How Much Do The Chinese in Shanghai Make?

坐标上海，一个月挣多少钱?

In the West, Shanghai is often perceived as one of the most iconic and richest cities in China. But have you ever wondered how much do people living in Shanghai make compared to the rest of the world? Is what they make enough to cover the cost of living in Shanghai? We hit the streets of Shanghai to find out.

在西方，上海通常被视为中国最具标志性和最富有的城市之一。但你有没有想过，与世界其他地方相比，上海人的收入多少？他们挣的钱够维持在上海的生活费用吗？我们来到上海街头寻找答案。

以下是外国网友的评论：

MelissaLim89

To the girl whose business failed and has to restart by finding a job in Shanghai, it takes a lot of courage to start something and even more courage to restart again after failure. You can do it!

在上海创业失败，不得不找工作重新开始的女孩，需要很大的勇气，在失败后重新开始需要更多的勇气。你能做到的！

de-fume

My fiance and I work in the same field but I'm from a small institute while he has masters degree from one of the top uni in our country. I do well enough to not be threatened with layoff but I would never assume job openings are easy to come by. Him on the other hand seems to think there's no shortage of work around and he could easily move when something doesn't suit him, which I assume is because his peers all have well enough job. Some of my school friends do do well (excluding those who are born rich) but mostly they work little jobs just to get by.

我的未婚夫和我是同一个行业的，我在一个小研究所，而他拥有顶尖大学的硕士学位。

我工作不错，没有被解雇的风险，不过工作也没有很好找。他觉得周围不缺工作，如果工作不顺心，他可以随便跳槽，他的同龄人的工作都很好。

我的一些校友确实混得很好(不包括那些出身富裕家庭的人)，但大多数人都做平凡的工作，只是为了糊口。

hereigoagain5050

Great video!  Sounds like all big cities in the West and young adults getting started in life.  Global economy => similar lifestyles for equivalent jobs.

和西方大城市的年轻人一样。经济全球化，相似的生活方式，相似的工作

justinxe8527

To have a good life, It's not about how much you make in Shanghai or anywhere. Life is tough for most of people, but hope and belief will make it easier if you have any.

要过美好的生活，关键不在于你赚多少钱，不管你是在上海或其他地方。

大多数人的生活都是艰难的，但如果你有希望和信念，生活会更好过

Soleusgaming

I think not only In China but in many developed countries people will slowly start to live outside the cities

我认为不仅在中国，而且在许多发达国家，人们将慢慢开始逃离城市

user-lu3qu7gn8r

Those who refuse to "lie-flat" are working during weekend, you cant find them on street interview

那些拒绝“躺平”的人在周末加班，街头采访碰不到他们

cosmos5610

I am just back to Melbourne from a holiday in China. I estimated the cost of living in big Chinese cities such as Hangzhou or Guangzhou to be about 50% of that in Melbourne Australia (regular cost of living, not housing). Average after tax income for a Melbournian is around A$5000 per month, so if a Chinese makes RMB 12000 a month, she/he will probably have similar standard of living as an average Melbournian. However, cost of cars and imported goods is similar in Australia and China, therefore Australians have more purchasing power towards cars, electronics and imported goods.

我刚从中国度假回来墨尔本。

我估计杭州或广州等中国大城市的生活成本大约是澳大利亚墨尔本的50%（正常生活成本，不包括住房成本）。

一个墨尔本人的税后平均收入大约是每月5000澳元，如果一个中国人每月挣12000元人民币，她/他的生活水平可能和墨尔本人的平均水平差不多。

然而，在澳大利亚和中国，汽车和进口商品的价格相似，因此澳大利亚人对汽车、电子产品和进口商品的购买力更强。

El-Dorado930

I lived in Zhengzhou, Henan for a couple of years and I didn't pay rent because I was given a hotel room by the university. I did ask around, and rents for most 1 bedrooms were about 2-3k RMB near the CBD. Way cheaper than Shanghai and Beiing.

我在河南郑州住了几年，我没有付房租，学校给我租了一个酒店房间。

我问了一下，在CBD附近，大多数一居室的租金在2000- 3000元左右。比上海和北京便宜多了。

HotRod16

I can understand the lady in black shirt who face trauma after business failing. Not easy to pick up oneself and face society. Just want to stay low away from society and friends. But there will always be rainbow days. As a person who grow up in city, just before covid strike I already notice the city life is purely hectic, constant pressure and frustrations. Seeing my spending power reduce a lot recently is alarming to me. Getting a little pressured honestly due to higher living cost now. Unless I am really rich, life in city may be easier (can simply park at valet, no worries of speeding ticket, not worry if the restaurant bill is expensive). If I know how to make a living life at rural, I would consider to go to.

我能理解那位在创业失败后面临创伤的女士。

很难振作起来面对社会。只想保持低调，远离社会和朋友。但风雨过来总会迎来彩虹的。

作为一个在城市长大的人，就在新冠疫情爆发之前，我已经注意到城市生活是忙碌的，持续的压力和挫折。

最近看到自己的消费力大幅下降，让我感到担忧。

老实说，现在生活成本越来越高，压力越来越大。

除非真的很有钱，城市生活才会过得轻松（可以找代客泊车，不用担心超速罚单，不用担心餐馆账单很贵）。

如果能在农村谋生，我会考虑去农村。

bocbinsgames6745

I stayed in shanghai for a while last year, and living a whole 1h15 from the city centre, to rent a single person "studio" room was just under 3.5k. It was in a nicer area but housing and rent in shanghai is as affordable as any other major city (i.e. not at all lmao)

The thing is, if you don't need to rent, 4k a month is quite comfortable, already, including takeaways and eating out every now and then. add on some other expenses and luxuries and you're looking at ... 7-8k ish for a decent quality of life. Public transport is so cheap it might as well be free.

Including rent though and imo depending on what part of the city you do need a 10~20k overall monthly income

去年我在上海待了一段时间，住在离市中心整整一个半小时的地方，租一个单人“工作室”，不到3500元。是个不错的地方，但上海的住房和租金和其他主要城市一样便宜就好了(也就是说，一点也不便宜，哈哈)。

问题是，如果你不需要租房，每月4000可以过得很舒服了，可以点外卖和偶尔出去吃饭，再加上其他一些开支和奢侈品……7-8k左右才能过上体面的生活。公共交通非常便宜，相当于免费。每月确实需要1到2万的收入，也要看你住在哪。

unifieddynasty

The issue doesn't seem to be inflation, since China is at risk of deflation like Japan. The issue is primarily due to the global economy heading into recession (and in several countries, already in recession). When the world can't afford to buy, then China cannot export as much. And another primary issue facing specifically new graduates is that China is in the process of overcoming the middle income trap. There simply are not enough high-end white collar jobs in China yet, and many new graduates come from privileged backgrounds and do not want to accept lower-tier work.

问题似乎不在于通货膨胀，因为中国也像日本一样面临通货紧缩的风险。

这个问题主要是由于全球经济进入衰退，在一些国家，已经陷入衰退。

当世界消费不起商品的时候，中国就不能出口那么多。

应届毕业生面临的另一个主要问题是，中国正在克服中等收入陷阱。中国目前还没有足够的高端白领工作，而且许多刚毕业的大学生出身优越，他们不想接受较低层次的工作。

Libbidybibbidy

This is refreshing to hear real people from china.

听到来自中国的真人真事，让人耳目一新。

ArthurJason-Constantine

Our company has a branch in Shanghai. When we made the recruitment plan at that time, we did a market survey. The starting salary of Shanghai ordinary university graduates was about 1,000 US dollars, and the salary of convenience store cashiers was also at this level. I remember clearly that the salary we provide is set at $1,300, and the master's degree is about $1,500. The average salary in Shanghai should be about $1,800. But if it is a large company like the one mentioned in the video, recruiting technicians who meet the requirements, the income is $3,500 to $4,000. If it is a company like ByteDance, Microsoft or Alibaba, it needs a higher salary to attract talents.

我们公司在上海有分公司。我们当时制定招聘计划的时候，做了一个市场调查。上海普通大学毕业生的起薪约为1000美元，便利店收银员的工资也在这个水平。我记得很清楚，我们提供的工资是1300美元，硕士学位是1500美元左右。上海的平均工资应该在1800美元左右。但如果是大公司，招聘符合要求的技术人员，收入是3500到4000美元。如果是字节跳动、微软或阿里巴巴这样的公司，就需要更高的薪水来吸引人才。

yangsamyu8524

I have to point out one caveat: the $ Chinese people mentioned is after tax income vs US is using pretax amount because the tax rate is different for income bracket and different states.

我必须指出一个警告：中国人提到的是税后收入，而美国人说的是税前收入，因为不同的收入等级，各个州的税率不同。

ponuni

i believe this is why the chinese government right now is currently develo the country side because they are betting that as the country gets wealthier people will naturally want more space and the rural areas surrounding major cities might have a boom.

我相信这就是中国现在发展农村的原因，他们认为随着国家变得更加富裕，人们自然会想要更多的空间，大城市周边的农村地区可能会繁荣起来。

maxing61

it goes to show a person's outlook on life is intricately linked to their financial status. the finance guy making the most money among them exudes visible confidence and optimism

这表明一个人的人生观与他们的经济状况有着错综复杂的联系。在他们当中，赚钱最多的金融业人士流露出明显的自信和乐观

gregch

When they’re talking about salaries, is that their take home pay or before taxes and various other deductions?

当他们谈论工资时，是指他们的实得工资还是扣税费前的?

TaiwanNationStatusQuo

CS master degree fresh graduate, Hsinchu@Taiwan, 2M NTD annual salary is common. This is 70K USD.

Same degree at silicon valley it's 120K USD, without stock. I wonder how much  fresh grad get in China if hired by IT companies. The one in the video with IT background, is his number representative?

CS硕士应届毕业生，坐标台湾新竹，年薪200万新台币，约7万美元。

硅谷12万美元，不包括股票。我想知道中国大陆的应届毕业生进入IT公司薪水有多少?

FRAMEDSKATEKREW69

wow even their rent is higher than some of california apartments ive seen

现在，他们的租金甚至比我在加州看过的一些公寓都要高

river-tan

I worked for 4 years in Shanghai as a UI/UX designer at a small international company. In my first year, I earned 400,000 Chinese yuan before tax, and in my last year, I earned 500,000. It was quite a good salary considering I wasn't a manager, and the reason my salary didn't increase too much is because I received additional share options.

我在上海一家小型跨国公司做了4年的UI/UX设计师。

第一年，我的税前收入是40万元，最后一年，我的税前收入是50万元。

考虑到我不是经理，这已经是相当不错的薪水了，而且我的薪水没有增加太多的原因是我获得了额外的股票期权。

vilester

same thing in Australia new generation have no chance of afforting a house. They will just give up and life easy going life where possible.

在澳大利亚也是一样，新一代买不起房子。他们只能放弃，随遇而安。

zyl4769

I graduated from my undergraduate program just a year and a half ago. I earn a monthly gross salary of $3,200 in Shanghai, but after taxes, there's not much left, let alone saving for buying a house. I work in the computer industry, where there are annual opportunities for salary increases, so there's a possibility that things might improve in the future. However, with a population of 20 million in Shanghai, many of my colleagues earn over $5,000 per month, but there are also a significant number of people making less than $700 a month. It's challenging to save money in Shanghai for many, including those around me.

一年半前，我刚本科毕业。我在上海的月薪是3200美元，但税后剩下的钱已经不多了，更不用说为买房攒钱了。

我在计算机行业工作，这个行业每年都有加薪的机会，将来情况可能会有所改善。

然而，在拥有2000万人口的上海，我的许多同事每月收入超过5000美元，但也有相当多的人每月收入不到700美元。

对很多人来说，在上海存钱很困难，包括我周围的人。

yiluis1316

Some people get it wrong about the unemployment of the youth in China.

It's not that they lack the economy to have enough jobs, It's that the fresh universities graduates expect a lot to get a high paying job after working their ass off studying for their whole 20 years, so a lot of people just outright keep trying to compete in the huge market.

有些人误解了中国年轻人的失业问题。

并不是说他们缺乏足够的就业机会，而是应届大学毕业生在努力学习了整整20年之后，期望得到一份高薪的工作，所以很多人继续努力在市场上竞争。

themediterraneanguy

The average salary in Shanghai is $2,000. But if it is a large company, recruiting technicians who meet the requirements, the income is $3,000 to $4,000.. Only companies like ByteDance, Microsoft or Alibaba. But inflation is causing havoc and stress for everyone

上海的平均工资是2000美元。但如果是大公司，招聘符合要求的技术人员，收入是3000到4000美元，只有字节跳动、微软或阿里巴巴这样的公司。

但是通货膨胀给每个人的生活都带来了压力

X-H-Wu

I live in Hong Kong and had just visited Shanghai two weeks ago. The basic salaries for a waitress as shown in the recruitment notice outside the restaurants is 5000 yuans per month+free meal and accommodation. For the chef and administration head, the salary is "negotiable".  Good salary for migrant workers from other provinces. The apartment of 100sq metre and about half hour subway-journey from the city centre  is around 3.x millions. In Hong Kong, that would be at least 12millions.

我住在香港，两周前刚去过上海。餐厅外的招聘启事显示，女服务员的基本工资是每月5000元+免费食宿，厨师和行政主管工资“面议”。外省农民工待遇优厚。距离市中心约半小时的地铁车程，100平方米的公寓，价格约为300多万，在香港，至少要1200万。

jjjjjly

living in a city has more than 10 million population itself is actually insane for me.

我觉得生活在一个人口超过1000万的城市本身就很疯狂。