Taiwan's H1 average monthly pay is NT$49,000, but 7 in 10 earn less

NT$48,981 a month. That is the average regular pay of all employees in Taiwan in the first half of 2026, up 2.88% from a year earlier. The catch is that about seven in ten people do not earn that much.

According to the United Daily News, citing figures from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), 70.03% of employees had regular pay below the average in the first half of 2026. The report said this is the highest share since the statistic began in 2020. The DGBAS also stressed that being below average does not mean being low-paid; its low-pay threshold is based on the median pay of full-time employees.

The figures in this article are as of October 2026. All are media reports of DGBAS releases and are in New Taiwan dollars.

Pay is rising, but seven in ten are still below average

First, the good news. After adjusting for prices, real regular pay rose 1.16% year on year in the first half of 2026, while cumulative real total pay rose 1.75%, the highest for the period in nine years. Prices rose 1.69% over the same period, the lowest since 2022.

Average regular pay for the whole of 2025 was NT$47,884, up 3.09%, the biggest increase in 26 years. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.66% that year, and real regular pay rose 1.4%.

Even so, in 2025 the share of employees earning below average regular pay reached 69.74%, a record. In the first half of 2026 it rose to 70.03%.

What pulls the average up

The DGBAS gives three explanations.

• High pay in the technology sector: high technology-sector pay pushes up the average.
• More foreign migrant workers: industrial migrant workers rose from 527,000 in June 2025 to 564,000 in June 2026, growing faster than full-time local employees, and their pay is relatively low.
• More part-time workers: their numbers are also growing faster, and their pay is lower.

The DGBAS also noted that, excluding non-Taiwanese employees, the share below average has fallen for two consecutive years.

The median: a reference point less affected by top earners

The median is the pay of the person in the middle when everyone's pay is ranked from lowest to highest. Compared with the average, it is less affected by a small number of high earners at the top.

Take the first quarter of 2026. Average regular pay was NT$48,706 and median pay was NT$39,133 (up 2.75% year on year), so the average was about NT$9,500 higher than the median. The share of employees below the average that quarter was 69.95%. In March 2026, the average was NT$48,768 and the median NT$39,220.

Using the first-quarter figures, someone earning NT$42,000 a month is below the average of NT$48,706 but above the median of NT$39,133. The same salary looks different depending on the yardstick.

How the low-pay threshold is set

Taiwan has no official low-pay standard. Following the approach of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the DGBAS takes two-thirds of the median pay of full-time employees as the low-pay threshold, rather than using the average.

On a monthly basis, median regular pay of full-time Taiwanese employees in July 2026 was NT$41,397, and two-thirds of that is about NT$27,598. The current monthly minimum wage of NT$29,500 is above that line.

On an annual basis, using total pay for 2024, the median for full-time Taiwanese employees was NT$585,000, and two-thirds is about NT$390,000. Those below this threshold made up 16.8%, or about 1.26 million people. Annual total pay includes year-end bonuses, profit-sharing, festival bonuses and performance bonuses not paid monthly.

Note that these sets of figures use different bases: some cover all employees, others only full-time Taiwanese employees; some are monthly regular pay, others annual total pay. Compare like with like, and do not mix them.

Where pay rises come from

The DGBAS said real pay growth in the first half of 2026 came mainly from three sources: increases in the minimum wage, pay rises based on company performance, and monthly bonuses.

The Economic Daily News also reported that average monthly regular pay for all employees in January to July 2026 was NT$49,054, up 2.94%, and real regular pay was NT$44,113, up 1.12%, the fastest for the period in nearly six years. This covers a different period from the first half and should be read separately.

Locating yourself with the median: three steps

1. Choose the right reference: compare your monthly pay with the median, not the average in news headlines, and check the basis of the comparison group, for example whether it counts only full-time Taiwanese employees.
2. Then look at the full year: if a large part of your income comes from year-end bonuses, profit-sharing or bonuses not paid monthly, comparing only monthly pay will understate it, so compare against annual total pay.
3. Finally, break down where pay rises come from: since recent real pay rises came mainly from minimum wage adjustments, performance-based rises and monthly bonuses, you can discuss base salary and bonus structure separately when negotiating, rather than focusing on a single total.

As for when to negotiate pay or change jobs, the material this article draws on offers no official or research conclusion. Before deciding, check the latest original DGBAS release and compare on the same basis.

The average reflects the overall level; the median better reflects those in the middle. Pick the right yardstick first, then decide your next step.

Prices and details correct as of October 2026

Compiled by the F50 Editorial Team from public sources, for general reference only and not professional advice. Details are correct as of the publication date and may change.