[Survey Release] Median Monthly Income of 670,000 Yen, 5.5% Earn Over 1 Million Yen - First Public Release of Salary Distribution for 52,000 Freelance Engineers

Hajimari Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Naoto Kimura) analyzed 52,760 project data points from its freelance engineer project platform "Freelance Job (FJ)" and has released the first-ever distribution of monthly salaries for freelance engineers. The median monthly salary was found to be 675,000 yen, with the most concentrated salary range being 600,000 to 700,000 yen (28.1%). Projects exceeding 1 million yen per month accounted for only 5.5% of the total.

Key Survey Findings:

Median salary is 675,000 yen. This is approximately 30,000 yen lower than the average (709,000 yen), indicating that high-paying projects are inflating the average.

The 600,000 to 700,000 yen range is the most common, at 28.1% (14,837 projects), about 6 percentage points higher than the second-ranked 700,000 to 800,000 yen range (22.2%).

43.3% of all projects are concentrated in the 500,000 to 700,000 yen range, with approximately half of freelance IT projects falling within this level.

The threshold for the top 10% is 950,000 yen per month (P90). P75 = 800,000 yen, P95 = 1.1 million yen.

8.7% of projects (4,583 cases) exceed 1 million yen per month. Of these, 5.5% (2,884 cases) are 1.1 million yen or higher.

Background of the Survey:

Previously, there was a lack of public data regarding the "actual salaries" of freelance engineers, making it difficult for both job seekers and clients to grasp market rates. Hajimari conducted this survey with the aim of contributing to market transparency by aggregating and analyzing project data accumulated on its platform to visualize the actual salary distribution.

Survey Results:

1. Median is 675,000 yen – an "actual value" approximately 30,000 yen lower than the average.

From 231,244 project data points registered on "Freelance Job (FJ)", 52,760 unique projects (after removing duplicates with identical titles) were analyzed for monthly salary distribution. The results showed a median of 675,000 yen and an average of 709,000 yen.

The main percentiles are as follows:

Percentile

Monthly Salary

Meaning

P10 (Bottom 10%)

500,000 yen

10% of all projects are below this amount

P25 (Bottom 25%)

600,000 yen

25% of all projects are below this amount

P50 (Median)

675,000 yen

Exactly the middle of all projects

P75 (Top 25%)

800,000 yen

Exceeding this puts you in the top 25%

P90 (Top 10%)

950,000 yen

The threshold for the top 10%

P95 (Top 5%)

1.1 million yen

Exceeding this puts you in the top 5%

Average

709,000 yen

Inflated by high-paying projects

The average of 709,000 yen is approximately 30,000 yen higher than the median of 675,000 yen. This is because high-paying projects exceeding 1 million yen are inflating the average, making the median a more appropriate indicator for the "typical salary of a freelance engineer."

2. 28% concentrated in the 600,000 to 700,000 yen range – 43% in the 500,000 to 700,000 yen range.

When monthly salaries were aggregated in 100,000 yen increments, the 600,000 to 700,000 yen range had the highest number of projects.

Monthly Salary Range

Number of Projects

Percentage

200,000 - 500,000 yen

4,699 cases

8.9%

500,000 - 600,000 yen

8,004 cases

15.2%

600,000 - 700,000 yen

14,837 cases

28.1% (Most common)

700,000 - 800,000 yen

11,695 cases

22.2%

800,000 - 900,000 yen

5,911 cases

11.2%

900,000 - 1,000,000 yen

3,031 cases

5.7%

1,000,000 - 1,100,000 yen

1,699 cases

3.2%

1,100,000 yen or more

2,884 cases

5.5%

The 28.1% in the 600,000 to 700,000 yen range significantly exceeds the second-ranked 700,000 to 800,000 yen range (22.2%) by approximately 6 percentage points, standing out as the market's "most frequent range." The 500,000 to 700,000 yen range alone (22,841 cases) accounts for 43.3% of the total, indicating that about half of freelance IT projects are concentrated at this level.

3. The top 10% threshold is 950,000 yen per month.

Cumulative distribution allows us to read "what percentage of the top earners a salary level corresponds to." Exceeding 800,000 yen per month places one in the top 25%, exceeding 950,000 yen places one in the top 10%, and exceeding 1.1 million yen places one in the top 5%.

Projects of 1 million yen or more per month total 4,583 cases (8.7%), numerically demonstrating that the commonly cited "1 million yen monthly income" in the freelance market corresponds to the top approximately 9%.

Comments:

Soji Kameda, Head of Freelance Job Business, Hajimari Inc.

This survey has revealed the actual salary situation for freelance engineers, extracted from over 50,000 data points.

A notable point is that the average salary of 709,000 yen is approximately 30,000 yen higher than the median of 675,000 yen.

This is because some high-paying projects are inflating the average, and it is appropriate to look at the median to understand the "typical freelance engineer."

In fact, about half of the projects (43%) are concentrated in the 500,000 to 700,000 yen range, which can be considered the market's volume zone.

On the other hand, it has also become clear that the high-paying segment is limited, with only the top 10% exceeding 950,000 yen and 8.7% exceeding 1 million yen.

This distribution structure is evidence that the freelance market is not solely sustained by a small number of high earners, but has matured with the support of a substantial middle class with stable demand.

Through this survey, we hope that both engineers and companies will understand that there is a clear distribution structure in the market, rather than a binary view of "freelancers can earn / cannot earn."

Survey Overview:

Survey Title

Income Reality Survey

Data Source

Freelance Job Project Database

Number of Analyzed Items

52,760 cases (deduplicated from 231,244 cases based on identical titles)

Salary Filter

Excluded outliers below 200,000 yen/month and above 2.88 million yen/month

Aggregation Method

Monthly Salary = (Minimum Salary + Maximum Salary) / 2

Data Acquisition Date

June 16, 2026

Survey and Analysis

AI Professionals Editorial Department / Freelance Job Editorial Department / Hajimari Inc.

Notes:

- This survey aggregates and analyzes internal data from "Freelance Job," operated by Hajimari Inc., and does not represent the entire freelance engineer market.

- As multiple projects with the same title were found, deduplication by project name was performed, resulting in 52,760 analyzed cases. For deduplicated entries, information from the most recent registration date was used.

- Monthly salaries were calculated as the "average of the minimum and maximum salary," and projects with only partial salary information were excluded from the salary calculation.

- Projects below 200,000 yen/month and above 2.88 million yen/month were excluded as outliers (the maximum value in the analyzed data is 2.88 million yen/month).

- June 2026 is mid-month, so it is not included in the analysis period (July 2024 - May 2026).

Company Profile:

Company Name: Hajimari Inc.

Established: February 26, 2015

Location: Shibuya DT Building 9F, 1-16-10 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0043

Representative Director: Naoto Kimura

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