Overview: Singapore Worker Wage
Is your monthly wage more than your peers of the same age group? Are you someone who’s earning more money than half of the working staff in Singapore? You will get answers to all your salary-related questions in this blog. Just keep reading along.
The term average salary is different from the median salary. Yes, both the terms do indicate and identify if you are earning enough to pay the rent or for the day-to-day utilities, but the average salary helps you understand the average amount of salary being made by the people. The median salary turns out to help get you a glance at how are your workplace peers earning. This can be pretty fruitful when you’re discussing and negotiating your wage, or when you’re thinking of shifting your career to some other place.
By knowing about the average salary, you can make out if what you earn is enough or not. Suppose if your salary is greater than what’s mentioned in the median salary, good for you! This means you earn more than half of the workspace. But if your wage is lower than what the median salary reflects, and the results don’t come in your favor, don’t be heartbroken.
Read More: Employment Pass In Singapore
What Is The Median Salary In Singapore?
As per the newest reports, the average salary for employees in Singapore is estimated to be S$4,850. This figure is quite different from the value that was reported in the year 2021, S$4,680. In 2020, the value of the median monthly salary of workers was reported to be S$4,534 (adding the CPF submission from the employers). This shows that there was an increase of 3.2% in the values of median salary from the year 2020 to 2021.
When looking at the data from 2011 to 2021 (10 years), it is seen that Singapore’s median salary has shown a rise of 44.0%. That means there is an annual raise of 3.7%. And if inflation is also considered, the raise was seen to be 2.6% annually. As mentioned above, the median monthly salary value reflected, also includes the Singapore CPF contribution. On excluding the CPF contribution value, the median salary for the year 2021 was S$4,000 for every month, and S$48,000 every year.
| Year | Median Monthly Salary (Comprising Employers CPF Contributions) |
|---|---|
| 2011 | S$3,249 |
| 2012 | S$3,480 |
| 2013 | S$3,705 |
| 2014 | S$3,770 |
| 2015 | S$3,949 |
| 2016 | S$4,056 |
| 2017 | S$4,232 |
| 2018 | S$4,437 |
| 2019 | S$4,563 |
| 2020 | S$4,534 |
| 2021 | S$4,680 |
Salary By Age
As you would know, salaries increase with experience and age. But it should also be noted that the increment in wage doesn’t go on forever. There is a certain age mark after which your income stops rising. So, without any further ado, let’s go through the data we’ve curated for you:
| Age Range | Median Monthly Income – 2021 (With Employer CPF Contributions) | Median Monthly Income – 2020 (With Employer CPF Contributions) | Median Monthly Income – 2019 (With Employer CPF Contributions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 – 19 | S$1,170 | S$1,170 | S$1,053 |
| 20 – 24 | S$2,691 | S$2,793 | S$2,730 |
| 25 – 29 | S$4,095 | S$4,056 | S$4,081 |
| 30 – 34 | S$5,222 | S$5,265 | S$5,197 |
| 35 – 39 | S$6,102 | S$6,143 | S$6,148 |
| 40 – 44 | S$6,825 | S$6,435 | S$6,338 |
| 45 – 49 | S$5,958 | S$5,850 | S$5,850 |
| 50 – 54 | S$5,070 | S$4,719 | S$4,680 |
| 55 – 59 | S$3,729 | S$3,500 | S$3,563 |
| 60 & Over | S$2,543 | S$2,330 | S$2,562 |
As in the table for the year 2021, it’s given that the age range from 15-19 years has the lowest median salary, S$1,170. Then once the individual comes into the age range of 40-44, his/her salary rises to be S$6,825, and afterward, there is a decline till he/she reaches the general age of retirement, i.e., 60 & over. After 60, the individual’s median monthly income becomes S$2,543.
What is our learning from this? From this, you can understand that when you will hit your retirement age, your monthly income won’t be anywhere near to what you used to get in your initial working years. So, if you are reading this and if you’re young, ensure that you are stocking up some money from your current income for your future. If you don’t, you may face struggles in achieving your future retirement goals.
Salary In Singapore By Gender
Be it Singapore or any other nation, discrimination in monthly wages between the two genders has always existed. So, what is the real truth? Are men getting paid more than women?
Let’s check out this table with 10-year data on the median monthly salary of the two genders:
| Year | Male’s Median Wage (With Employer CPF Contributions) | Females’ Median Wage (With Employer CPF Contributions) | Do Males Have a Higher Median Wage Than Females? | Difference in Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | S$3,441 | S$3,099 | Yes | 11.0% |
| 2012 | S$3,640 | S$3,230 | Yes | 12.7% |
| 2013 | S$3,915 | S$3,480 | Yes | 12.5% |
| 2014 | S$4,000 | S$3,518 | Yes | 13.7% |
| 2015 | S$4,118 | S$3,744 | Yes | 10.0% |
| 2016 | S$4,241 | S$3,803 | Yes | 11.5% |
| 2017 | S$4,437 | S$4,027 | Yes | 10.2% |
| 2018 | S$4,680 | S$4,095 | Yes | 14.3% |
| 2019 | S$4,810 | S$4,329 | Yes | 11.1% |
| 2020 | S$4,719 | S$4,374 | Yes | 7.9% |
| 2021 | S$4,875 | S$4,437 | Yes | 9.9% |
As you can see that in 2021, the difference between the median wage of males and females was S$438 (9.9%). This difference was more than what was noticed in the year 2020, where males got S$345 (7.9%) more than females.
So, the bigger outcome here is that there has always been a pay gap between the two genders. But we can also see that this gap has been narrowing each year. As we can see in the year 2011, the salary difference was more, but by 2020 it got massively reduced.
Salary In Singapore By Educational Level
Singapore is a nation that has always believed in the importance of education. That’s why the nation focuses on making its education system strong so that it can benefit its citizens by bagging a high-paying jobs.
Parents also believe that for their child to earn a high income, he/she has to prevail in the highest qualification possible. But is it true? Do you need a degree to get a good salary?
Let’s find out by looking at this data table we have curated for you:
| Maximum Qualification Attained | Median Monthly Income – 2021 (With Employer CPF Contributions) |
|---|---|
| Secondary | S$3,145 |
| Below Secondary | S$2,048 |
| Diploma & Professional Qualification | S$4,256 |
| Post-Secondary (Non-Tertiary) | S$3,159 |
| Degree | S$7,351 |
From this tabular data it is confirmed that yes, a degree still has a great role to play when it comes to getting good pay. The outcome is simple, the more qualifications you bag, the better your salary will be.
Median Salary In Other Countries Compared
The estimated median salary for Singaporean employees for the year 2022 has been estimated to be S$4,850. And if we go by the year 2021, the median salary, with the employer CPF contribution for the Singapore employees was noted to be S$4,680.
When talking about other comparable countries, here is a table of some nations with their average salaries classified on per month basis:
| Nations | Monthly Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Australia | 4,474 USD |
| Sweden | 4,700 USD |
| Finland | 4,148 USD |
| Netherlands | 4,255 USD |
| Germany | 3,956 USD |
| Hong Kong | 4,053 USD |
Conclusion
Depending on your gender, age, education, industry, job title, and experience, you may earn a different amount as a Singaporean worker. The government has put policies in place to guarantee employees receive fair pay, such as enforcing minimum wage laws and encouraging ethical hiring practices. This article has provided information on the various categories of Singaporean workers’ median annual salaries.
To help you compare the median wages in Singapore, we also ensured that you get a fair idea of what is the median salary in other nations. So, if you are someone who is looking forward to working in Singapore, consider all the data tables mentioned above and then make a decision.
FAQ’s
Singapore should be your choice of location for commencing a business because its ever-growing economy and modified infrastructure are deemed to pull skilled individuals towards it.
It is the wage level that splits the employed people into two categories. Half of the population earns more than the median wage, whereas the other half gets less.
There are numerous elements that influence worker pay in Singapore such as gender, age, education, industry, job title, and work experience.
