Malaysia's main official salary source is the Salaries & Wages Survey, run yearly by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) as part of the Labour Force Survey. It reports one headline median for citizens and then breaks the picture down mostly by mean. That matters: because high earners pull the mean up, the mean is about RM860 higher than the median at the national level, and the gap is likely larger in Kuala Lumpur and in skilled occupations.
What is the median salary in Malaysia?
The median monthly salary for Malaysian citizens was RM2,940 in 2025. The mean was RM3,803. Both have risen every year since 2023.
| Year | Median (RM) | Mean (RM) | Median change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2,602 | 3,441 | – |
| 2024 | 2,793 | 3,652 | +7.3% |
| 2025 | 2,940 | 3,803 | +5.3% |
Monthly salaries and wages of Malaysian citizens who are paid employees. Source: DOSM, Salaries & Wages Survey Reports 2024 and 2025.
In 2025 there were 12.01 million salary and wage recipients in Malaysia, of whom 10.38 million, or 86.4%, were citizens. The figures on this page describe the citizen group unless stated otherwise.
Salary by state
DOSM reports state figures as means. The three federal territories and Selangor sit well above the national mean; most other states sit below it.
| State or territory | Mean monthly salary, 2025 (RM) | Versus national mean |
|---|---|---|
| W.P. Putrajaya | 5,417 | +42% |
| W.P. Kuala Lumpur | 4,955 | +30% |
| Selangor | 4,258 | +12% |
| Pulau Pinang | 3,912 | +3% |
| W.P. Labuan | 3,887 | +2% |
| Malaysia (all citizens) | 3,803 | – |
Only the states DOSM highlights as above the national mean are listed; figures for the remaining states are in the full report on DOSM's eStatistik portal. Source: DOSM, Salaries & Wages Survey Report 2025. Percentage differences computed by Foundific.
Selangor alone accounts for 25.6% of salary recipients, Johor 13.6% and Sarawak 7.6%. A Kuala Lumpur figure therefore describes a large share of the workforce, but the 2024 report's state medians (Putrajaya RM4,598, Kuala Lumpur RM3,687) were far below the state means, so a typical Kuala Lumpur worker earns less than the RM4,955 mean suggests.
Salary by sector
| Sector | Mean monthly salary, 2025 (RM) |
|---|---|
| Mining and quarrying | 6,175 |
| Services | 3,993 |
| Manufacturing | 3,357 |
| Construction | 3,188 |
| Agriculture | 2,575 |
Source: DOSM, Salaries & Wages Survey Report 2025. Services employed 7.42 million recipients, about 71.5% of the total.
Mining and quarrying is a small sector with high pay per worker, dominated by oil and gas. Services is where most Malaysians work, and its mean of RM3,993 is close to the national figure for that reason.
Salary by skill level and sex
| Group | Share of recipients | Mean 2025 (RM) | Mean 2024 (RM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled (managers, professionals, technicians) | 36.6% | 5,799 | 5,582 |
| Semi-skilled (clerical, services, sales, craft, operators) | 55.6% | 2,714 | 2,604 |
| Low-skilled (elementary occupations) | 7.8% | 2,184 | 2,128 |
| Male | 58.6% | 3,921 | 3,759 |
| Female | 41.4% | 3,635 | 3,499 |
Source: DOSM, Salaries & Wages Survey Report 2025. Skill levels follow the Malaysia Standard Classification of Occupations. Low-skilled and female shares are the remainders after the published figures.
Skill level is the closest thing to an occupation breakdown in the public release. DOSM does not publish median wages for individual job titles the way Singapore's MOM does, so an "accountant salary in Malaysia" figure from an official source does not exist at the moment. Commercial salary guides fill that gap with employer-reported or self-reported estimates, which this site does not use.
Graduate salaries in Malaysia
DOSM's Graduates Statistics covers everyone in Malaysia with a tertiary qualification, not just fresh graduates. In 2024 there were 5.98 million graduates, 5.14 million of them in the labour force, with a graduate unemployment rate of 3.2%.
| Employed graduates, 2024 | Median monthly salary (RM) | Mean monthly salary (RM) |
|---|---|---|
| All employed graduates | 4,521 | 5,330 |
| Degree holders | 5,724 | – |
| Diploma holders | 3,390 | – |
| In skilled occupations | 5,723 | – |
| In semi-skilled occupations | 2,550 | – |
| In low-skilled occupations | 1,990 | – |
Source: DOSM, Graduates Statistics 2024, released 31 October 2025. Next edition due 5 November 2026.
What DOSM says about this data
- Who is counted. Paid employees receiving monthly salaries and wages, captured through the Salaries & Wages Survey module of the Labour Force Survey. Self-employed people and unpaid family workers are not included.
- Citizens are reported separately. Headline medians are for Malaysian citizens. Non-citizens make up about 13.6% of recipients and are included in the total count but not in the citizen figures.
- Medians at the top, means underneath. The release page gives the median only at national level and by sex in some years. State, sector and skill breakdowns are means. Full tables including more medians are in the report on eStatistik.
- Real versus nominal. DOSM also publishes inflation-adjusted figures. In 2024 the real median rose 5.4%, less than the 7.3% nominal rise.
- A different series exists. DOSM's formal-sector wage statistics, built from administrative records, give different medians (for example RM2,844 in March 2024). They cover a different population and are not comparable with the survey.
How to use these figures
Comparing an offer
Use the skill-level mean for your occupation group and the state mean for where you will work, and remember both are means. An offer at the citizen median of RM2,940 is a typical semi-skilled wage, not a typical graduate wage.
Relocating within Malaysia
Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur means are 30% to 40% above the national figure, but so are living costs. Compare the state mean with the national mean rather than treating the KL figure as a national benchmark.
Comparing with Singapore
Do not convert and compare directly. Singapore's figures are medians by occupation for full-time residents at larger firms; Malaysia's are mostly means across all paid employees. Use the Singapore guide for the Singapore side.
Common questions
What is the average salary in Malaysia?
The mean monthly salary for citizens was RM3,803 in 2025. The median, which better represents a typical worker, was RM2,940.
What is a good salary in Kuala Lumpur?
The 2025 mean in Kuala Lumpur was RM4,955 and the 2024 median was RM3,687. Earning above the KL mean puts you in the upper part of the distribution, and above the skilled-occupation mean of RM5,799 puts you ahead of most professionals nationally.
How much do fresh graduates earn in Malaysia?
DOSM does not publish an official fresh-graduate starting salary. Its graduate median of RM4,521 covers all employed graduates. Figures for fresh graduates circulating online come from job portals and employer surveys, not from DOSM.
Is the data in ringgit before or after EPF?
DOSM's release page does not state the salary components. The full report on eStatistik carries the concepts and definitions; this page will be updated once those are checked.
Government pay by job
Starting pay, allowances and the SSPA grade scale for ten public-sector jobs, from JPA and SPA notices.
Related guides
Sources
- DOSM, Salaries & Wages Survey Report, Malaysia, 2025. Released 21 September 2026. Release page. Median and mean for citizens, by sex, state, sector and skill level.
- DOSM, Salaries & Wages Survey Report, Malaysia, 2024. Released 29 September 2025. Release page. 2023 and 2024 medians, medians by sex and state, real growth.
- DOSM, Graduates Statistics 2024. Released 31 October 2025. Release page. Graduate counts, participation, unemployment and salary by qualification and skill level.
Still to verify: the full 2025 report tables on eStatistik, including state medians, age bands and the salary definition. Figures from those tables will be added once checked against the PDF.