Tokyo's highest scheduled monthly wage by industry is ¥638,000 in chemicals, followed by finance and insurance at ¥519,300, advertising at ¥517,000, and information and communications at about ¥475,000. The image of Tokyo as a city of IT and finance is partly correct, but some high-value-added manufacturing and infrastructure industries rank even higher.
Scheduled monthly wage ranking by major industry in Tokyo (2023, men and women combined, all ages and company sizes)
| Rank | Industry | Scheduled monthly wages (¥1,000) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chemical manufacturing | 638.0 |
| 2 | Electricity, gas, heat supply and water | 551.8 |
| 3 | Iron and steel | 535.8 |
| 4 | Information and communications equipment manufacturing | 522.3 |
| 5 | Finance and insurance | 519.3 |
| 6 | Advertising | 517.0 |
| 7 | Professional services | 493.3 |
| 8 | School education | 492.1 |
| 9 | Scientific research, professional and technical services | 484.3 |
| 10 | Information and communications, total | About 475.0 |
| Mid-range | Construction | About 380.0 |
| Lower | Accommodation and food services | About 240.0 |
| Lowest range | Living-related and personal services, amusement | About 235.0 |
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2023), Tokyo, men and women combined, all ages and company sizes.
Nearly ¥400,000 per month separates the top industry from accommodation and food services
The top tier includes capital-intensive industries such as chemicals, utilities, steel, and information and communications equipment, alongside finance, advertising, professional services, education, and information and communications. Industries that rely heavily on knowledge, qualifications, equipment, and headquarters functions dominate the upper end.
Accommodation and food services are around ¥240,000, while living-related and personal services and amusement are around ¥235,000. The gap from chemical manufacturing is close to ¥400,000 per month, showing why Tokyo's overall average of ¥397,000 cannot capture the scale of differences between industries.
Tokyo's role as a headquarters city lifts wages in high-value-added functions
Chiyoda, Minato, and Chuo contain major banks, trading companies, chemical-company headquarters, advertising firms, and professional services, while Shibuya and Shinagawa have concentrations of IT companies and digital functions. Even when manufacturing plants are located outside Tokyo, planning, R&D, and management functions may be recorded in Tokyo, which can help explain high city wages in industries such as chemicals and steel.
Accommodation, food services, and personal services, by contrast, employ large numbers of people and are more likely to include non-regular and shorter-hour work. Tokyo's high wage level is not shared evenly across industries; it reflects a polarized structure between headquarters and professional functions on one side and everyday service work on the other.
How to read these figures
The figures in this article are published values for the stated year, area, and aggregation. Averages and rankings can be affected by age composition, household composition, industry and company-size mix, and sample size. They should be read as baseline data under comparable conditions, not as predictions for a specific individual or household.
Summary: IT and finance are not the only high-paying industries in Tokyo
Tokyo's highest-paying industries include chemicals, infrastructure, steel, finance, advertising, and professional services, with high-value-added headquarters functions as a common thread. Industry and occupation can affect monthly pay far more than the Tokyo average alone suggests.
- Chemical manufacturing ranks first at ¥638,000
- Finance and insurance: ¥519,300; advertising: ¥517,000
- Information and communications: about ¥475,000
- Accommodation, food services, and personal services are ¥300,000–¥400,000 below the top end
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2023)
📊 Analysis notes
This article is based on the following statistical data.
- Statistics used: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure (Table ID: 0003426933, view on e-Stat)
- Indicator: Scheduled monthly wages
- Aggregation: Men and women combined, all ages, all company sizes
- Area: Tokyo
- Year: 2023
- Independent compilation: Major industries were extracted from the published table and arranged by scheduled monthly wage
- Data retrieved: June 6, 2026
- Notes: The background discussion includes interpretation based on Tokyo's industrial structure. Published rankings and values should be distinguished from interpretation of the factors behind them.
Figures in charts and tables were independently compiled and visualized from the statistical data above.