Yamagata: pay, hiring and the labour market

Pay, hiring conditions, minimum wage and population. Hokkaido and Tohoku region.

Full-time workers in Yamagata earn ¥4.24m a year on average, 44th of 47. Its job-to-applicant ratio was 1.53 in September 2026, tighter than Japan's 1.19. The minimum wage rose to ¥1,092 an hour for fiscal 2026, and the population has fallen 7.1% since 2020.

¥4.24maverage annual pay44th of 47 · −22.3% vs Japan
1.53job-to-applicant ratio, September 20266th of 47 · Japan 1.19
¥1,092minimum wage an hour, FY202635th of 47 · +60 yen
0.99mpopulation, 2025 census−7.1% since 2020

Pay in Yamagata

 Annual payMonthlyBonusAgeTenure (yrs)Overtime (h/mo)
All¥4.24m¥0.29m¥0.72m44.813.69
Men¥4.79m¥0.33m¥0.84m45.414.411
Women¥3.53m¥0.25m¥0.55m44.212.77
Japan (all)¥5.46m¥0.37m¥1.01m44.412.711

Women's average annual pay is 26% below men's here. This is a raw comparison that does not adjust for differences in age, tenure or job.

Hiring in Yamagata: 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. Yamagata stood at 1.53 in September 2026, against 1.38 a year earlier.

Minimum wage in Yamagata

Yamagata's regional minimum wage for fiscal 2026 is ¥1,092 an hour, up from ¥1,032, effective 30 October 2026. Japan's weighted average is ¥1,177.

People: population and foreign workers

Population, 1 October 2025992,29736th of 47
Population change, 2020–25−7.1%45th of 47
Foreign workers7,28341st of 47
Workplaces employing foreign workers1,361

Employers headquartered in Yamagata

5 listed companies have their head office in Yamagata, and 228 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 Hokkaido and Tohoku

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.