Salaries in South Africa range from the national minimum wage of R30.23 per hour (about R5 900 per month for a full week) up to senior professional and management pay of R100 000 a month and more. What you earn depends on your job, your grade or rank, the sector you work in and where in the country you are based. This guide breaks down real pay by job, with monthly figures and a free tool to work out your take-home pay.
Quick facts: South African pay
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| National minimum wage | R30.23 per hour (from 1 March 2026) |
| Public service increase | 4% (from 1 April 2026) |
| Tax year | 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027 |
| UIF | 1% of salary, capped at R177.12 per month |
| Work out your net pay | Take-home pay calculator |
Work out your take-home pay first
Before you compare jobs, it helps to know the difference between gross and net pay. Your gross salary is the headline figure. Your take-home pay is what actually reaches your bank account after PAYE, UIF and other deductions. Use our take-home pay calculator to turn any gross salary into a net monthly figure using the latest SARS tables.
Law enforcement and security salaries
Uniformed and security jobs are among the most searched pay in the country, and each has its own scale.
- SAPS salaries and ranks: what police earn from constable to captain and above.
- Traffic officer salary: pay per month, plus the learnership stipend.
- Security guard salary: pay by PSIRA grade A to E and area.
Government and public service salaries
Government is the single biggest employer in South Africa, and its pay follows a clear structure.
- Government salary levels: how levels 1 to 16 and notches work, and what each level pays.
- Government salary increase: the 4% adjustment, who gets it and when it reflects.
Minimum wage and vulnerable-worker pay
The national minimum wage sets the floor for the lowest-paid workers.
- Domestic worker minimum wage: the R30.23 per hour rate, monthly equivalents and the four-hour rule.
How South African salaries are set
Pay in South Africa is set in a few different ways, which is why it varies so much:
- The national minimum wage is the legal floor for all workers, gazetted by the Department of Employment and Labour and updated around 1 March each year.
- Sector agreements (like the private security and domestic sectors) set higher minimums for specific industries.
- The public service sets government pay through bargaining council agreements, adjusted around 1 April each year.
- Employers set their own packages above these floors, based on skills, experience and demand.
How we work out these figures
Each salary guide on this site is based on primary sources: the Department of Employment and Labour for minimum wages, the DPSA for public service pay, PSIRA and the private security bargaining council for security wages, and SARS for tax. Where a job has no single national scale, we use recent vacancy adverts and salary survey data and label the figures as estimate ranges. We update each guide as new rates are gazetted.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in South Africa? R30.23 per ordinary hour, effective 1 March 2026. This is the legal floor for almost all workers, including domestic and farm workers.
How do I work out my take-home pay? Use our take-home pay calculator. Enter your gross salary and it works out your net pay after PAYE, UIF and medical credits using the SARS 2026/2027 tables.
How often do salaries increase in South Africa? The national minimum wage is usually updated around 1 March, public service salaries around 1 April, and many sector agreements adjust once a year.
Why do salaries for the same job differ so much? Pay depends on your grade or rank, your years of service (your notch), the sector you work in, your employer and your location. Two people with the same job title can earn different amounts for these reasons.
