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Average Neonatologist Salary in China for 2026

A neonatologist in China earns about 736,700 CNY a year. That's 109% above the national average of 351,900 CNY.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in China sit around 340,000 CNY a year, while the very top stretches to 1,168,300 CNY. Everything on this page is in Chinese yuan (CNY, symbol ¥), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in China, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

How much does a neonatologist make in China?

Average salary
736,700 CNY
61,391 CNY per month
Lowest reported
340,000 CNY
28,333 CNY per month
Highest reported
1,168,300 CNY
97,358 CNY per month

A typical neonatologist working in China brings home around 61,391 CNY a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 340,000 CNY, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 1,168,300 CNY for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior neonatologist working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.

How neonatologist pay ranges in China

A good way to think about salary in China is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all neonatologists in China earn less than 792,900 CNY a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 510,300 CNY (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 1,059,800 CNY (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of neonatologists sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 340,000 CNY. The highest stretch to 1,168,300 CNY, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

340,000
Low
792,900
Median
1,168,300
High
510,300
25th
1,059,800
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in CNY

Neonatologist pay by experience in China

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a neonatologist in China, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical neonatologist salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    382,600 CNY
  • 2-5 Years
    +34% from previous
    514,300 CNY
  • 5-10 Years
    +47% from previous
    756,700 CNY
  • 10-15 Years
    +22% from previous
    925,900 CNY
  • 15-20 Years
    +9% from previous
    1,006,300 CNY
  • 20+ Years
    +8% from previous
    1,089,400 CNY

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 47%. That is the point at which a neonatologist typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

Neonatologist pay by education in China

Education lifts pay across almost every role, but the size of the lift varies enormously. The biggest premiums show up in licensed professions like medicine, law and accounting, where extra years of formal study open up seniority that isn't available without the qualification. The smallest premiums show up in skilled trades and creative work, where practical experience often beats academic credentials.

As a rough cross-industry guide for China: a post-secondary certificate or diploma adds around 17% over a high-school-only baseline. A bachelor's degree typically adds another 25% on top of that. A master's lifts pay a further 30%, and a PhD adds about 22% more in fields that value research-level qualifications. These are averages across many different professions, so the real number for your specific job could easily be twice as high or close to zero. The per-job pages below have the real numbers for individual roles.

Neonatologist gender pay gap in China

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and China is no exception. Male neonatologists in China earn an average of 780,600 CNY a year, while female neonatologists earn around 692,500 CNY. That works out to a 13% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Neonatologist gender pay gap

11%

Men earn this much more than women on average in China.

Men 780,600 CNY
Women 692,500 CNY

Pay raises for a neonatologist in China

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in China sees a raise of about 11% every 16 months, which works out to roughly 8% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in China, the national average raise is around 9% every 15 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in China:

  • Banking
  • Energy
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education
    2%

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Neonatologist bonus rates in China

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

63%

63% of neonatologists in China reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a neonatologist a moderate-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 2% to 7% of base salary. The remaining 37% of neonatologists reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in China

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Neonatologist: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in China is about 6% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

6%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in China on average.

Public sector 362,200 CNY
Private sector 341,400 CNY

Neonatologist salary by city and region in China

Neonatologist pay is not even across China. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities and regions in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • Shanghai (city)
  • Hangzhou
  • Shandong
  • Sichuan
  • Hebei
  • Henan
  • Wuhan
  • Jiangsu
  • Guangdong
  • Beijing (city)
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
Shanghai (city)City870,700 CNY939,600 CNY399,900-1,380,400 CNY
HangzhouCity866,900 CNY938,100 CNY397,900-1,380,400 CNY
ShandongRegion860,300 CNY927,000 CNY394,300-1,369,700 CNY
SichuanRegion852,600 CNY922,900 CNY392,300-1,357,900 CNY
HebeiRegion844,600 CNY913,400 CNY389,200-1,345,400 CNY
HenanRegion844,600 CNY915,100 CNY389,200-1,345,400 CNY
WuhanCity844,100 CNY909,300 CNY386,400-1,345,400 CNY
JiangsuRegion840,800 CNY906,000 CNY385,300-1,333,900 CNY
GuangdongRegion840,100 CNY907,100 CNY385,300-1,333,900 CNY
Beijing (city)City832,300 CNY902,100 CNY382,600-1,333,900 CNY
GuangzhouCity832,100 CNY896,700 CNY383,300-1,320,500 CNY
HubeiRegion832,100 CNY896,700 CNY383,300-1,320,500 CNY
Chongqing (city)City818,100 CNY887,100 CNY377,200-1,306,100 CNY
Xi anCity817,800 CNY879,800 CNY376,800-1,296,900 CNY
NanjingCity808,000 CNY874,300 CNY371,100-1,283,600 CNY
JiangxiRegion808,000 CNY874,300 CNY371,100-1,283,600 CNY
AnhuiRegion800,200 CNY864,700 CNY367,200-1,273,300 CNY
GuangxiRegion795,700 CNY862,100 CNY367,900-1,273,300 CNY
ZhejiangRegion794,900 CNY860,300 CNY366,200-1,259,300 CNY
HunanRegion792,900 CNY858,400 CNY363,000-1,259,300 CNY
ShenyangCity791,600 CNY858,100 CNY363,000-1,259,300 CNY
ChengduCity788,000 CNY851,200 CNY361,500-1,249,900 CNY
Tianjin (city)City783,800 CNY847,000 CNY362,200-1,249,900 CNY
LiaoningRegion780,700 CNY843,600 CNY359,900-1,235,600 CNY
HarbinCity778,200 CNY838,100 CNY357,700-1,235,600 CNY
ShantouCity774,200 CNY836,800 CNY354,000-1,224,800 CNY
ShenzhenCity759,300 CNY823,900 CNY352,000-1,212,800 CNY
JinanCity759,300 CNY823,900 CNY352,000-1,212,800 CNY
SuzhouCity757,600 CNY816,000 CNY349,300-1,198,300 CNY
GuizhouRegion757,300 CNY817,800 CNY349,300-1,198,300 CNY
FujianRegion756,700 CNY818,100 CNY348,300-1,212,800 CNY
YunnanRegion751,100 CNY810,500 CNY344,600-1,195,600 CNY
WenzhouCity736,700 CNY792,900 CNY340,000-1,168,700 CNY
GansuRegion724,000 CNY781,200 CNY332,100-1,152,700 CNY
ChangchunCity717,900 CNY773,400 CNY330,700-1,138,300 CNY
ShaanxiRegion717,900 CNY773,400 CNY330,700-1,141,000 CNY
FoshanCity714,300 CNY769,500 CNY327,300-1,134,100 CNY
ShanxiRegion712,100 CNY768,900 CNY327,800-1,132,900 CNY
QingdaoCity712,100 CNY767,500 CNY327,800-1,132,900 CNY
Shanghai (region)Region710,500 CNY767,500 CNY325,900-1,130,200 CNY
DalianCity707,600 CNY765,100 CNY325,600-1,122,500 CNY
HeilongjiangRegion706,200 CNY761,400 CNY325,600-1,122,900 CNY
Tianjin (region)Region695,400 CNY748,600 CNY317,700-1,102,100 CNY
DongguanCity694,700 CNY751,100 CNY319,600-1,105,600 CNY
FuzhouCity694,700 CNY751,700 CNY319,600-1,108,500 CNY
QuanzhouCity694,700 CNY751,100 CNY319,600-1,105,600 CNY
JilinRegion693,100 CNY746,600 CNY318,800-1,102,900 CNY
Chongqing (region)Region688,900 CNY743,300 CNY313,700-1,091,600 CNY
Beijing (region)Region687,100 CNY741,500 CNY313,700-1,089,400 CNY
ChangshaCity680,100 CNY733,300 CNY311,700-1,080,400 CNY
Xinjiang UygurRegion665,300 CNY721,600 CNY308,900-1,062,500 CNY
XiamenCity663,100 CNY718,000 CNY305,600-1,054,900 CNY
Nei MonggolRegion659,200 CNY714,600 CNY301,700-1,048,600 CNY
QinghaiRegion658,300 CNY709,600 CNY301,600-1,043,700 CNY
WuxiCity656,800 CNY707,700 CNY301,300-1,041,900 CNY
Xizang [Tibet]Region648,200 CNY699,700 CNY299,500-1,028,300 CNY
KunmingCity643,800 CNY694,700 CNY296,000-1,023,400 CNY
HainanRegion642,800 CNY695,400 CNY296,000-1,023,000 CNY
NingxiaRegion641,900 CNY693,100 CNY294,700-1,019,200 CNY
ZhengzhouCity623,200 CNY671,000 CNY288,100-990,700 CNY

Neonatologist in China: FAQs

  • How much does a neonatologist make per month in China?

    A neonatologist in China earns about 61,391 CNY a month before tax, based on an annual average of 736,700 CNY.

  • What's the salary range for a neonatologist in China?

    Entry-level neonatologists in China start near 340,000 CNY. Top-end pay reaches around 1,168,300 CNY. The middle 50% of earners sit between 510,300 and 1,059,800 CNY.

  • Is the median neonatologist salary in China higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 792,900 CNY, higher than the average of 736,700 CNY. Half of neonatologists in China earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for neonatologists in China?

    Men working as a neonatologist in China earn around 13% more than women on average (780,600 vs 692,500 CNY a year).

  • Do neonatologists in China get bonuses?

    About 63% of neonatologists in China reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 2% to 7% of base salary.

  • Do neonatologists earn more in the public or private sector in China?

    In China, the public sector pays a neonatologist about 6% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do neonatologists in China get a pay raise?

    A neonatologist in China sees a raise of around 11% every 16 months, equivalent to roughly 8% a year.