Nagano: pay, hiring and the labour market

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

Full-time workers in Nagano earn ¥4.92m a year on average, 23rd of 47. Its job-to-applicant ratio was 1.43 in September 2026, tighter than Japan's 1.19. The minimum wage rose to ¥1,117 an hour for fiscal 2026, and the population has fallen 4.6% since 2020.

¥4.92maverage annual pay23rd of 47 · −9.9% vs Japan
1.43job-to-applicant ratio, September 202613th of 47 · Japan 1.19
¥1,117minimum wage an hour, FY202619th of 47 · +56 yen
1.95mpopulation, 2025 census−4.6% since 2020

Pay in Nagano

 Annual payMonthlyBonusAgeTenure (yrs)Overtime (h/mo)
All¥4.92m¥0.33m¥0.90m45.713.410
Men¥5.47m¥0.37m¥1.04m45.714.711
Women¥3.98m¥0.28m¥0.66m45.611.37
Japan (all)¥5.46m¥0.37m¥1.01m44.412.711

Women's average annual pay is 27% below men's here. This is a raw comparison that does not adjust for differences in age, tenure or job.

Hiring in Nagano: 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. Nagano stood at 1.43 in September 2026, against 1.38 a year earlier.

Minimum wage in Nagano

Nagano's regional minimum wage for fiscal 2026 is ¥1,117 an hour, up from ¥1,061, effective 2 October 2026. Japan's weighted average is ¥1,177.

People: population and foreign workers

Population, 1 October 20251,953,86616th of 47
Population change, 2020–25−4.6%26th of 47
Foreign workers30,67218th of 47
Workplaces employing foreign workers5,348

Employers headquartered in Nagano

26 listed companies have their head office in Nagano, and 404 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 Chubu

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.