Wealth and income percentiles in China
How much net worth or income does it take to be in the top 10% or top 1% in China? Model estimates for 1,088.6 million adults aged 20+, reference level 2025.
Net worth thresholds in China
Net worth is private assets (property, deposits, securities, business ownership) minus debt, per adult. Thresholds show the minimum net worth needed to belong to each group.
| Group of adults | Threshold, CNY | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | CNY 172,000 | USD 24,500 |
| Top 10% | CNY 1,330,000 | USD 191,000 |
| Top 5% | CNY 2,420,000 | USD 345,000 |
| Top 1% | CNY 4,850,000 | USD 693,000 |
| Top 0.1% | CNY 23,600,000 | USD 3,360,000 |
| Average (mean) | CNY 603,000 | USD 86,100 |
Income thresholds in China
Income is a harmonized pre-tax economic income per adult used for cross-country comparison. It is broader than wages and includes capital income, pensions and some imputed components.
| Group of adults | Threshold, CNY | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | CNY 54,400 | USD 7,780 |
| Top 10% | CNY 191,000 | USD 27,300 |
| Top 5% | CNY 282,000 | USD 40,200 |
| Top 1% | CNY 695,000 | USD 99,300 |
| Top 0.1% | CNY 2,520,000 | USD 360,000 |
| Average (mean) | CNY 100,000 | USD 14,300 |
China in a global context
China has 19.67% of the world’s adults. About 11.1% of them are in the world’s top 10% by net worth and 0.47% are in the global top 1%. By income, the shares are 4.8% and 0.37%.
The median adult in China is in the global top 32.5% by net worth and the global top 38.2% by income. China is home to about 9.24% of the world’s top 1% by net worth.
Data quality and sources
Scores run from 1 (strong direct national source coverage) to 5 (mainly modelled).
| Measure | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Net worth | 3 | Country-specific WIR/WID estimates with broad wealth shares and means. Not a complete national individual distribution; large parts of the curve and extreme tail are modelled. |
| Income | 3 | Country-specific WIR/WID estimates with broad income shares and means. Not a direct official national wage/register distribution; thresholds between groups are modelled. |
- World Inequality Report 2026: Country Sheets
- World Inequality Lab TN 2026/04: Global Inequality Update
- World Inequality Report 2026: Country Sheets
- World Inequality Lab TN 2026/04: Global Inequality Update
Amounts are converted at fixed exchange rates of 2025-12-31; they do not adjust for purchasing power. Thresholds in the extreme top are modelled and uncertain.
Frequently asked questions
How much net worth do you need to be in the top 1% in China?
About CNY 4,850,000 in net worth (assets minus debt) per adult, according to the WealthPercentile model for 2025. The top 10% starts at about CNY 1,330,000.
What is the median income in China?
The median adult in China has a broad pre-tax economic income of about CNY 54,400 a year. This measure is broader than wages: it includes capital income and some imputed components, so it is higher than a typical payslip.
How many adults in China are in the global top 1%?
About 0.47% of adults in China are in the world’s top 1% by net worth, and 0.37% by income.
How reliable are these numbers?
They are model estimates. The data-quality score for China is 3/5 for net worth and 3/5 for income, where 1 means strong direct source coverage and 5 means mainly modelled.