While you've probably known for a while now that Gauteng is where the money is, recent stats give the numbers.

It’s been confirmed, Johannesburg is not just called the City of Gold for it's gold mining.

Jozi is home to top-500 companies, contributes a huge chunk to the economic output of South Africa, and latest stats now prove that it has the highest competitive salaries compared to South Africa’s other 8 provinces.

Career Junction released data showing that people living in Gauteng can earn way more than those living in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. In fact the difference in earnings can tally up to 30%!

The salary comparison research was based on 38 key white collar job functions employed by the majority of companies, as well as a number of additional industry-specific job functions. The data used also represented actual salaries paid as opposed to salaries advertised.

Of the 10 sectors reviewed, 8 sectors in Gauteng showed better salaries than those in the rest of the country. Career Junction reported that based on the 10 sectors, people in Gauteng were on average earning 30% more than people in the same position in the Western Cape.

Only the building and construction industry showed a relatively small difference in salaries between Gauteng and the Western Province.

Experience counts

Whether we like it or not experience matters, and in Gauteng it weighs in a lot more. The salaries of employees with less than five years’ experience in Jozi are 7.3% higher than the national average. In comparison, salaries of people living in KwaZulu-Natal are 15.6% lower, while in the Western Cape they are 5% lower than the national average.

Read: Minimum wage in South Africa: How your income compares

Considering just the average salaries, the study further established that those with less than five years’ experience earn an average of 12% more in Gauteng than those in the Western Cape.

On the other hand, the salaries of employees with more than five years’ experience in Gauteng are 6.4% higher than the national average, while those in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape are 21% and 3.4% lower, respectively.

Working with the average salaries for this particular category, the study revealed that salaries are about 10% higher in Gauteng than in the Western Cape.

Differences by job category

When taking a look at job categories, the study found that differences in salaries are also higher in Gauteng compared to the Western Cape. For example, the average annual salaries of manager positions in the categories below, reveal the following salary differences:

KZN salaries are significantly lower

Working with the average salaries of employees with more than five years’ experience, Career Junction showed that employees working in Gauteng and the Western Cape take home approximately 23% and 10.6% more, respectively than those in KwaZulu-Natal.

Therefore, while KwaZulu-Natal has been reported to have the best quality of life, it pays the lowest salaries by a wide gap.

Whether you’re attracted to Gauteng’s phat pay checks, mountainous Cape Town or sunny Durban, Careers24 has you covered. Start your job search today!