--- title: "How Does Your Salary Compare? Here’s What M’sians Earn At Different Ages Based On DOSM Stats" url: https://weirdkaya.com/how-does-your-salary-compare-heres-what-msians-earn-at-different-ages-based-on-dosm-stats/ date: 2025-07-30 modified: 2025-07-30 lang: en author: "Yu Ang Tan" description: "Ever wondered how your income compares to others your age? The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) has released its Formal Sector Employee Wages Report for the first quarter of 2025,..." categories: - "Society" tags: - "#Trending" - "DOSM" - "DOSM Median Salary" - "Malaysia" - "Malaysia Median Salary" - "Malaysia Salary" - "Salary" image: https://cdn.weirdkaya.com/media/how-does-your-salary-compare-heres-what-msians-earn-at-different-ages-based-on-dosm-stats.png word_count: 504 --- # How Does Your Salary Compare? Here’s What M’sians Earn At Different Ages Based On DOSM Stats ##### Ever wondered how your income compares to others your age? The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) has released its Formal Sector Employee Wages Report for the first quarter of 2025, revealing detailed breakdowns of how much Malaysians earn based on age, gender, ethnicity, sector and state. Here’s what the data says. ## Malaysians earn more as they grow older — until a certain point In 2025, median wages in the formal sector generally increase with age, peaking between **45 to 49 years old** at **RM4,000** a month. After that, income starts to decline as employees approach retirement age. ![bukit bintang crowded road](https://cdn.weirdkaya.com/media/bukit-bintang-crowded-road.png)Photo by WeirdKaya. For illustration purposes only. The youngest group — those under 20 — earned a median monthly wage of **RM1,700**, the lowest among all age brackets. **However, they also saw the highest wage growth, with a 13.3% increase from the previous year.** Here’s the median wage by age group for March 2025: - **< 20 years** – RM1,700 - **20–24 years** – RM2,045 - **25–29 years** – RM2,900 - **30–34 years** – RM3,200 - **35–39 years** – RM3,627 - **40–44 years** – RM3,964 - **45–49 years** – RM4,000 - **50–54 years** – RM3,845 - **55–59 years** – RM3,627 - **60–64 years** – RM3,245 - **> 64 years** – RM2,645 ![By Age group M](https://cdn.weirdkaya.com/media/by-age-group-msian-salary.png)Stats via [DOSM](https://storage.dosm.gov.my/labour/formal_wages_2025-q1.pdf) ## Men still earn more than women The report shows a small gender pay gap. In March 2025: - **Men** earned a median salary of **RM3,000** - **Women** earned slightly less at **RM2,982** Although the difference is narrow, men consistently earned more across all age groups. ## Chinese workers earned the highest wages Wage differences were also observed across ethnic groups: - **Chinese** workers: RM4,482 - **Indian** workers: RM2,900 - **Bumiputera** workers: RM2,545 Chinese employees also recorded the highest wage growth among ethnic groups with a 6.7% year-on-year increase. ![By ethnic group](https://cdn.weirdkaya.com/media/by-ethnic-group.png)Stats via [DOSM](https://storage.dosm.gov.my/labour/formal_wages_2025-q1.pdf) ## Which sectors pay the most? The **mining and quarrying** industry offered the highest median salary at **RM8,800** in March 2025. Other high-paying industries include: - **Finance and insurance** – RM7,700 - **Information and communication** – RM6,100 - **Utilities** – RM4,482 - **Construction** – RM3,000 - **Manufacturing** – RM2,809 On the other end, the **agriculture sector** had the **lowest wages**, at just **RM2,200** per month despite a 10% wage increase year-on-year. In the **hospitality industry**, which includes food, beverage, and accommodation services, workers earned only **RM2,045**, making it the lowest-paying subsector within services. ## Which states pay the most? When it comes to location, **W.P. Kuala Lumpur** led the way with the **highest median monthly wage** in the country at **RM4,445**. This is followed by: - **Selangor** – RM3,300 - **Pulau Pinang** – RM3,000 (on par with the national median) - **Johor** – RM2,745 The states with the **lowest wages** were: - **Perlis** – RM1,800 - **Kelantan** – RM1,800 - **Sabah** – RM2,000 Meanwhile, **Selangor** had the highest number of formal workers (1.91 million), followed by **W.P. Kuala Lumpur** (1.4 million) and **Johor** (0.73 million). ![By state salary](https://cdn.weirdkaya.com/media/by-state-salary.png)Stats via [DOSM](https://storage.dosm.gov.my/labour/formal_wages_2025-q1.pdf) ### Overall wage growth is steady Nationwide, DOSM noted that the **median wage in March 2025** was **RM3,000**, marking a **5.5% increase** from **RM2,844** in March 2024. The rise was attributed to consistent economic activity and a slight improvement in employment rates. **READ [ALSO](https://weirdkaya.com/only-36-of-msians-have-enough-epf-savings-retirement/):** https://weirdkaya.com/only-36-of-msians-have-enough-epf-savings-retirement/ --- ![Check Us out at WhatsApp now!](https://cdn.weirdkaya.com/media/cta-whatsapp-v2.jpg)Join us at [WhatsApp ](https://bit.ly/WhatsAppWeirdKaya)now! ---