The Median Salary Paradox
Singapore's median salary rose to $5,500 in 2025 (including CPF contributions), up from $5,000 in 2024¹.
I can understand why Mr Pritam Singh said that he has a pulse on Singaporeans and knows what they want.
It was the same conclusion I came to after GE 2025. It's a rejection of all smaller opposition parties, with voters wanting PAP to keep governing while hoping The Workers' Party sends in more candidates to be opposition MPs.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), this means that most policy changes are still going to come from the PAP government.
So how do we know if Singaporeans are actually doing well? Based on median salary, they aren't doing too bad. Then where's the gap?
Yet 1.5m (out of 2.7m) Singaporeans qualify for August 2024's GST vouchers².
Specifically, one's assessable income for the Year of Assessment 2023 (income earned in 2022) must not exceed $34,000, and the annual value of your home as of December 31, 2023, must not exceed $25,000.
This also means that 1.5m Singaporeans' income earned in 2022 did not exceed $34,000 and the annual value of their home did not exceed $25,000. That's $2,833.33 a month in earned income.
Interesting numbers if you look at it this way. This paradox highlights the importance of looking beyond headline statistics.
¹ Ministry of Manpower. (2025). Singapore's Wage Growth 1996-2024. https://www.mom.gov.sg/-/media/mom/documents/press-releases/2025/annex-d--singapores-wage-growth-19962004.pdf
² Ministry of Finance. (2024). 1.5 Million Adult Singaporeans to Receive Up to $850 in Cash and 650,000 Singaporeans Aged 65 and Above to Receive Up to $450 in Medisave Top-ups in August 2024. https://www.mof.gov.sg/news-publications/press-releases/1.5-million-adult-singaporeans-to-receive-up-to-850-in-cash-and-650-000-singaporeans-aged-65-and-above-to-receive-up-to-450-in-medisave-top-ups-in-august-2024