Average Salary in Cape Town, South Africa for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average salary for 2026 in Cape Town and how that compares to other countries. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the South African rand. To keep things simple, we are using the ZAR currency code instead of the currency symbol R.

How Much Does an Average Person Make in Cape Town?

A person working in Cape Town will typically earn around 433,400 ZAR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 108,340 ZAR to the highest average salary of 1,942,700 ZAR.

These are average salaries for a person in Cape Town and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a person to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Salaries in Cape Town

So we've looked at the average salaries a person will earn in Cape Town. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a person can earn between 108,340 ZAR and 1,942,700 ZAR on average in Cape Town. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a person in Cape Town is 445,100 ZAR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 445,100 ZAR, and 50% of the population earn more than 445,100 ZAR.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average salary in Cape Town, 25% of the population are earning less than 251,500 ZAR while 75% of the population earn more than 251,500 ZAR.

75% of the population earn less than 1,212,800 ZAR, and 25% of the population earn more than 1,212,800 ZAR.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

Salary by Experience Level in Cape Town

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

Employees that have two to five years of experience in a job can expect to earn approximately 35% more than those who are just starting in a junior position. This average is across all industries and career paths.

For those employees that have ten years or more experience, the average salary increases by another 20% and then another 15% for those with 15 years of experience or more.

Salary by Education Level in Cape Town

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

Employees that have earned a certificate or diploma from a post-secondary program can expect to earn approximately 17% more than those who only completed high school level.

If you have a bachelor's degree, you can expect to earn approximately 25% more than those who only completed to a certificate or diploma level.

For professionals reaching the master's degree level, your salary would be around 30% higher than those with a bachelor's degree.

If you are able to achieve a PhD, you can expect to earn approximately 22% more than those with a master's degree for the same job role.

Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Cape Town, male employees earn an average of 388,100 ZAR, while female employees earn 362,200 ZAR.

This means that men earn generally earn 7% more than women on average, across all professions, for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Cape Town

Average Pay Raise in Cape Town

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a person in Cape Town is around 8% every 18 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 8 ÷ 18 ) × 12  = 5%

What this means is that a person in Cape Town can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 5% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Cape Town for 2026

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in South Africa.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Annual Pay Raise by Experience

We can also look at the average annual pay raise based on employee experience level. The trend here tends to be that employees with more experience will receive a higher pay raise. This is because it's easier, more cost-effective, and less time consuming to retain employees with experience than it is hire them.

Bonus and Incentive Rates in Cape Town

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

50% of employees in Cape Town reported that they had received at least one bonus in the previous 12 months.

50% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5%.

Bonus Rates by Industry

As part of our research, we were also able to compile information on the average bonus levels for a person in Cape Town across specific industries.

The chart below will give you an indication of which careers pay the most bonus.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in South Africa earn approximately 7% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Salaries for All Jobs in Cape Town

In the table below, you can find and research salary information for 3789 different jobs in Cape Town.