How much money can you earn teaching in China?
Salaries for foreign ESL teachers are decent. They range from about 6,000 RMB to 18,000 RMB per month.
Even if your salary was at the lower end of the scale, you would still be earning more than the average local salary in most Chinese cities.
The amount of money you can make depends on a number of factors, including:
- The kind of school you teach at
- The location of the school
- The subjects you teach
- How many hours you work
- Your education and qualifications
- Your experience.
For specific salary examples, check out our teach in China salary guide.
How renminbi (RMB) converts to your currency
Here is the currency conversion for a number of different monthly teacher salaries (as at February 1, 2019). Go to website XE for the latest rates.
| Monthly salary (RMB) | USD ($) | CAD ($) | GBP (£) | EUR (€) | AUD ($) | NZD ($) |
| 6,000 | 891 | 1,171 | 680 | 778 | 1,230 | 1,289 |
| 8,000 | 1,188 | 1,562 | 906 | 1,038 | 1,639 | 1,718 |
| 10,000 | 1,485 | 1,952 | 1,133 | 1,297 | 2,048 | 2,148 |
| 12,000 | 1,782 | 2,342 | 1,359 | 1,556 | 2,458 | 2,577 |
| 14,000 | 2,079 | 2,733 | 1,585 | 1,816 | 2,868 | 3,006 |
| 16,000 | 2,376 | 3,124 | 1,812 | 2,076 | 3,278 | 3,436 |
| 18,000 | 2,672 | 3,514 | 2,039 | 2,335 | 3,687 | 3,866 |
The cost of living in China is a lot lower than in your own country, so don't focus on currency conversion too much.
You can earn a decent local salary teaching in China.
What kinds of benefits can you get teaching in China?
All schools we work with offer a sponsored Z visa (the only legal working visa for China) as well as medical insurance.
Plus, depending on the school, you can enjoy perks like:
- Airfare reimbursement
- Free teacher accommodation
- Paid power, water and internet bills
- Mandarin lessons
- Paid holidays and sick leave
- Career planning
- Other benefits like school trips and activities.
These benefits are in addition to the generous local salary you’ll earn.
If you choose to teach in a public school in China, accommodation is included as part of your salary package.
This means that your disposable income will be relatively high and your main expenses will be things like food and transport (both are cheap in China).
Private language institutes usually provide a stipend to go towards the cost of accommodation.
When you apply with us, let us know if there is anything in particular you need in your teaching contract. We’ll do our best to recommend you to a school that offers what you’re looking for.
