Average annual salary of an employee in China 2009-2019

In 2019, an employee working for a non-private company or organization in urban areas of China earned around 90,501 yuan annually on average. That year, the year-on-year growth rate of the average salary ranged at 9.8 percent nominally and 6.8 percent real.

Regional differences in salary levels

Salary levels in urban China have seen a significant rise between 2009 and 2019. During that period, average annual salaries of employees in non-private urban units have grown from 32,244 to 90,501 yuan per year. Yet as of 2018, large income disparities still existed between different regions in China. While employees in Beijing enjoyed the highest annual salaries with about 145,800 yuan on average, Heilongjiang province in northeastern China displayed the lowest average annual salary with only about 60,800 yuan per year. 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 2018, people working in IT services were atop the list earning about 147,700 yuan per year on average, whereas people in the education sector reached approximately 92,400 yuan. Agricultural industries ranked at the lower end with an average annual salary of around 36,500 yuan in 2018.