Hong Kong Salary Research 2026: Official Wage and Earnings Statistics
Salary research in Hong Kong starts with three official releases: the Annual Earnings and Hours Survey for wage levels, the quarterly wage and payroll statistics for movement, and the minimum wage for the legal floor. Each measure has its own reference period, worker coverage and wage definition. Read the figure with its limits, or the figure will mislead you.
This page reports the figures as published, with their dates. It contains no forecast, no agency ranking and no pay range beyond what the cited releases state.
What the official statistics measure
The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) published the 2025 Annual Earnings and Hours Survey results on 23 March 2026. The survey measures the level and distribution of wages across employees in Hong Kong for the reference period May to June 2025.
The same department released wage and payroll statistics for March 2026 on 26 June 2026. These indices track how average wage rates and payroll per person moved year on year.
The Labour Department maintains the current statutory minimum wage rate and the review mechanism behind it.
Median and percentile wages, May to June 2025
The 2025 Annual Earnings and Hours Survey put the median monthly wage of employees in Hong Kong at HK$21,200 for May to June 2025, 3.5% higher than the HK$20,500 median of May to June 2024.
| Monthly wage, May to June 2025 | Amount |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | HK$11,000 |
| 25th percentile | HK$15,300 |
| Median | HK$21,200 |
| 75th percentile | HK$33,000 |
| 90th percentile | HK$51,300 |
| Source: Survey results of 2025 Annual Earnings and Hours Survey, released 23 March 2026. |
The median hourly wage for the same period was HK$85.7, 3.4% higher than the HK$82.9 median of May to June 2024. By sex, the median hourly wage of male employees was HK$96.8 and of female employees HK$75.8. By age, employees aged 35 to 44 recorded the highest median hourly wage at HK$100.0, per the same release.
A percentile describes the distribution, not a role. The 75th percentile is the wage below which three quarters of covered employees fall; it says nothing about pay for one occupation. Occupation- and industry-level tables sit in the full survey report referenced by the release.
Wage and payroll movement to March 2026
The March 2026 wage and payroll release reports that the average wage rate for all the selected industry sections surveyed, as measured by the wage index, rose 3.4% in nominal terms and 1.7% in real terms in March 2026 over a year earlier.
| Index, year-on-year change | Nominal | Real |
|---|---|---|
| Wage index (March 2026) | +3.4% | +1.7% |
| Payroll per person engaged (Q1 2026) | +3.4% | +1.8% |
| Source: Wage and payroll statistics for March 2026, released 26 June 2026. |
Across the selected industry sections, nominal wage indices in March 2026 rose between 2.5% and 4.0% year on year, so the direction was shared while the pace differed by industry, per the same release.
The two indices answer different questions. The wage index tracks the price of labour for employees up to supervisory level with the occupational mix held constant. The payroll index covers employees at all levels and moves with hours worked and bonus timing as well as wage rates, as the release notes explain.
Statutory minimum wage from 1 May 2026
The Labour Department states that the statutory minimum wage rate is raised to HK$43.1 per hour with effect from 1 May 2026. The monthly monetary cap on the requirement for employers to record employees’ total hours worked rises to HK$17,600 in tandem. The Government has implemented an annual review mechanism that applies a formula to the rate, as the Labour Department page records.
The minimum wage is a legal floor, not a market rate. The May to June 2025 survey medians sit well above it, but the floor still governs offers for hourly-paid roles and interacts with the record-keeping duty, per the Labour Department page.
Occupation and industry limits
Each figure above carries coverage boundaries. Applying a figure outside them produces a wrong answer.
- The Annual Earnings and Hours Survey excludes agriculture, forestry and fishing activities. Government employees, exempted student interns, work experience students and live-in domestic workers are excluded. Its wage definition omits gratuitous bonuses and allowances, end of year payment and payments in kind.
- The wage index covers employees only up to supervisory level; managerial and professional employees sit outside it. Its wage rate excludes overtime earnings and discretionary bonuses.
- The statutory minimum wage has exemptions, including specified student interns and work experience students; the Labour Department page lists them.
None of these measures reports total compensation. Discretionary bonuses, equity and benefits fall outside the wage definitions.
How to use these figures in salary research
Use the survey medians and percentiles to place a role’s pay within the overall distribution, then check the occupation and industry tables in the full survey report before drawing any role-level conclusion. Use the wage and payroll indices to date-stamp movement between survey rounds. Use the minimum wage as the current legal floor for hourly-paid work.
When you brief a recruitment partner, ask which evidence sits behind any pay figure they quote: the source, the reference period and the coverage. Our recruitment agency fee guide covers the parallel question on fees, and the Hong Kong recruitment market overview sets the wider context. To find licensed providers, start from the recruitment directory.
A statistical median is not an offer benchmark for a specific candidate. Pay for one role depends on the occupation, industry, seniority and the employer’s own structure, and the official releases do not publish a figure for your exact vacancy.
Common questions
What is the median monthly wage in Hong Kong?
HK$21,200 for May to June 2025, per the 2025 Annual Earnings and Hours Survey released on 23 March 2026. The figure covers surveyed employees, not government employees or live-in domestic workers.
How much did Hong Kong wages rise in the year to March 2026?
The wage index rose 3.4% in nominal terms and 1.7% in real terms year on year, per the March 2026 wage and payroll statistics. The index covers employees up to supervisory level only.
What is the statutory minimum wage in Hong Kong in 2026?
HK$43.1 per hour with effect from 1 May 2026, per the Labour Department. The record-keeping cap rises to HK$17,600 per month alongside it.
Can I use these figures to set an offer for one role?
Use them as context, not as the number. The releases publish distribution and index figures with defined coverage; none of them states pay for a specific vacancy. Check the occupation and industry tables in the full survey release and your own market evidence before setting an offer.
About this research
Figures are quoted from the cited government releases with their reference periods; confirm the release dates above before reusing a number, and prefer the newest release for any decision.
Sources
All information is compiled from sources available on the open internet.
- Survey results of 2025 Annual Earnings and Hours Survey released — Census and Statistics Department (GovHK press release). Accessed 2026-07-30.
- Wage and payroll statistics for March 2026 — Census and Statistics Department (GovHK press release). Accessed 2026-07-30.
- Statutory Minimum Wage — Labour Department. Accessed 2026-07-30.