How Much Should You Pay Your Employees in China?

This China salary guide covers everything businesses need to know about employee compensation, from regional and industry benchmarks to negotiation norms, helping foreign companies make informed and cost-effective hiring decisions.

One of the trickiest aspects of hiring employees in China is gauging how much compensation should be offered for different positions and seniority levels. While China imposes a minimum wage, many competitive positions for educated and skilled personnel will command significantly higher wages, making accurate salary benchmarking an important part of managing employment costs effectively.

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Moreover, salaries for high-end talent in competitive industries can vary greatly depending on location, sector, and the specific skills being sought, and often exceed national averages, meaning that relying on headline figures alone risks either overpaying relative to local market conditions or losing candidates to competitors with a stronger grasp of market demands.

Foreign companies hiring employees in China, therefore, need to have a strong grasp of potential recruits’ salary expectations and the broader market conditions in order to attract skilled talent while effectively controlling employment costs.

Assessing salaries for employees in China

When assessing how much to offer for a new position, the following matters should be taken into consideration:

• Location
• Industry
• Position
• Skill level/experience
• Market competition
• Additional employee costs

To find appropriate salary levels for various positions and locations, employers can consult salary benchmarks from published salary reports. China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) publishes annual salary data for private and public enterprises, while domestic recruitment platforms such as 51job and BOSS Zhipin publish detailed annual salary reports.

Some websites also provide paid salary lookup services, which can be a useful tool for companies that are expanding or regularly hiring new workers.

To assess the competitiveness of a given position, HR personnel and hiring managers should also check local job boards, such as 51job, BOSS Zhipin, Zhaopin, and Liepin, for advertised salaries for similar positions and locations. If competitors are consistently offering more or less than your company, you may need to consider adjusting salary ranges.

Note that global job boards such as LinkedIn and Indeed are not widely used in China, but may still be a useful reference tool when hiring foreigners.

Salary benchmarks in China

While average salaries in China are generally lower than in most developed countries, they have risen substantially over the last few decades. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the average annual salary in the private sector in 2025 was RMB 71,590 (US$9,961), an increase of 2.9 percent when accounting for inflation.

China’s Eastern provinces (encompassing Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Guangdong, and Hainan) have the highest average salaries in China, with the average private sector salary reaching RMB 80,149 (US$11,151) per year in 2025.

China also imposes regional minimum wages that are updated periodically. At the time of writing, Shanghai has the highest monthly minimum wage (RMB 2,740/US$378), and Beijing has the highest hourly minimum wage (RMB 27.7/US$3.7 per hour).

For up-to-date information on China’s minimum wage, see our article: China Minimum Wage Standards 2026

Salary by city

China’s four tier-one cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou – tend to command much higher salaries than other places. However, a handful of other cities are also seeing a growing number of high earners, particularly Hangzhou, Ningbo, Nanjing, Suzhou, Chengdu, and Chongqing.

According to the 2025 Human Resources White Paper from 51job HR Research Center, monthly salaries in Shanghai ranged from over RMB 36,000 (US$5,323) on average for a director, to just over RMB 10,000 (US$1,478) for a low-level employee.

Salary by industry

Salaries also vary greatly by industry. In general, finance and tech are the two highest-paying sectors in China. When looking at the overall economy, the average annual salary in finance in 2025 was RMB 140,451 (US$20,769), almost double the national average, while in the telecom, IT, and software industry, it was RMB 128,166 (US$18,952).

The lowest average salary was in agriculture, standing at RMB 46,552 (US$6,884).

When looking at above-scale companies (those with an annual income of over RMB 20 million/US$3 million), IT had by far the highest salaries, at an average of RMB 242,000 (US$35,785) in 2025, while mid-level managers and above earned as much as RMB 472,000 (US$69,796).

Salary by position

Certain specialized industries that require skilled and in-demand talent can see salaries climb significantly above national and industry averages. For instance, a cloud architect in a first-tier city earned on average RMB 490,000 (US$68,347) per year in 2025, while the same position in a non-first-tier city earned RMB 423,052 (US$58,857), according to the 51job White Paper.

Salaries for foreign employees

Attracting foreign workers to China can be particularly challenging, as companies must compete with employers worldwide for the best talent. Despite improvements to living standards and career opportunities, many still do not view China favorably as a place to live or advance their careers.

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For this reason, salaries for skilled foreign workers tend to be much higher than for local employees. This is true for both foreign and domestic companies hiring foreign talent.

Moreover, eligibility for certain pathways to obtain work permits is linked to salary thresholds, meaning higher salaries may be mandated in certain scenarios.

Salaries at FIEs are also, on average, higher than in domestic private companies. According to the NBS, the average salary in an above-scale FIE is over RMB 160,000 (US$22,355), compared to under RMB 100,000 (US$13,911) in a domestic company.

Other costs of hiring

It’s important to note that hiring employees in China comes with additional statutory costs, including employer social insurance and housing fund obligations. These together add around an additional 37 percent to employers’ labor costs on top of the employee’s gross salary.

It is also customary in China to provide a bonus in the form of a 13th-month salary, usually paid out prior to the Chinese New Year. This means the actual annual salary will be slightly higher than that agreed upon.

These costs must be considered before settling on a salary band for a position to ensure employment costs remain within budget.

For more information on social insurance payments in China, see our Doing Business in China Portal.

Negotiating salaries in China

Salary negotiation is a key part of the recruitment process in China, and it is not uncommon for candidates to provide a counteroffer once a job offer has been given.

It is customary to ask for salary history and preferences during the recruitment process, which can be a useful gauge for recruiters to assess whether or not the company can meet a candidate’s expectations. Job seekers also usually expect a salary increase when looking for a new position, and it can sometimes be up to 30 percent.

Providing a salary range and a detailed description of the expected skill level, experience, and responsibilities of the new role is one of the most effective ways to set expectations and avoid unnecessary confrontations during the negotiation process.

It is generally advisable to discuss salary expectations early in the process rather than after significant time has been invested on both sides, in order to avoid misalignment at a later stage.

Finally, candidates will often consider the entire package on offer, including bonuses and other forms of benefits, such as stock options and restricted stock units (RSUs). These types of benefits can considerably strengthen an offer without having to increase the salary, and can be a particularly effective tool when competing for high-demand talent in sectors such as technology and finance, where equity compensation has become an increasingly common expectation.

How Dezan Shira & Associates can help

Navigating compensation trends and securing the right talent requires access to reliable market data and on-the-ground expertise. Dezan Shira & Associates supports companies across Asia with comprehensive recruitment and salary benchmarking solutions tailored to local market dynamics.

Our team works closely with clients to deliver role- and location-specific salary benchmarking, enabling businesses to develop competitive and compliant compensation packages. By combining proprietary data with real-time market insights, we help employers understand current salary ranges, talent availability, and hiring demand trends across key industries.

Through our integrated services, spanning recruitment, HR advisory, and PEO solutions, we ensure that clients can hire, onboard, and retain talent seamlessly across Asia, while maintaining full compliance with local labor regulations.

Whether you are expanding into a new market or optimizing your current workforce strategy, Dezan Shira & Associates offers the expertise and data-driven insights needed to make informed hiring and compensation decisions. For more information, please visit our website here.

Hiring the right talent in Asia presents unique challenges. Vast labor pools, complex regulations, language barriers, and varied skill availability make it difficult for companies to secure candidates with the right qualifications, cultural fit, and long-term potential—particularly when entering new markets. Dezan Shira & Associates provides localized, end-to-end recruitment and executive search services across Asia. We work closely with clients to understand business needs, source qualified professionals, and manage the full hiring process—from mid-level roles to executive leadership.

David Niu

Partner

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