English Teacher
Salaries in Asia
English teacher salaries in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam: what schools pay foreign teachers each month, mostly for ESL jobs. See what an offer is worth before you sign. Schools can use the same figures to set a competitive offer. Meridian Teachers matches English-speaking teachers with schools in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and beyond.
Published by Meridian Teachers · Q3 2026 edition
Key findings
English Teacher Salaries in Asia is Meridian Teachers' report on what schools in Asia pay foreign teachers, from 500+ full-time teaching roles that stated a monthly salary, out of 1,300+ roles posted by 900+ schools. Most of the roles were for teaching English, and about 1 in 5 asked for a specialist such as a maths or science teacher. This is the Q3 2026 edition.
- Median monthly pay offered for foreign teachers this season: China 26,000 CNY, South Korea 2.8M KRW, Taiwan 71,000 TWD, Thailand 45,000 THB and Vietnam 48M VND. The chart below shows each in approximate US dollars.
- Housing stood out in China and South Korea, health insurance in Taiwan, and visa or work permit support in Thailand and Vietnam.
- Among roles that listed benefits, 46% offered paid leave, 44% housing, 44% health insurance and 43% visa or work permit support.
Cite this report
Meridian Teachers, English Teacher Salaries in Asia, Q3 2026 edition, meridianteachers.com/reports/english-teacher-salaries-asia. You are welcome to quote these figures with a link to this page. What schools were hiring for in the same roles is in the Teacher Hiring Report.
Monthly English teacher salary by country
The table shows median monthly pay offered in each country's own currency, plus the middle half of roles, from the 25th to the 75th percentile. A quarter of roles offered less than the middle half and a quarter offered more. The chart below puts the same figures in approximate US dollars so you can compare countries.
| Country | Median a month | Middle half of roles | About, USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 26,000 CNY | 20,000 to 35,000 CNY | $3,900 |
| South Korea | 2.8M KRW | 2.6M to 3.0M KRW | $2,100 |
| Taiwan | 71,000 TWD | 68,000 to 84,000 TWD | $2,200 |
| Thailand | 45,000 THB | 35,000 to 55,000 THB | $1,300 |
| Vietnam | 48M VND | 42M to 52M VND | $1,900 |
| Country | Range | Median and middle half, approximate US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| China | about $3,900$3,000 to $5,200 | |
| South Korea | about $2,100$1,900 to $2,200 | |
| Taiwan | about $2,200$2,100 to $2,600 | |
| Thailand | about $1,300$1,000 to $1,600 | |
| Vietnam | about $1,900$1,600 to $2,000 |
Hiring in one of these markets? See how we handle hagwon teacher recruitment in Korea and teacher recruitment in Vietnam.
Pay for experienced or licensed teachers in Thailand
In Thailand, roles that asked for teaching experience or a licence offered a median of 50,000 THB a month (about $1,500), and the top quarter of those roles offered 63,000 THB or more. Roles that asked for neither offered a median of 40,000 THB. International school roles had the same 50,000 THB median, and their top quarter offered 65,000 THB or more.
Thailand is the one country with enough roles stating a salary to split pay this way.
Pay and benefits in each country
Each card shows the median pay and two benefits that stood out in that country's roles.
China
Top pay and big-city energy
26,000 CNY a month, about $3,900
- Housing in 4 of 5 roles
- Flights in about 6 of 10
South Korea
Strong savings in safe, modern cities
2.8M KRW a month, about $2,100
- Housing in 3 of 4 roles
- A bonus or severance in about 4 of 10
Taiwan
Friendly cities, great food, easy travel
71,000 TWD a month, about $2,200
- Health insurance in about half of roles
- A bonus or severance in about 4 of 10
Thailand
A relaxed, easy-going life and friendly people
45,000 THB a month, about $1,300
- Visa or work permit support in more than half of roles
- Health insurance in about 4 of 10
Vietnam
Lively, fast-growing cities and an easy cost of living
48M VND a month, about $1,900
- Visa or work permit support in about 7 of 10 roles
- Training in about 4 of 10
Shares are of each country's roles that listed benefits.
When a school includes housing, rent comes off your list of costs and more of your pay is yours to keep.
Benefits schools offer
Paid leave, housing, health insurance and visa or work permit support each appeared in more than 4 in 10 of the 950+ roles that listed benefits. Flights and training appeared in about 1 in 5.
| Benefit | Share of roles |
|---|---|
| Paid leave | |
| Housing | |
| Health insurance | |
| Visa or work permit support | |
| Bonus or severance | |
| Flights | |
| Training |
Reading an offer
Compare your offer with the median and the middle half for your country, then check what your package adds on top of pay.
Start from the median
An offer at or above your country's median sits in the top half of what schools offered. The middle half shows where most offers land.
Add up the package
Housing, flights and a bonus or severance all add to what you take home. Check which ones an offer includes before you compare pay.
Read the contract before you sign
Hours, housing, pay, termination and insurance are all set in the contract, so check those before you compare the headline figure.
Hiring for your school? The same median and middle half show where your offer sits against this season's roles, and saying what the package includes helps your role stand out. Send us the role with the pay you have in mind using the school tab in the form below.
How we put this report together
- Edition
- This edition covers teaching roles posted in Q3 2026. Hiring is seasonal, so shares and pay in another part of the year can differ.
- What we counted
- 500+ full-time teaching roles that stated a monthly salary, out of 1,300+ roles posted by 900+ schools in the edition window. Roles without a monthly figure, part-time roles and repeat postings of the same role are not part of the salary figures.
- Countries shown
- We show a country only when enough of its roles stated a monthly salary to give a stable median and range. Five countries met that bar.
- Median and middle half
- The median is the middle salary when all roles for a country are put in order. The middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile, so half of all roles fall inside it.
- Currency
- We worked out every figure in the local currency first. US dollar figures use exchange rates on the day this edition was published and are rounded to the nearest $100, so treat them as approximate.
- Pay offered
- These figures are what schools offered in the edition window, not final contracts and not the pay of teachers Meridian Teachers placed. Benefits such as housing are not added to the salary figures. Most roles state pay as "up to" a figure. We use that figure, so read each median as the top of what a typical role offers.
- Benefits
- Of the 1,300+ roles in the edition, across all countries, 950+ listed at least one benefit. Shares are of those roles, with repeat postings counted once.
- Sources
- The roles were publicly posted. We do not name the sites they came from or the schools that posted them.
- Rounding
- Counts are rounded down to a clean figure, for example 500+. Pay figures are rounded to a clean figure in each currency, US dollar figures to the nearest $100, and percentages to the nearest whole number.
Questions about English teacher pay
Anything not covered here? Teachers and schools can ask us in the form below.
Ask a questionAre these the salaries teachers actually get?
They are what schools offered this season. Most roles state pay as "up to" a figure, so a first offer can sit lower, and your degree, experience and the school decide where you land. We read every contract with you before you sign.
How much do English teachers make in China?
The median salary offered to foreign teachers in China was 26,000 CNY a month (about $3,900) in the Q3 2026 edition of teaching roles we tracked. The middle half of roles offered 20,000 to 35,000 CNY.
How much do English teachers make in South Korea?
The median salary offered to foreign teachers in South Korea was 2.8M KRW a month (about $2,100) in the Q3 2026 edition of teaching roles we tracked. The middle half of roles offered 2.6M to 3.0M KRW.
How much do English teachers make in Taiwan?
The median salary offered to foreign teachers in Taiwan was 71,000 TWD a month (about $2,200) in the Q3 2026 edition of teaching roles we tracked. The middle half of roles offered 68,000 to 84,000 TWD.
How much do English teachers make in Thailand?
The median salary offered to foreign teachers in Thailand was 45,000 THB a month (about $1,300) in the Q3 2026 edition of teaching roles we tracked. The middle half of roles offered 35,000 to 55,000 THB. Roles that asked for teaching experience or a licence offered a median of 50,000 THB (about $1,500).
How much do English teachers make in Vietnam?
The median salary offered to foreign teachers in Vietnam was 48M VND a month (about $1,900) in the Q3 2026 edition of teaching roles we tracked. The middle half of roles offered 42M to 52M VND.
Which benefits do schools offer foreign teachers?
Paid leave, housing, health insurance and visa or work permit support are the most common. Each appeared in more than 4 in 10 roles that listed benefits, and flights and training in about 1 in 5.
Can we quote these benchmarks?
Yes. Quote the figures with a link to this page and cite Meridian Teachers, English Teacher Salaries in Asia, Q3 2026 edition.
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