Average Income in Pakistan: Salaries, Wages & Cost of Living (2026)
How much do Pakistanis really earn? Official PBS data, per capita income, salary brackets by city and profession — and what the money actually buys.
Last updated: 11 October 2026
The Essentials
Pakistan Income at a Glance
The headline numbers, all from official sources.
Official Data
The Official Numbers: What Pakistanis Earn
From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and the Economic Survey — the figures that matter.
| Indicator | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average monthly household income | PKR 82,179 (2025) | PBS Household Integrated Economic Survey (via CEIC) |
| Average monthly household income | PKR 41,545 (2019) | PBS — nearly doubled in six years |
| Per capita income | US$1,824 (FY2025) | Economic Survey 2024–25 / National Accounts Committee |
| Per capita income | US$1,901 (FY2026) | Economic Survey 2025–26 (provisional) |
| Average monthly earnings | US$140 (2025) | CEIC / ILO-modelled estimates |
| Economy size | US$452.1 billion (FY2026) | Economic Survey 2025–26 |
| Worker remittances | US$33.9 billion (Jul–May FY26) | State Bank of Pakistan |
Three different numbers get mixed up in this debate, so keep them straight. Household income (PKR 82,179/month) is what an entire family brings in — usually from several earners — and is the figure the PBS actually measures. Per capita income (US$1,824/year) is simply GDP divided by population: a macroeconomic average, not what anyone takes home. Salary is what one employed person earns; widely cited 2026 estimates put the average wage at about PKR 39,000/month. When a headline says “average income”, check which of the three it means — they tell very different stories. The most striking trend in the data is the near-doubling of average household income between 2019 (PKR 41,545) and 2025 (PKR 82,179). Most of that jump is nominal — driven by high inflation rather than real prosperity — which is why families feel little richer despite the bigger number. Strip out inflation and the real gain is modest, concentrated in urban formal-sector households, while rural and informal workers saw far less. That gap between the statistic and the lived experience is the single most important thing to understand about Pakistani incomes today. For the bigger picture, see our complete guide to Pakistan’s economy and India vs Pakistan economy comparison.
Brackets
Income Brackets: Where Do You Stand?
Widely shared 2026 estimates of where Pakistani households fall — monthly household income.
| Class | Monthly household income | Who lives here |
|---|---|---|
| Lower class | Below PKR 50,000 | Daily-wage workers, small farmers, informal labour |
| Working class | PKR 50,000 – 100,000 | Shop assistants, drivers, junior staff, skilled trades |
| Lower middle class | PKR 100,000 – 150,000 | Teachers, bank officers, mid-level private-sector staff |
| Middle class | PKR 150,000 – 300,000 | Managers, engineers, doctors in early career, dual-income families |
| Upper middle class | PKR 300,000 – 700,000 | Senior executives, established professionals, business owners |
| Upper class | Above PKR 700,000 | Top executives, large business and landowning families |
These brackets come from widely circulated 2026 salary surveys on LinkedIn and recruitment data — they are informed estimates, not PBS figures, so treat them as a map rather than a census. Two things stand out. First, the official minimum wage is about PKR 41,000/month, which sits below even the “lower class” line — a sign of how far the formal floor lags behind living costs. Second, with the average household at PKR 82,179, the typical Pakistani family sits in the working class, not the middle class: “middle class” as most people use the term actually describes roughly the top quarter of earners. Our companion guide digs deeper: Pakistan middle class income — brackets, lifestyle and the squeeze.
By City
Average Income by City
Where you live in Pakistan shapes what you earn — the big-city premium is real.
| City | Estimated average monthly salary | Why it pays more |
|---|---|---|
| Karachi | Above PKR 95,000 | Industrial and financial capital; ports, banks, multinationals |
| Islamabad | Around PKR 90,000 | Government, NGOs, diplomats and a growing tech scene |
| Lahore | Around PKR 85,000 | Punjab’s commercial hub; manufacturing and services |
| Faisalabad | Around PKR 60,000–70,000 | Textile city; industrial wages dominate |
| Rawalpindi | Around PKR 70,000–80,000 | Twin-city spillover from Islamabad |
| Multan / Peshawar / Quetta | PKR 50,000–70,000 | Regional centres with smaller formal sectors |
City figures are compiled from recruitment-platform data (notably the widely cited trulypakistan.net salary compilation) and should be read as indicative rather than official. The pattern, though, is robust: Karachi’s dominance as the economic capital gives it the highest average pay, followed by Islamabad’s government-and-NGO economy and Lahore’s commercial base. Rural incomes run far below these levels — agricultural households depend on crop prices and remittances more than salaries, which is why the national household average (PKR 82,179) sits well below the big-city figures.
Cost of Living
What the Money Buys: Cost of Living
Income only makes sense next to expenses — here is what life costs.
PKR 150,000+
What an urban family of 4–5 typically needs each month to cover rent, utilities, schooling, transport and food — the “survival budget”.
PKR 45,000–60,000
Monthly expenses for a single person excluding rent, per Numbeo’s Pakistan data — a PKR 100,000 salary goes far in smaller cities.
US$6,260
Pakistan’s GDP per capita in purchasing-power-parity terms — the measure that best reflects local affordability of food and services.
US$30B+
Annual worker remittances, mostly from the Gulf — in many rural households, money from abroad is more than half of total income.
The defining tension of Pakistani household economics: incomes have nearly doubled since 2019, but so has the cost of living. A family earning the “average” PKR 82,179 in Karachi or Lahore faces a survival budget near PKR 150,000 — which is why dual incomes, overtime and side businesses are the norm, not the exception. Remittances are the great equaliser: with over US$30 billion flowing in each year (a record US$33.9 billion in Jul–May FY26), money from the Gulf and beyond keeps millions of households afloat and funds the property market that dominates middle-class savings.
Middle Class
The Middle-Class Squeeze
Why the most talked-about class in Pakistan feels the most pressure.
Ask ten Pakistanis what “middle class” means and you will get ten answers — researchers at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) have shown it takes a whole basket of measures (income, housing, lifestyle, education) to pin the class down, not just a salary figure. What everyone agrees on is the squeeze: salaries that once bought comfort now barely cover essentials. Housing eats the biggest share — most salaried families live in a parent’s house because buying in the cities is out of reach. School fees, private healthcare and transport take the rest, leaving little for the savings that define middle-class security elsewhere. The result is a class that looks comfortable on paper (PKR 150,000–300,000 a month) but lives one emergency away from debt. We unpack the brackets, the lifestyle and the coping strategies in our dedicated guide: Pakistan middle class income.
Housing first
Rent or a plot instalment is the single biggest monthly outgoing — many families stay joint to afford it.
Fees & health
Private school fees and out-of-pocket healthcare are the second budget-killer.
Second incomes
Freelancing, tuition centres and small businesses top up the salary — the norm, not the exception.
Region
Pakistan vs Neighbours: Regional Income Comparison
How Pakistani incomes compare across South Asia — nominal vs what money buys.
| Country | Per capita income (2025, nominal) | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Sri Lanka | US$3,920 | The region’s richest per person — more than double Pakistan’s. |
| India | US$2,610 | About 43% above Pakistan in nominal terms. |
| Pakistan | US$1,824 | Ahead of Bangladesh nominally; strong PPP adjustment. |
| Bangladesh | US$1,750 | Slightly below Pakistan nominally, but ahead on some social indicators. |
Figures are World Bank 2025 estimates as compiled by trulypakistan.net. The nominal ranking flatters no one in Pakistan — but it misses the cost-of-living story. Measured by purchasing power parity (PPP), Pakistan’s GDP per capita is about US$6,260: food, utilities, domestic help and transport cost far less than in India’s metros, so a Pakistani salary stretches further at home than the dollar figure suggests. The honest summary: Pakistan earns less per person than India or Sri Lanka, but its lower prices narrow the lived gap — and its diaspora remittances (over US$30 billion a year) add income that GDP statistics underplay. For a full head-to-head, read our India vs Pakistan economy comparison.
FAQs
Average Income in Pakistan: FAQs
The questions Pakistanis ask most about incomes — answered.
What is the average income in Pakistan?
The average monthly household income in Pakistan is PKR 82,179 (2025), according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics’ Household Integrated Economic Survey — up from PKR 41,545 in 2019.
What is Pakistan’s per capita income in 2025?
US$1,824 in FY2025 (National Accounts Committee), rising to a provisional US$1,901 in FY2026 (Economic Survey 2025–26).
What monthly salary counts as middle class in Pakistan?
Widely used 2026 estimates put the middle class at PKR 150,000–300,000 per month of household income — lower-middle PKR 100,000–150,000, upper-middle PKR 300,000–700,000.
Which city in Pakistan has the highest average income?
Karachi, with average salaries above PKR 95,000 per month thanks to its industrial and financial dominance — followed by Islamabad (~PKR 90,000) and Lahore (~PKR 85,000).
What is the minimum wage in Pakistan?
Widely cited 2026 estimates put the official minimum wage at about PKR 41,000 per month — below what most class brackets consider a living income.
How do remittances affect average income in Pakistan?
Overseas Pakistanis send home over US$30 billion a year (US$33.9 billion in Jul–May FY26) — in many rural households, remittances are more than half of total income, lifting local spending, property and small business.
More Pakistan Economy Guides
GDP, growth, trade and sectors — understand the economy behind the incomes.
Feature Pakistan’s economy guides explain Pakistan’s money in plain language — written for students, job-seekers and curious citizens, and verified against the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the Economic Survey and the State Bank of Pakistan. Bracket and city salary figures are informed 2026 estimates, not official statistics. Featured image: Empress Market, Karachi (Wikimedia Commons, Free Art License, photo by A.Savin).