The key facts
- Chukotka — 42% of workers earning more than 200 thousand rubles, Magadan Oblast — 28.4%, YaNAO — 25.2%
- On average in Russia the share of such salaries is 7.5%, in Moscow — 24.4%
- In Chechnya, Ingushetia and Kalmykia the share of high salaries is 0.7%; the study covered 85 regions for the period from September 2025 to August 2026
High salary ranking: leaders and outsiders
The Chukotka Autonomous Okrug took first place among Russian regions in the share of workers earning more than 200 thousand rubles: there, 42% of workers receive such an income — almost every second person. They are followed by Magadan Oblast (28.4%) and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (25.2%). Rounding out the top five are Moscow (24.4%) and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (17.6%). These figures are reported by RIA Novosti.
Average figures and low-paid workers
On average in Russia, 7.5% of workers earn more than 200 thousand rubles. At the other end of the list are Chechnya, Ingushetia and Kalmykia: in each of these republics the share of such workers is 0.7%. At the same time, in Ingushetia 72.2% of workers earn less than 45 thousand rubles a month, in Chechnya — 70.3%, in Kalmykia — 47.1%. On average across the country, the share of salaries below 45 thousand is 24.6%, in Moscow — 7.7%, in St. Petersburg — 13.4%. High shares of low-paid workers were also recorded in Dagestan (62%), Kabardino-Balkaria (54.6%) and Karachay-Cherkessia (51.2%).
Typical salary ranges
The gap between regions is also visible in typical earnings ranges. In Chukotka they ranged from 122 to 293 thousand rubles, in Magadan Oblast — from 102 to 211 thousand, in the YaNAO — from 97 to 202 thousand. In Moscow the range was within 80–194 thousand rubles, and across Russia as a whole — 46–115 thousand. The study covered 85 regions and used data from September 2025 to August 2026.
Labor market context
In the same piece, Life.ru, citing an HR expert, notes that Russian employers are no longer in a hurry to raise salaries for employees who threaten to quit. According to the specialist, the changes have affected office professions primarily: whereas previously an employer might agree to a raise for fear of losing an employee, now he more often has time to find a replacement or distribute the duties among other team members.
