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Average Structural Engineer Salary in China for 2026

A structural engineer in China earns about 308,300 CNY a year. That's 12% below 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 154,700 CNY a year, while the very top stretches to 480,600 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 structural engineer make in China?

Average salary
308,300 CNY
25,691 CNY per month
Lowest reported
154,700 CNY
12,891 CNY per month
Highest reported
480,600 CNY
40,050 CNY per month

A typical structural engineer working in China brings home around 25,691 CNY a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 154,700 CNY, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 480,600 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 structural engineer 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 structural engineer 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 structural engineers in China earn less than 308,300 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 208,600 CNY (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 394,300 CNY (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of structural engineers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 154,700 CNY. The highest stretch to 480,600 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.

154,700
Low
308,300
Median
480,600
High
208,600
25th
394,300
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in CNY

Structural engineer pay by experience in China

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a structural engineer 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 structural engineer salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    187,500 CNY
  • 2-5 Years
    +31% from previous
    246,200 CNY
  • 5-10 Years
    +33% from previous
    327,300 CNY
  • 10-15 Years
    +20% from previous
    392,300 CNY
  • 15-20 Years
    +7% from previous
    420,800 CNY
  • 20+ Years
    +8% from previous
    454,300 CNY

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 33%. That is the point at which a structural engineer 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.

Structural engineer pay by education in China

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving structural engineer pay in China. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average structural engineer salary in China broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Bachelor's Degree
    265,000 CNY
  • Master's Degree
    +58% from previous
    419,400 CNY

Structural engineer gender pay gap in China

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and China is no exception. Male structural engineers in China earn an average of 315,900 CNY a year, while female structural engineers earn around 301,800 CNY. That works out to a 5% 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.

Structural Engineer gender pay gap

4%

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

Men 315,900 CNY
Women 301,800 CNY

Pay raises for a structural engineer 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 12% every 15 months, which works out to roughly 10% 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

Structural engineer 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.

56%

56% of structural engineers in China reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a structural engineer 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 3% to 6% of base salary. The remaining 44% of structural engineers 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

Structural engineer: 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

Structural engineer salary by city and region in China

Structural engineer 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.

  • Guangdong
  • Chongqing (city)
  • Shandong
  • Henan
  • Shanghai (city)
  • Hangzhou
  • Guangzhou
  • Anhui
  • Beijing (city)
  • Hubei
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
GuangdongRegion365,400 CNY369,300 CNY175,900-566,900 CNY
Chongqing (city)City359,900 CNY386,400 CNY163,800-568,500 CNY
ShandongRegion351,200 CNY330,900 CNY187,300-535,800 CNY
HenanRegion351,200 CNY340,000 CNY183,700-539,800 CNY
Shanghai (city)City348,300 CNY320,500 CNY189,300-525,700 CNY
HangzhouCity341,900 CNY322,600 CNY183,600-520,900 CNY
GuangzhouCity341,400 CNY341,400 CNY172,200-529,600 CNY
AnhuiRegion340,400 CNY332,100 CNY172,400-524,400 CNY
Beijing (city)City335,100 CNY308,900 CNY180,500-504,300 CNY
HubeiRegion327,800 CNY340,400 CNY158,700-516,100 CNY
HunanRegion327,800 CNY308,900 CNY172,200-499,300 CNY
JiangxiRegion327,300 CNY301,600 CNY175,900-498,500 CNY
NanjingCity327,300 CNY349,300 CNY154,700-518,900 CNY
JiangsuRegion325,900 CNY332,100 CNY159,500-510,300 CNY
SichuanRegion325,900 CNY325,900 CNY161,600-504,500 CNY
GuangxiRegion325,900 CNY301,800 CNY176,800-492,400 CNY
JinanCity325,800 CNY330,900 CNY159,100-504,300 CNY
ChengduCity325,800 CNY318,800 CNY164,200-498,000 CNY
Xi anCity325,600 CNY351,900 CNY151,800-518,300 CNY
HebeiRegion322,600 CNY313,700 CNY163,800-498,500 CNY
ShenyangCity319,600 CNY344,600 CNY148,300-510,000 CNY
WuhanCity319,600 CNY294,700 CNY172,400-485,300 CNY
Tianjin (city)City318,800 CNY307,400 CNY164,200-487,600 CNY
LiaoningRegion315,700 CNY340,000 CNY142,300-498,000 CNY
HarbinCity313,700 CNY322,600 CNY154,700-493,000 CNY
YunnanRegion312,400 CNY297,000 CNY161,300-478,100 CNY
ZhejiangRegion312,400 CNY322,600 CNY150,000-489,600 CNY
HeilongjiangRegion312,400 CNY330,700 CNY148,300-492,400 CNY
ShenzhenCity311,700 CNY311,700 CNY157,600-483,800 CNY
QingdaoCity311,700 CNY339,100 CNY142,300-498,500 CNY
ShaanxiRegion311,700 CNY325,800 CNY151,800-489,500 CNY
SuzhouCity305,600 CNY315,900 CNY148,300-476,600 CNY
FujianRegion301,800 CNY311,700 CNY142,300-472,100 CNY
GuizhouRegion294,700 CNY294,700 CNY148,300-454,300 CNY
WenzhouCity294,700 CNY283,400 CNY152,000-447,700 CNY
JilinRegion294,700 CNY294,700 CNY148,300-457,300 CNY
ChangchunCity294,700 CNY273,300 CNY159,400-447,300 CNY
ShanxiRegion290,800 CNY265,000 CNY157,600-433,800 CNY
ShantouCity288,700 CNY296,000 CNY143,200-453,200 CNY
DongguanCity288,700 CNY296,000 CNY142,300-453,200 CNY
DalianCity288,100 CNY308,300 CNY130,400-454,900 CNY
Chongqing (region)Region286,400 CNY275,800 CNY151,800-442,200 CNY
FoshanCity283,400 CNY259,100 CNY152,000-424,900 CNY
FuzhouCity282,300 CNY273,300 CNY148,300-433,400 CNY
Xinjiang UygurRegion279,400 CNY275,200 CNY143,200-430,000 CNY
Tianjin (region)Region277,400 CNY301,300 CNY129,000-442,300 CNY
Shanghai (region)Region275,800 CNY283,400 CNY136,200-430,000 CNY
ChangshaCity275,800 CNY288,100 CNY130,400-430,500 CNY
Nei MonggolRegion275,500 CNY273,300 CNY142,300-428,400 CNY
QuanzhouCity275,200 CNY294,700 CNY127,700-433,400 CNY
Beijing (region)Region273,000 CNY292,000 CNY128,500-433,400 CNY
GansuRegion272,800 CNY254,700 CNY142,300-412,000 CNY
KunmingCity267,100 CNY275,200 CNY128,900-417,100 CNY
ZhengzhouCity263,900 CNY240,500 CNY143,200-398,300 CNY
WuxiCity261,300 CNY265,000 CNY125,700-407,100 CNY
HainanRegion261,300 CNY281,500 CNY120,040-414,000 CNY
XiamenCity258,400 CNY273,300 CNY119,900-407,100 CNY
Xizang [Tibet]Region254,800 CNY272,800 CNY119,700-406,300 CNY
NingxiaRegion254,700 CNY271,300 CNY120,040-401,300 CNY
QinghaiRegion246,500 CNY237,400 CNY129,000-378,300 CNY

Structural Engineer in China: FAQs

  • How much does a structural engineer make per month in China?

    A structural engineer in China earns about 25,691 CNY a month before tax, based on an annual average of 308,300 CNY.

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

    Entry-level structural engineers in China start near 154,700 CNY. Top-end pay reaches around 480,600 CNY. The middle 50% of earners sit between 208,600 and 394,300 CNY.

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

    The median is 308,300 CNY, higher than the average of 308,300 CNY. Half of structural engineers in China earn below the median, half earn above it.

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

    Men working as a structural engineer in China earn around 5% more than women on average (315,900 vs 301,800 CNY a year).

  • Do structural engineers in China get bonuses?

    About 56% of structural engineers in China reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6% of base salary.

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

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

  • How often do structural engineers in China get a pay raise?

    A structural engineer in China sees a raise of around 12% every 15 months, equivalent to roughly 10% a year.