That year, the year-on-year growth rate of the average salary ranged at 7.6 percent nominally and 5.2 percent real.
Regional differences in salary levels
Salary levels in urban China have seen a significant rise between 2010 and 2020. During that period, average annual salaries of employees in non-private urban units have grown from 36,539 to 97,379 yuan per year. Yet as of 2020, 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 2020, people working in IT services were atop the list earning about 177,500 yuan per year on average, whereas people in the education sector reached approximately 106,500 yuan. Agricultural industries ranked at the lower end with an average annual salary of around 48,500 yuan in 2020.
Average annual salary of employees working for urban units in China from 2010 to 2020
(in yuan)
One yuan equals approximately 0.16 U.S. dollars and 0.13 euros (as of May 2021).
According to the source, the data refer to employees in cities and non-private organizations only. Non-private organizations mainly include state-owned units, collective-owned units, cooperative units, joint ownership units, limited liability corporations, share-holding corporations, units funded from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and foreign funded units.
Figures for earlier years have been taken from previous publications.
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National Bureau of Statistics of China, & MOHRSS. (May 19, 2021). Average annual salary of employees working for urban units in China from 2010 to 2020 (in yuan) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved May 23, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/278349/average-annual-salary-of-an-employee-in-china/
National Bureau of Statistics of China, und MOHRSS. "Average annual salary of employees working for urban units in China from 2010 to 2020 (in yuan)." Chart. May 19, 2021. Statista. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/278349/average-annual-salary-of-an-employee-in-china/
National Bureau of Statistics of China, MOHRSS. (2021). Average annual salary of employees working for urban units in China from 2010 to 2020 (in yuan). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: May 23, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/278349/average-annual-salary-of-an-employee-in-china/
National Bureau of Statistics of China, and MOHRSS. "Average Annual Salary of Employees Working for Urban Units in China from 2010 to 2020 (in Yuan)." Statista, Statista Inc., 19 May 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/278349/average-annual-salary-of-an-employee-in-china/
National Bureau of Statistics of China & MOHRSS, Average annual salary of employees working for urban units in China from 2010 to 2020 (in yuan) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/278349/average-annual-salary-of-an-employee-in-china/ (last visited May 23, 2022)
