Highest Paying Jobs in Kenya by Average Monthly Salary [2025]

The 2025 Economic Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has revealed the average earnings of Kenyans employed in the public and private sectors.

The survey released on Tuesday, May 6 covered the average annual earnings of employees in 2024.

‍Here Are the Top Earners in the Private Sector 

According to the survey, employees who work in extraterritorial organisations and bodies such as the United Nations were the top earners. In 2024, the average annual income for these employees was Ksh4,236,578, which translates to an average monthly salary of Ksh353,048.

The report further showed that employees in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply ranked second with an average monthly pay of Ksh205,270.

Employees in the financial and insurance industry take home Ksh198,082 per month, followed by their counterparts in the administrative and support service activities with a monthly pay of Ksh164,205.

Other monthly top earners in the private sector are professionals in the scientific and technical activities (Ksh148,955), transportation and storage (Ksh144,471), service activities (Ksh119,360) and information and communication (Ksh113,751).

Also Read: Top Paying Jobs in Kenya 2023

Health and social workers take home Ksh107,765  per month, while employees in education, such as teachers and lecturers, earn Ksh91,078 per month. Other monthly pay for employees in the private sector include;

• Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles: Ksh88,604.
• Arts, entertainment and recreation: Ksh75,770.
• Construction: Ksh72,727.
• Mining and quarrying: Ksh65,823.
• Manufacturing: Ksh59,406.
• Accommodation and food service activities: Ksh40,934.
• Agriculture, forestry and fishing: Ksh35,065.
• Real estate activities: Ksh30,416.
• Activities of households as employers: Ksh29,443.
• Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities: Ksh29,114.

‍Here Are the Top Earners in the Public Sector 

Meanwhile, in the public sector, Kenyans employed in the accommodation and food service industry were the top earners with an average annual pay of Ksh2,998,364. This translates to Ksh249,863 per month.

The second-best-paying industry in the public sector in 2024 was transportation and storage, with employees taking home Ksh217,737 per month. This was followed by employees in the financial and insurance sector who earned Ksh190,652 per month.

Those employed in public health, such as doctors, took home Ksh153,478 per month.

Also Read: The Highest Paying Jobs in Kenya

Other top paying public sectors were electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (Ksh133,735), professional, scientific and technical activities (Ksh111,964), wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (Ksh104,372), and Manufacturing (Ksh96,167).

The other monthly salaries for employees in the public sector were;

• Information and communication: Ksh88,564.
• Arts, entertainment and recreation: Ksh84,844
• Construction: Ksh78,151.
• Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities: Ksh59,884
• Education: Ksh59,784.
• Public administration and defence; compulsory social security: Ksh57,204.
• Mining and quarrying: Ksh48,686.
• Agriculture, forestry and fishing: Ksh47,794.