Kanagawa: pay, hiring and the labour market

Pay, hiring conditions, minimum wage and population. Kanto region.

Full-time workers in Kanagawa earn ¥5.92m a year on average, 2nd of 47. Its job-to-applicant ratio was 1.02 in September 2026, looser than Japan's 1.19. The minimum wage rose to ¥1,279 an hour for fiscal 2026, and the population has fallen 0.5% since 2020.

¥5.92maverage annual pay2nd of 47 · +8.5% vs Japan
1.02job-to-applicant ratio, September 202644th of 47 · Japan 1.19
¥1,279minimum wage an hour, FY20262nd of 47 · +54 yen
9.19mpopulation, 2025 census−0.5% since 2020

Pay in Kanagawa

 Annual payMonthlyBonusAgeTenure (yrs)Overtime (h/mo)
All¥5.92m¥0.40m¥1.09m44.612.412
Men¥6.69m¥0.45m¥1.31m45.214.214
Women¥4.64m¥0.33m¥0.71m43.69.68
Japan (all)¥5.46m¥0.37m¥1.01m44.412.711

Women's average annual pay is 31% below men's here. This is a raw comparison that does not adjust for differences in age, tenure or job.

Hiring in Kanagawa: the job-to-applicant ratio

The ratio counts job openings per job seeker at Hello Work; above 1.0 there are more openings than applicants and hiring is harder. Kanagawa stood at 1.02 in September 2026, against 1.04 a year earlier.

Minimum wage in Kanagawa

Kanagawa's regional minimum wage for fiscal 2026 is ¥1,279 an hour, up from ¥1,225, effective 1 October 2026. Japan's weighted average is ¥1,177.

People: population and foreign workers

Population, 1 October 20259,193,9222nd of 47
Population change, 2020–25−0.5%4th of 47
Foreign workers148,8884th of 47
Workplaces employing foreign workers24,200

Employers headquartered in Kanagawa

120 listed companies have their head office in Kanagawa, and 1,188 unlisted employers with 101 or more staff report to MHLW's women's advancement database. We publish each one's pay, women in management and gender pay gap.

Elsewhere in Kanto

Sources: MHLW Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2025); MHLW Employment Referrals for General Workers (September 2026, seasonally adjusted, by workplace); MHLW regional minimum wages (fiscal 2026); MHLW report on the employment of foreign workers (as of 31 October 2025); Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2025 Population Census; MHLW women's advancement database. Compiled by The Hardest Market. Annual pay is monthly contractual pay × 12 plus annual bonuses, for full-time general workers.