China’s statistics authority has published 2025 figures showing modest nationwide gains in household incomes alongside stark regional divergence. National per-capita disposable income reached 43,377 yuan, a nominal and real rise of 5.0% from the previous year, with urban residents averaging 56,502 yuan and rural residents 24,456 yuan. Seven provinces — led by Shanghai and Beijing — now exceed 50,000 yuan per person, underlining the concentration of wealth in China’s eastern megacities.
Disposable income, the sum households can spend or save after transfers, comprises wages, business earnings, property income and transfers. Beijing’s data illustrate the central role of wages: average wage income reached 57,376 yuan, accounting for 64.4% of disposable income and contributing roughly three quarters of the city’s income growth. That wage-driven dynamic suggests labour-market improvements rather than purely price effects were the main engine behind the rise in incomes.
At the top of the ranking, Shanghai’s per-capita disposable income surged past 90,000 yuan to 91,987, with Beijing close behind at 89,090; Zhejiang occupies third place at 70,240 yuan. Provinces such as Jiangsu, Tianjin, Guangdong and Fujian also sit among the highest earners. These areas combine dense urbanisation with advanced services, high-tech manufacturing and a concentration of corporate headquarters, producing many high-paying jobs and attracting skilled migrants.
Beyond the wealthy coastal belt, several central and western provinces recorded relatively strong performance within their regions. Inner Mongolia, Chongqing, Hunan, Hubei and Anhui ranked high among inland provinces, reflecting faster industrialisation, growing city-centric employment and the clustering of modern-industrial clusters. That pattern highlights a gradual, uneven diffusion of growth from established eastern hubs into selected inland centres rather than broad-based convergence.
The figures carry immediate policy significance. Higher wages and rising disposable incomes can underpin consumption-led growth, but the pronounced disparities between cities and countryside constrain aggregate demand and complicate the authorities’ “common prosperity” ambitions. Policymakers will face choices about whether to press on with wage- and skills-led urban strategies, step up transfers and rural investment to compress gaps, or combine approaches to sustain consumption while managing social and fiscal risks.
For businesses and investors, the concentration of purchasing power in Shanghai, Beijing and a handful of coastal provinces points to continued opportunities in premium services, technology-enabled consumption and upscale real estate. Yet longer-term prospects for broad-based domestic demand depend on whether inland and rural incomes can keep pace — a challenge that will shape China’s economic rebalancing and social stability over the coming years.