Singapore salary benchmarks: 40Y/O Singaporeans can make S$10,000+ per month in every industry

Five-figure monthly salaries are within reach, only if you’re among the top 10% in your industry

Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, any opinions expressed below belong solely to the author. Data sourced from the Ministry of Manpower.

When reviewing public data on employment and salaries, we’re often talking about averages but very rarely about the ceilings or, in other words, the possibilities in your chosen career. What sort of salaries are possible? How much are the top performers paid?

The natural assumption is that you’re limited by your trade, that you can’t hope to make as much money working in the arts or construction as you can in finance—and, to a large degree, that is true, of course. But that doesn’t mean you can’t earn really solid money doing what you love or what you’re good at.

As it turns out, by age 40, you can take home a five figure monthly salary in every industry in Singapore. The catch (there’s always one, of course)? Well, you have to be good at your job. Not an extreme outlier, but at least in the top 10%.

And we know this because the Ministry of Manpower has just told us, although it didn’t announce it as such.

A few weeks ago, it updated the salary benchmarks used in the process of evaluating… foreigners, in 2026. Under the COMPASS system introduced a couple of years ago, immigrants applying for an Employment Pass through an employer in Singapore are evaluated on several factors, including the salary they are offered.

To get the maximum number of 20 points under the C1 criteria, their fixed monthly salary (consisting of basic monthly salary and fixed monthly allowances) has to match or exceed the 90th percentile of local PMETs (Professionals, Managers, Executives & Technicians) in their chosen industry.

And yes, MOM has published detailed tables for how much the top 10% of locals make at every age.

By exactly 40 years, they all cross into the S$10,000 per month territory.

These benchmarks do not include any bonuses, overtime or incentive pay—just the basic, fixed monthly payment for local PMETs in their respective industries.

What’s more, these numbers continue to progress with age until about the late 40s or early 50s, before they begin to decline (not for everyone, of course).

Doing what you love pays

Another interesting observation, I think, is that while financial services are, predictably, ahead, they don’t seem to be as far ahead as many would believe.

Highly specialised fund management pays its top workers 3.5 times as much as F&B does, but just ca. 2 times more than most other industries in the middle. Yes, it adds up, but so do income taxes, once you fall into the top bracket. A person earning S$400,000 is paying 3 times the income tax of someone making S$200,000 per year and about 8 times that of someone making S$120,000.

And excluding finance, all other jobs fall in the S$10,000 to S$20,000 per month range. Which means that if you’re among the best at whatever it is you’re doing, your income will not be terribly impacted because of the industry you’re in. And you can only be good at something if you really love it.

So, it seems that one takeaway from these findings is that it might not make sense to pursue a career in a seemingly high-paying industry just for the money, but rather focus on what you really enjoy and can excel at—and money will find you eventually, once you prove yourself.

• Read other articles we’ve written on job trends here.

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