VI Vietnam’s Regional Minimum Wage: What Employers in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi Must Check
The regional minimum wage in Vietnam for 2026 is VND 5,310,000 per month in Region I, VND 4,730,000 in Region II, VND 4,140,000 in Region III and VND 3,700,000 in Region IV. These rates are set by Decree No. 293/2025/ND-CP, issued on 10 November 2025 and in force since 1 January 2026. Most of central Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi is in Region I, but not every ward or commune of the two cities is, so the region must be checked against the employer’s actual place of operation.
This guide explains the four rates, how to find the right region after the 2025 reorganization of administrative units, how the rule applies to weekly, daily and hourly pay, what else in payroll is linked to it, and the draft rates proposed from 1 January 2027. It reflects the rules as of 30 October 2026.
The regional minimum wage in Vietnam for 2026
Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree No. 293/2025/ND-CP sets both a monthly and an hourly minimum for each region. The decree replaced Decree No. 74/2024/ND-CP, which set the rates applied until 31 December 2025.
| Region | Monthly minimum to 31 Dec 2025 (VND) | Monthly minimum from 1 Jan 2026 (VND) | Hourly minimum from 1 Jan 2026 (VND) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region I | 4,960,000 | 5,310,000 | 25,500 |
| Region II | 4,410,000 | 4,730,000 | 22,700 |
| Region III | 3,860,000 | 4,140,000 | 20,000 |
| Region IV | 3,450,000 | 3,700,000 | 17,800 |
The decree applies to employees working under labour contracts and to every employer under the Labour Code, including enterprises, cooperatives, households and individuals that hire workers (Article 2). Foreign-owned companies are covered in the same way as domestic ones.
The regional minimum wage in Vietnam is a floor for the salary of the job, not for total pay. Under Clause 1, Article 4, the salary for the job or title of an employee who works normal hours for the full month and meets the agreed workload must not be lower than the monthly minimum.
Which region applies in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi
The annex to Decree No. 293/2025/ND-CP was written for the new map of 34 provinces and cities and lists regions by ward and commune. For the two largest cities, the split is as follows.
| City | Region I | Region II |
|---|---|---|
| Ho Chi Minh City | The central wards (for example Sai Gon, Ben Thanh, Tan Dinh, Thu Duc, Tan Son Nhat), the wards of the former Binh Duong area (for example Thu Dau Mot, Di An, Thuan An), the Vung Tau and Phu My wards, and the communes listed in the annex such as Cu Chi, Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh and Nha Be | Ba Ria, Long Huong and Tam Long wards; Binh Khanh, An Thoi Dong, Can Gio and Thanh An communes; Kim Long, Chau Duc, Ngai Giao, Nghia Thanh, Long Hai and Long Dien communes; Con Dao special zone |
| Hanoi | The wards and communes listed in the annex, including all central wards (for example Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, Cau Giay, Dong Da, Tay Ho, Ha Dong, Long Bien) and suburban communes such as Dong Anh, Gia Lam, Soc Son, Thach That and Hoa Lac | All other wards and communes of Hanoi |
The examples above are a summary. Before you set salaries, find the exact ward or commune of each workplace in the annex, because names changed in the 2025 reorganisation and a company’s registered address may still show the old district name.
How to apply the regional minimum wage in Vietnam to your workplaces
Clause 3, Article 3 of the decree fixes the region by where the employer operates, not by where the employee lives or where the head office is registered. Five rules cover most situations:
- An employer applies the minimum wage of the area in which it operates.
- A unit or branch in a different area applies the minimum wage of the area where that unit or branch operates.
- An employer in an industrial zone, export processing zone, high-tech zone or digital technology zone that spans areas with different minimums applies the highest one.
- If an area is renamed or divided, the employer temporarily keeps the minimum of the area before the change until the Government decides otherwise.
- If a new area is formed from areas with different minimums, the employer applies the highest one until the Government decides otherwise.
For a company with an office in central Ho Chi Minh City and a warehouse in Can Gio, the office staff and the warehouse staff may therefore have different floors. In practice, keep a list of workplaces with their ward or commune and region, and attach it to the payroll file.
Daily, weekly and hourly pay
The regional minimum wage in Vietnam also applies to employees who are not paid monthly. Clause 2, Article 4 sets the hourly minimum for hourly pay. For weekly, daily, piece-rate and lump-sum pay, Clause 3, Article 4 converts the pay to a monthly or hourly figure, which must not be lower than the relevant minimum:
| Pay basis | Conversion to monthly | Conversion to hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Weekly pay × 52 ÷ 12 | Weekly pay ÷ normal working hours in the week |
| Daily | Daily pay × normal working days in the month | Daily pay ÷ normal working hours in the day |
| Piece-rate or lump-sum | Pay earned in normal working hours in the month | Pay ÷ hours worked in normal working hours to complete the work |
Example (hypothetical): a part-time employee in Region I is paid VND 120,000 for a 4-hour shift. The hourly equivalent is VND 30,000, above the VND 25,500 hourly minimum. If the same shift lasted 5 hours, the equivalent would be VND 24,000 and the rate would need to rise.
What else in payroll is linked to the regional minimum wage in Vietnam
The minimum wage is used in several other payroll calculations. The table lists the links employers most often check; items not yet confirmed against the original text are marked.
| Item | Link to the minimum wage | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Job salary | Not lower than the monthly or hourly minimum for normal hours and agreed workload | Article 4, Decree No. 293/2025/ND-CP |
| Probation pay | At least 85% of the salary of the job; the job salary itself must respect the minimum | Article 26, Labour Code No. 45/2019/QH14 (secondary sources) |
| Social insurance salary | The monthly salary for compulsory social insurance is not lower than the regional minimum wage for the simplest job in normal conditions | Social insurance procedures under Decision No. 595/QD-BHXH as reported by secondary sources; to be confirmed under the 2024 Law on Social Insurance |
| Higher-skill and hazardous premiums | The former 7% and 5%/7% premiums are no longer set by the decree, but premiums already agreed in contracts or collective agreements continue unless the parties agree otherwise | Clause 4, Article 5, Decree No. 293/2025/ND-CP |
| Overtime, night work, in-kind allowances | May not be removed or reduced when salaries are adjusted to the new minimum | Clause 4, Article 5, Decree No. 293/2025/ND-CP |
If your area moved to a lower region
Some areas were placed in a lower region in the 2026 annex than before. Clause 5, Article 5 protects existing staff: where the new minimum for an area is lower than the minimum that applied on 31 December 2025, the employer must keep paying at least the 31 December 2025 minimum to employees hired on or before that date until the Government decides otherwise. Employees hired from 1 January 2026 follow the new annex.
This means two employees in the same office can have different floors. Record the hiring date and the applicable floor in the payroll master data so that the check is automatic.
What employers had to review from 1 January 2026
Clause 4, Article 5 requires employers to review labour contracts, collective agreements and internal rules and adjust them where needed. A short review usually covers:
- Every job salary and hourly rate against the floor for the right region.
- Probation salaries, which are a percentage of the job salary.
- The social insurance salary declared for each employee.
- Salary scales and pay rules registered or published internally, and allowances defined as a percentage of the minimum wage.
- Contracts that describe pay by reference to the minimum wage, so that the wording still works after the change.
The draft regional minimum wage in Vietnam for 2027
The National Wage Council agreed on 16 July 2026 to recommend an average 7.8% increase from 1 January 2027. On 28 September 2026 the Ministry of Home Affairs published a draft decree on the Government’s policy portal with these monthly rates:
| Region | 2026 (in force) | 2027 (draft, not yet adopted) |
|---|---|---|
| Region I | 5,310,000 | 5,700,000 |
| Region II | 4,730,000 | 5,080,000 |
| Region III | 4,140,000 | 4,450,000 |
| Region IV | 3,700,000 | 4,040,000 |
A draft decree is not law. The rates, the hourly figures and the list of areas may change before the decree is issued, and the Ministry also published a proposed new list of areas. Use the draft for budgeting only, and update payroll when the final decree is published.
A yearly check before each January payroll
Minimum wage decrees have usually taken effect on 1 January or 1 July, and the employer must apply them from the first payroll after that date. In our professional view, a short routine each December avoids most problems:
| Step | What to do | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Confirm the rates | Check that the decree has been issued and note its number, effective date and annex | Rate table for the payroll file |
| 2. Map workplaces | List every office, branch, warehouse and site with its current ward or commune and region | Workplace list with regions |
| 3. Run the comparison | Compare each job salary, converted where needed, with the floor for that workplace | Exception list |
| 4. Fix contracts and declarations | Issue salary adjustment notices or annexes and update the social insurance salary where needed | Signed annexes and updated declarations |
| 5. Keep the evidence | File the rate table, workplace list and exception list with the January payroll | Audit trail for inspections |
6 payroll mistakes to avoid
In our professional view, these are the errors that most often appear when companies check the regional minimum wage in Vietnam:
- Assuming that every workplace in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi is in Region I.
- Using the head office region for a branch, warehouse or project site in another area.
- Comparing total pay, including overtime and allowances, with the minimum instead of the job salary for normal hours.
- Forgetting to convert daily, weekly and hourly rates before comparing them.
- Lowering the floor for existing staff in an area that moved to a lower region.
- Leaving the social insurance salary unchanged after 1 January.
FAQ on the regional minimum wage in Vietnam
Does the minimum wage apply to foreign employees? Decree No. 293/2025/ND-CP applies to employees working under labour contracts under the Labour Code and does not exclude foreigners. In practice, expatriate salaries are usually far above the floor; the rule matters more for local support and part-time staff.
Is the minimum compared with gross or net salary? It is compared with the salary of the job or title for normal working hours, before deductions. Overtime, night-work pay and most allowances are not used to reach the floor.
Our company is registered in District 1 but staff work at a site in Can Gio. Which rate applies? The rate of the area where the unit operates. Communes in Can Gio are in Region II under the annex, while the central wards are in Region I.
When will the 2027 rates be final? When the Government issues the decree. As of 30 October 2026, the 2027 figures are a draft.
How Pham Consult supports employers
Pham Consult’s payroll services include setting up the payroll for a newly registered company, monthly payroll calculation, processing and reporting, maintaining the employee database and timesheets, and personal income tax calculation and finalisation. We also handle social insurance procedures and advise on labour compliance and internal labour documentation.
For the regional minimum wage in Vietnam, we can check each workplace against the annex, review salaries, probation pay and social insurance salaries against the floor, and update the payroll when the 2027 decree is issued. Pham Consult works from offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
Request a payroll review to confirm that your salaries meet the regional minimum wage in Vietnam for every workplace.
Hotline: +84 909 660 105
Email: info@phamconsult.com
This article is general information as of 30 October 2026 and is not legal advice for a specific case. Minimum wage rates and the list of areas change; check the decree in force before setting salaries.
