Shenzhen, along with Shanghai and Beijing, is one of the 3 highest-paying cities in China.
Today we’re breaking down multiple sources of public, local data to see what the average salary level really is in this megacity.
It’s important to note that the city serves as a global hub for both technology and manufacturing. Because of this, salaries tend to be more varied than in your average metropolis.
So let’s get to it! A dive into some 2024 Shenzhen salary data…
💡 Why not use data from international sources, you ask? When it comes to salary figures in China, we’ve found a big discrepancy in the data provided by most outlets.
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Average Salary in Shenzhen: Government Data
Municipal Bureau of Statistics
In June 2024, Shenzhen’s Municipal Bureau of Statistics[1] released its most recent data on urban salaries. The figures represent wage data collected throughout 2023.
They specifically split up the salary figures into private and non-private categories.
Public jobs
Average annual income: ¥171,854 RMB ($24,127 USD)
Average monthly income: ¥14,321 RMB ($2,010 USD)
Annual Increase: 5.6% (4.8% after inflation)
Private Jobs
Average annual income: ¥94,215 RMB ($13,227 USD)
Average monthly income: ¥7,851 RMB ($1,102 USD)
Annual Increase: 4.3% (3.5% after inflation)
Data considerations:
The first thing to consider here is what they deemed private vs public. From the report:
Private entities specifically include: private limited liability companies, private joint stock companies, sole proprietorships and partnerships among domestic enterprises.
Non-private entities specifically include: domestic-funded (including government agencies and public institutions) units other than private units, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-invested enterprises, and foreign-invested enterprises.
The report also specifies what exactly the term ‘total wages’ means here:
Total wages: The total amount of labor remuneration directly paid by the unit to its employees during the reporting period. It includes time wages, piece wages, bonuses, allowances and subsidies, overtime wages, and wages paid under special circumstances.
The data collection method described in the report does leave this writer wanting a bit more clarification. It seems to be a self-reported survey, likely required for submission by legal entities (as this is a government bureau after all). Here it is from the report:
A comprehensive survey method is adopted for legal entities that use one set of forms, and a sampling survey method is adopted for legal entities that do not use one set of forms.
Shenzhen’s Historic Salary Growth
In the 2023 bureau report (reflecting 2022 wages), the average monthly salary in the public category was listed as ¥13,557 RMB ($1,903 USD), an increase of 4.11% from the previous year into 2024.
If we look further back into the bureau’s reports, the average wage in Shenzhen has risen over 115% since the 2016 report:
Average Salary in Shenzhen: Local HR Data
Shenzhen Salary Data (Zhilian Zhaopin)
Local HR giant Zhaopin regularly releases salary data for cities across China. The above photo shows the top 38 cities’ average and median salary levels in Q2 2024.
Shenzhen comes in at the #3 spot again with an average monthly salary of ¥12,799 RMB ($1,796 USD)/month. Shenzhen’s median salary here is ¥10,378 RMB ($1,457 USD)/month.
Compared to Other Top Cities
Shanghai took the first spot with an average monthly salary of ¥13,732 RMB ($1,933 USD)/month.
Beijing ranked second with an average monthly salary of ¥13,351 RMB ($1,874 USD)/month.
Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, Guangzhou, and Ningbo round out the top 8.
We also have median salary data here and can see the median of the top 3 cities – Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen – all exceeded ¥10,000 RMB ($1,393 USD)/month.
It’s also interesting to note that there is a 59% difference in the median salary between the first (Shanghai) and last (Harbin) cities on this list.
Related Resources:
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