Average Salary by Prefecture in Japan2026 Ranking as Tokyo Reaches an Estimated ¥6.78 Million, 1.69 Times Aomori

"Is my salary high or low for the prefecture I live in?" Anyone thinking about changing jobs or moving has probably wondered. But the "average salary by prefecture" figures found online use different statistics and different formulas, which makes them hard to compare.

For this article I took the latest results of the Basic Survey on Wage Structure from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (the 2025 survey, published in March 2026) and calculated an estimated annual pay for all 47 prefectures with one formula^[1]. I also look at the gender gap, the change from the previous year and regional price levels.

1. The short answer: Tokyo leads at ¥6.78 million, Aomori is last at ¥4.01 million, and only four prefectures beat the national figure

• Tokyo ranks first, with estimated annual pay of ¥6.780 million. Kanagawa is second (¥5.921 million) and Aichi third (¥5.704 million).
• Aomori ranks last at ¥4.008 million. Okinawa is 46th (¥4.114 million) and Miyazaki 45th (¥4.116 million).
• The gap between Tokyo and Aomori is ¥2.772 million, about 1.69 times.
• The national figure is ¥5.456 million. Only Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aichi and Osaka exceed it, and 30 of the 47 prefectures fall in the ¥4 million range.
• Pay rose in 43 prefectures. Nationally it went from ¥5.270 million to ¥5.456 million, up 3.5%^[2].

The formula

The survey has no "annual income" item as such, so I estimated it with a commonly used formula.

Estimated annual pay = contractual cash earnings (monthly) × 12 + annual bonuses and other special earnings

• "Contractual cash earnings" is the monthly pay for June 2025. It includes base pay and allowances as well as overtime pay, before tax and social insurance contributions^[7].
• "Annual bonuses and other special earnings" covers bonuses and year-end payments for the whole previous year (January–December 2024)^[6].
• The figures cover full-time ("general") workers at private establishments with 10 or more employees. Part-time and other short-hour workers are excluded^[8].

If you instead use scheduled earnings, which exclude overtime (scheduled earnings × 12 + annual bonuses), the national figure becomes ¥5.097 million, Tokyo ¥6.417 million and Aomori ¥3.786 million. The overall order does not change much.

The figure the ministry itself publishes as "wages" is that monthly scheduled earnings figure. By prefecture, Tokyo is highest at ¥418,300, and again only Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aichi and Osaka exceed the national ¥340,600^[4].

Why this differs from the tax agency's "average salary of ¥4.87 million"

The National Tax Agency's Statistical Survey of Actual Salaries in the Private Sector puts the 2025 average salary at ¥4.87 million (men ¥5.97 million, women ¥3.42 million)^[9]. That is about ¥590,000 less than this article's national ¥5.456 million.

The difference comes from who is counted. The tax agency's figure averages everyone who received a salary throughout the year, including part-timers and other non-regular staff (average ¥2.10 million). The wage survey's general workers exclude short-hour workers. Neither figure is wrong: this article's numbers are closer to "the going rate for full-time work", the tax agency's to "everyone who earns a salary".

2. The full ranking: big metropolitan areas at the top, Tohoku, Kyushu, Shikoku and San'in at the bottom

Shiga and Kyoto both round to ¥5.337 million (Shiga is very slightly ahead in thousands of yen). The year-on-year change compares against estimated annual pay calculated the same way from the same table in the 2024 survey.

The top ten: big metropolitan areas and their neighbours

Of the top ten, Tokyo, Kanagawa and Chiba are in greater Tokyo; Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto and Shiga are in Kansai; and Aichi is the hub of central Japan. Ibaraki (9th) and Tochigi (10th), just north of greater Tokyo, also make the list.

Aichi stands out for bonuses. Its annual bonuses of ¥1.139 million exceed second-placed Kanagawa's ¥1.086 million. Expressed as months of scheduled earnings, Aichi pays 3.33 months, almost level with Tokyo's 3.34 months; the national figure is 2.96 months.

The bottom ten: Tohoku, Kyushu, Shikoku and San'in

The bottom ten are Shimane, Saga, Kochi, Tottori, Iwate, Akita, Yamagata, Miyazaki, Okinawa and Aomori. Monthly pay is around ¥300,000, and annual bonuses are mostly in the ¥600,000–790,000 range. Okinawa has the smallest bonuses at ¥577,000, about 40% of Tokyo's.

The prefecture exactly in the middle, 24th, is Ishikawa at ¥4.858 million. The national ¥5.456 million is about ¥600,000 higher than that middle prefecture. About a fifth (19.8%) of general workers work in Tokyo, and Tokyo's high figure pulls the national average up. That is why 43 prefectures sit "below the national average".

3. Tokyo versus the rest: a ¥1.65 million gap, driven more by bonuses than by monthly pay

Averaging the other 46 prefectures, weighted by the number of workers, gives ¥5.128 million. The gap to Tokyo (¥6.780 million) is ¥1.652 million.

Splitting the gap between first-placed Tokyo and last-placed Aomori shows that bonuses differ far more than monthly pay.

Monthly pay differs by 1.59 times, but bonuses by 2.26 times. Bonuses swing with company profits and size, so they tend to widen regional gaps.

Age does not explain it

You might guess that Tokyo has older workers. The reverse is true. The average age of general workers is 43.4 in Tokyo and 46.8 in Aomori and Akita. Tokyo's workers are younger, yet paid more. The youngest average age is in Aichi (43.2), which also ranks near the top.

Overtime does not explain Tokyo's lead either

Because the monthly figure includes overtime pay, you might suspect that prefectures with more overtime simply score higher. Yet monthly overtime hours for general workers are 10 in Tokyo, below the national 11. The overtime-related part of monthly pay (contractual cash earnings minus scheduled earnings) is ¥30,200 in Tokyo, almost the same as the national ¥29,900.

Overtime is highest in Aichi and Hyogo at 13 hours, and Aichi's overtime-related pay of ¥38,800 exceeds Tokyo's. It is lowest in Kochi and Okinawa at 7 hours. Overtime nudges some top prefectures up a little, but Tokyo's lead comes from higher base pay and bonuses, not overtime.

Company size is a likely factor

Nationally, monthly scheduled earnings are ¥385,100 at large companies (1,000 or more employees), ¥326,200 at medium ones (100–999) and ¥305,600 at small ones (10–99)^[5]. The share of people working at large companies varies by region, so this is likely one reason for the gaps between prefectures. I have not, however, checked the breakdown by company size for each prefecture in this article.

Minimum wages differ much less than averages

For fiscal 2026, the hourly minimum wage is highest in Tokyo at ¥1,280 and lowest in Miyazaki at ¥1,085, with a national weighted average of ¥1,177^[11]. The ratio between highest and lowest is 1.18, far smaller than the 1.69 for estimated annual pay. The wage floor is converging across regions, while bonuses and mid-career and higher pay keep the gaps wide.

4. By gender: women earn 71.6% of what men earn, and the gap is smallest in Okinawa and Tottori

Nationally, estimated annual pay is ¥6.107 million for men and ¥4.371 million for women, so women earn 71.6% of what men earn.

The gender gap the ministry publishes (monthly scheduled earnings, with men = 100) is 76.6, the smallest gap in the series in its statistical tables going back to 1976^[5]. The gap widens on an annual basis because bonuses differ more. Nationally, annual bonuses are ¥1.187 million for men and ¥714,000 for women, only about 60%.

A small gap does not always mean high pay for women

Okinawa, with the smallest gender gap, also has the lowest estimated pay for men of all 47 prefectures. A small gap can come from low pay for men rather than high pay for women, so it is better not to judge on the ratio alone.

Women's estimated annual pay is highest in Tokyo (¥5.506 million), Kanagawa (¥4.639 million) and Osaka (¥4.524 million), and lowest in Aomori (¥3.358 million), Miyazaki (¥3.516 million) and Yamagata (¥3.528 million). Tokyo women's ¥5.506 million is higher than men's estimated pay in 26 prefectures.

The largest gaps are in Tokai prefectures such as Gifu, Mie, Shizuoka and Aichi (Miyagi, Wakayama and Ibaraki also have large gaps). This may reflect pay differences between industries where men or women predominate, but the tables used here do not show the industry breakdown. Aichi also has the lowest share of women among general workers of any prefecture, at 30.8%.

5. Change from last year and prices: pay rose in 43 prefectures, and adjusting for prices barely changes the order

Year on year: up 3.5% nationally, but don't read too much into one year's big moves

National estimated annual pay rose 3.5%, from ¥5.270 million to ¥5.456 million. Monthly scheduled earnings rose 3.1%, from ¥330,400 to ¥340,600^[5].

By prefecture, the biggest increases were in Gifu (+8.9%), Yamanashi (+7.7%), Chiba (+6.7%), Kagoshima (+6.4%) and Ibaraki (+6.3%). Pay fell in four: Osaka (−1.1%), Aomori (−0.8%), Ishikawa (−0.7%) and Yamagata (−0.6%).

The survey samples establishments, so prefecture figures can swing from year to year. Bonuses are also for the previous year, so recent company results are not yet included. It is better not to conclude from a single year that a prefecture is "rising" or "falling".

The Tokyo–Aomori gap widened in a year

The movement between top and bottom is still worth noting. In the 2024 survey, estimated annual pay was ¥6.444 million in Tokyo and ¥4.039 million in Aomori, a gap of ¥2.405 million (about 1.60 times). In the 2025 survey the gap is ¥2.772 million (about 1.69 times), ¥367,000 wider in one year, because Tokyo rose by ¥336,000 while Aomori fell by ¥31,000. Even as pay rises overall, it is not rising evenly across regions.

Prices: Tokyo and Gunma differ by only 1.08 times, far less than pay

In the Statistics Bureau's Regional Difference Index of Consumer Prices (2025, national average = 100), Tokyo has the highest price level at 104.2, followed by Kanagawa at 103.3. Gunma is lowest at 96.2, followed by Kagoshima at 96.4^[10]. The ratio between highest and lowest is 1.08, far smaller than the 1.69 for estimated annual pay.

So I divided estimated annual pay by this index to get a rough price-adjusted figure (estimated annual pay ÷ index × 100).

Tokyo stays first even after adjusting for prices. Aichi, where prices are below the national average, overtakes Kanagawa for second. Gunma climbs from 22nd to 15th, while Hokkaido, with higher prices (102.4), drops from 30th to 36th. The ratio between highest and lowest narrows to 1.59, which is still large.

The index has two caveats. First, it excludes the housing cost of people who own their homes (imputed rent). Second, it compares prices of the same items, so it does not capture differences in how much people need, such as the cost of running a car. Looking only at the "housing" index, which includes rent, Tokyo stands out at 129.8 while the lowest, Okayama, is 79.1^[10]. For renters, Tokyo's housing costs weigh more heavily than the overall index suggests.

6. How to read these numbers, and how to compare them with your own pay

The average is higher than the person in the middle

Averages are pulled up by a small number of high salaries. For general workers nationally, average monthly scheduled earnings are ¥340,600, but the person exactly in the middle (the median) earns ¥296,600^[5]. If you feel you are "below average", it helps to know that most people are.

Who is not in these figures

• Part-time and other short-hour workers
• People at establishments with fewer than 10 employees, and public servants (these figures cover private establishments with 10 or more employees)
• The self-employed and freelancers

In other words, estimated annual pay is the average for "full-time workers at reasonably sized private workplaces". If you work differently, do not compare directly.

Take-home pay after tax and social insurance is a different number

Estimated annual pay is gross pay before tax and social insurance. To see what the national ¥5.456 million, or your prefecture's figure, means in take-home pay, enter it into Pocho Lab's take-home pay calculator. Rough figures by salary are collected in the take-home pay table by salary: for example, a ¥5 million salary (single, under 40, no bonus) leaves about ¥3.93 million.

If you are thinking about going independent or relocating, note that National Health Insurance premiums also differ by city. On the same income they can differ by more than ¥100,000 a year between major cities (Which Japanese cities have the cheapest National Health Insurance?).

For job changes or moves, compare the same job

A prefecture's average depends heavily on which jobs and companies are common there. If you are considering a job change or a move, the "by prefecture and occupation" tables on e-Stat let you compare your own occupation across prefectures, which is closer to what you would actually experience^[3]. Moving to a higher-paying prefecture does not mean the same job pays that much more, and costs such as rent change too.

This article is for information only and does not recommend changing jobs or relocating. Estimated annual pay is this article's own calculation from published statistics, not an "annual income" figure published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Figures are from statistics published as of October 2026.

References

1. [1]Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure, prefectural reference table 1: contractual cash earnings, scheduled earnings and annual special earnings for all 47 prefectures (published 24 March 2026) (Japanese). e-Stat ↩
2. [2]Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2024 Basic Survey on Wage Structure, prefectural reference table 1 for all 47 prefectures (published 17 March 2025) (Japanese). e-Stat ↩
3. [3]e-Stat, list of 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure tables for general workers by prefecture, including prefecture-by-occupation tables (Japanese). e-Stat ↩
4. [4]Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure summary, section 11: wages by prefecture (Japanese). MHLW ↩
5. [5]Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure summary, statistical tables (appendix 1: wages and gender gap over time; appendix 3: distribution by wage band and company size, including medians) (Japanese). MHLW ↩
6. [6]Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure summary: outline of the survey (survey period and bonus reference period) (Japanese). MHLW ↩
7. [7]Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure summary: definitions of main terms (Japanese). MHLW ↩
8. [8]Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure summary: notes on use (scope of the figures) (Japanese). MHLW ↩
9. [9]National Tax Agency, Statistical Survey of Actual Salaries in the Private Sector for 2025: survey report (September 2026) (Japanese). NTA ↩
10. [10]Statistics Bureau of Japan, Regional Difference Index of Consumer Prices: 2025 results of the Retail Price Survey (Structural Survey) (published 18 September 2026) (Japanese). Statistics Bureau ↩
11. [11]Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, FY2026 regional minimum wages for all prefectures (Japanese). MHLW ↩