The average annual wage for urban employees across China is being disclosed for 2025, with data currently available from 19 provinces. The figures indicate a continued upward trend in wages across these regions. Among them, the average annual wage for employees in urban non-private units in Tianjin has reached 149,507 yuan, currently ranking at the top. Guangdong's figure stands at 143,284 yuan, surpassing the 140,000 yuan mark for the first time. Zhejiang and Jiangsu follow with 141,902 yuan and 134,969 yuan respectively, maintaining their positions in the leading group.

For the private sector, Guangdong leads with an average wage of 83,930 yuan, followed closely by coastal provinces such as Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Fujian.

While average wage records are broken almost every year, the statistical growth does not always align perfectly with individual perceptions. When examining the latest data collectively, a more pertinent question than "how much have wages increased" might be: which sectors are primarily responsible for elevating China's average wage?

Manufacturing Sees Fastest Wage Growth

Looking at industries with high wage concentrations, internet and finance sectors continue to occupy the top positions. Notably, manufacturing is emerging as the sector with the fastest wage growth in recent years. Taking Guangdong as an example, the average annual wage for employees in urban non-private units reached 143,284 yuan in 2025. Within this, the information transmission, software, and information technology services sector led with an average of 270,000 yuan, followed by finance and mining at 263,000 yuan and 261,000 yuan respectively.

However, among all sectors, manufacturing experienced the fastest wage growth. Its average annual wage increased from 110,484 yuan in 2024 to 120,883 yuan in 2025, a year-on-year rise of 9.4%. This trend is not unique to Guangdong. National Bureau of Statistics data shows that in 2025, the average wages for employees in urban non-private and private manufacturing units nationwide grew by 5.2% and 6.4% year-on-year respectively. These growth rates were 0.9 and 3.4 percentage points higher than the overall average wage growth, establishing manufacturing as a significant driver of the overall increase.

The rise in manufacturing wages reflects underlying changes in the industrial structure. In recent years, the rapid development of advanced manufacturing sectors such as new energy vehicles, intelligent robotics, integrated circuits, and new materials has led to a continuous influx of high-skilled talent, including R&D personnel, algorithm engineers, and industrial software engineers. Manufacturing is increasingly extending into high-value-added segments like R&D, design, and smart manufacturing, leading to a proliferation of high-paying positions that directly elevate the industry's overall wage level.

From a regional perspective, provinces with strong manufacturing bases continue to dominate the high-wage landscape. The average wages in non-private units in Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang are all among the highest in the country. Examining the growth rate of manufacturing wages in these three regions over the past five years reveals that it has generally outpaced their respective overall wage growth. The common factor behind this is the high concentration of advanced manufacturing and strategic emerging industries.

Jiangsu has been actively developing industries like new energy, biomedicine, high-end equipment, and industrial software, leading to the robust growth of high-value-added manufacturing. Zhejiang leverages its strengths in the digital economy and private sector to maintain leadership in areas like digital trade, smart manufacturing, and platform economy. Guangdong relies on industries such as new energy vehicles, electronic information, and artificial intelligence to continuously attract R&D talent.

Concurrently, "entering the factory" is becoming a new choice for an increasing number of young people. A 2025 report on employment for Chinese university graduates shows that the average monthly income for 2024 graduates entering the manufacturing sector reached 6,755 yuan, a 25% increase compared to five years ago. The salary advantage of manufacturing has expanded for three consecutive years. Recruitment data indicates sustained growth in hiring demand within advanced manufacturing, represented by smart manufacturing and semiconductors. In 2026, the share of recruitment in smart manufacturing rose to 14.88%, ranking first among all industries. A research report predicts that by 2035, the proportion of positions in manufacturing requiring a bachelor's degree or higher will increase to 57%, up from 28% in 2022. The traditional manufacturing sector, once reliant on manual labor, is gradually evolving into an important industry that absorbs highly educated and highly skilled talent, becoming a significant force in raising China's average wage.

Dominant Industries Reshape the Wage Landscape

Beyond industry-specific changes, new shifts are occurring in wage structures across different regions and types of work units. Based on the data released so far, wages in non-private units remain significantly higher than those in private units. In Guangdong, the average wage in non-private units is 143,284 yuan, compared to 83,930 yuan in private units—a difference of nearly 60,000 yuan. In Jiangsu, the non-private unit average of 134,969 yuan is over 50,000 yuan higher than the private unit average. Similar disparities exist in Fujian, Chongqing, Anhui, and other regions.

This gap does not imply a decline in the competitiveness of private enterprises. Rather, it's because the statistical category of "non-private units" includes not only government agencies and public institutions but also a large number of state-owned enterprises, research institutes, and large listed companies. These entities typically have more stable compensation systems, a higher concentration of skilled talent, and greater R&D investment, leading to a higher concentration of high-paying jobs and consequently a higher overall average wage.

In a sense, high-paying positions are increasingly concentrated in large organizations and high-value-added industries. This change is actively reshaping China's wage map. Among the 19 provinces that have released data, Tianjin leads in non-private unit wages at 149,507 yuan, followed by Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu forming the second tier. In the private sector, Guangdong leads with 83,930 yuan. Looking at data from recent years, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang continue to form the nation's top wage tier, with advantages stemming from headquarters economies, modern services, and advanced manufacturing.

Simultaneously, some previously less prominent regions are catching up rapidly by leveraging their unique strengths. The average wages in non-private units in Ningxia, Chongqing, and Hainan have all exceeded 120,000 yuan. In Ningxia, the mining industry's average annual wage reached 235,000 yuan, far surpassing other sectors, highlighting the advantage of its resource-based industries. In Chongqing, the information transmission, software, and IT services sector surpassed finance for the first time to become the highest-paying local industry, demonstrating how industrial upgrading shapes salary advantages. In Hainan, wage growth in agriculture-forestry-animal husbandry-fishery, mining, and wholesale-retail trade all reached double digits, primarily driven by policy initiatives. Analysis suggests that the ongoing development of the Hainan Free Trade Port, including key industrial park construction, energy security projects, and the concentrated launch of major projects, has driven rapid secondary industry development and boosted wages in related sectors.

In essence, wage increases in these regions signify more than just rising household income; they indicate that different areas are beginning to develop their own high-wage industry pillars. Ningxia relies on energy and mining, Chongqing on the digital economy and information industries, and Hainan benefits from investment and industrial agglomeration driven by Free Trade Port construction. Although the paths differ, the common thread is that dominant industries in each region are continuously creating more high-paying jobs, thereby pushing up local average wages.

Understanding What the Average Wage Represents

However, the continuous rise in the average wage does not mean everyone's income is growing at the same pace. The statistical definition of "average wage" refers to total pre-tax labor compensation for the year, which is not equivalent to an employee's monthly take-home pay. It includes base salary, bonuses, performance pay, allowances, overtime pay, year-end bonuses, as well as personal income tax, social insurance, and housing provident fund contributions withheld by the employer.

The primary reason why the average wage figures published by statistical departments often feel disconnected from the experience of most ordinary workers is that an average is inherently susceptible to influence by high-income groups. The more concentrated high-income industries and high-paying positions are in a region, the more the overall average wage is pulled upward, while the income levels for a large number of ordinary positions may still fall below this average.

Therefore, compared to the average, the median wage usually provides a more accurate reflection of the real income level for the typical worker. However, most regions do not publish median wage data. Furthermore, the average wage statistics primarily cover employees in urban units and do not include a large number of self-employed individuals, flexible workers, and some workers in new employment forms. Thus, it cannot be simply equated with per capita disposable income.

Consequently, the greater significance of the "average wage" lies not in answering how much each individual earns, but in reflecting the trends in a region's industrial structure, employment quality, and economic development. The 2025 data released so far indicates that Chinese wages continue to grow, suggesting that high-quality employment generated by industrial upgrading is still increasing. However, income disparities between industries, regions, and types of work units persist, and with the development of high-tech industries, these structural differences may further widen.

For a city, perhaps the more pertinent questions are which industries can consistently provide high-quality employment and how many ordinary workers can share in the income growth brought by industrial upgrading.