South African high-paying jobs earning above the R30,000 average salary

Stats SA have released its quarterly employment survey (QES) for Q4 of 2025.

The survey is designed to obtain information on the number of employees and the gross salaries paid, and as reported by BusinessTech, the statistics show an upward trend.

The QES covers eight key industries (sectors) in South Africa, which are further split into 20 sub-categories.

These are mainly made up of various manufacturing sectors and are also split between government and non-government community and social services.

The survey covers the employment statistics for the following industries:

• manufacturing
• construction
• mining and quarrying
• electricity, gas and water supply
• transport, storage and communication
• community, social and personal services
• financial intermediation, insurance, real estate and business services
• wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods, and hotels and restaurants

Here are some of the key findings:

General statistics

• The average monthly salary in SA increased to R29,690 in the fourth quarter.
• 0.1% increase over the R29,650 recorded in the third quarter.
• Year-on-year gross earnings increased by R49,6-billion (4.8%) between December 2024 and December 2025.
• In the formal, non-agricultural sector, 57 of the 91 jobs surveyed paid above the national average.
• Only 43 job types paid above the national average in the third quarter.
• Basic salary/wages paid to employees increased by R16,6-billion (1.8%) from R914,3-billion (September 2025) to R930,8-billion (December 2025).
• This was due to increases in the following industries: community services, business services, trade, manufacturing, construction, transport, mining, and electricity.

The most notable takeaway from this data is that although the average national monthly salary remains flat, the number of jobs paying that amount has increased significantly.

While more jobs across varying sectors are paying more than the average, the professions earning the highest monthly averages remained unchanged.

Monthly salary statistics for all sectors

• Highest average was R80,573 per month for financial intermediation and related activities, and remains unchanged from Q3.
• Second-highest average was R75,492 per month for electricity, gas, steam, and water supply.
• Utility salaries are consistently among the highest-paying in the country.
• Lowest earning averages include R12,168 per month for hotel and restaurant workers.

Here is the full list of the 57 jobs that are currently paying above the R30,000 national average:

1. Activities auxiliary to financial intermediation (Business Services) - R80,573
2. Electricity, gas, steam and water supply (Electricity) - R75,492
3. Computer and related activities (Business Services) - R70,513
4. Air transport (Transport) - R60,644
5. Collection, purification and distribution of water (Electricity) - R58,153
6. Extra Budgetary institutions (Government) - R56,836
7. Financial intermediation (i.e. Banks), except insurance and pension funding (Business Services) - R56,036
8. Architectural, engineering and other technical activities (Business Services) - R52,074
9. Health and social work (NGO) - R51,103
10. Motor vehicles (Manufacturing) - R51,083
11. Electric motors, generators and transformers (Manufacturing) - R51,017
12. Coke oven products; petroleum refineries; processing of nuclear fuel (Manufacturing) - R50,726
13. Sea and coastal water transport (Transport) - R49,920
14. Insurance and pension funding (Business Services) - R49,530
15. Legal, accounting, bookkeeping and auditing activities (Business Services) - R48,420
16. Activities of membership organisation (NGO) - R47,206
17. Medical appliances & instruments and appliances for measuring, checking, testing, navigating, etc. (Manufacturing) - R44,863
18. Research and development (Business Services) - R44,144
19. Universities and technikons (Government) - R42,631
20. Post and telecommunications (Transport) - R42,603
21. Real estate activities (Business Services) - R41,492
22. National departments (Government) - R41,001
23. Basic chemicals (Manufacturing) - R40,829
24. Other chemical products (Manufacturing) - R40,157
25. General-purpose machinery (Manufacturing) - R40,008
26. Advertising (Business Services) - R39,895
27. Office, accounting and computing machinery (Manufacturing) - R39,587
28. Supporting and auxiliary transport activities (Transport) - R38,992
29. Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock; aircraft and spacecraft (Manufacturing) - R38,694
30. Provincial departments (Government) - R38,073
31. Special-purpose machinery (Manufacturing) - R37,995
32. Wholesale trade (Trade) - R37,640
33. Basic iron and steel (Manufacturing) - R37,384
34. Non-gold mining (Mining) - R37,323
35. Basic precious and non-ferrous metals (Manufacturing) - R36 45936
36. Optical instruments and photographic equipment; watches and clocks (Manufacturing) - R36 16837
37. Gold mining (Mining) - R36,037
38. Local government (Government) - R35,626
39. Other educational institutions (NGO) - R34,699
40. Electronic valves and tubes and other electronic components; television and radio transmitters, etc. (Manufacturing) - R34,334
41. Publishing (Manufacturing) - R33,318
42. Parts and accessories for motor vehicles and their engines (Manufacturing) - R33,197
43. Land transport and transport via pipelines (Transport) - R33,124
44. Insulated wire and cable (Manufacturing) - R32,838
45. Casting of metals (Manufacturing) - R32,425
46. Television & radio receivers, sound or video recording or reproducing apparatus & associated goods (Manufacturing) - R32,184
47. Recreational, cultural and sporting activities (NGO) - R32,032
48. Glass and glass products (Manufacturing) - R31,715
49. Building of complete constructions or parts thereof, civil engineering (Construction) - R31,576
50. Paper and paper products (Manufacturing) - R31,489
51. Beverages and tobacco products (Manufacturing) - R30,958
52. Building installation (Construction) - R30,881
53. Accumulators, primary cells and primary batteries and Electric lamps and lighting equipment (Manufacturing) - R30,563
54. Site preparation (Construction) - R30,491
55. Rubber products (Manufacturing) - R30,317
56. TVET Colleges (Government) - R30,251
57. Household appliances n.e.c (Manufacturing) - R30,052

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