(Yicai) Aug. 2 -- The disposable income of residents in Shanghai and Beijing rose to more than CNY40,000 (USD5,590) per person in the first half of the year, according to the latest official data.

Shanghai ranked first among the Chinese mainland’s 31 provincial-level regions with a per capita disposable income of CNY42,870 in the six months ended June 30, up 9.9 percent from a year earlier, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed yesterday. Beijing ranked second with CNY41,358, up 5 percent.

Shanghai and Beijing have higher urbanization rates, well-developed new technology industries, and a modern services industry, so they can offer higher salaries to attract talent from all over the country.

Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Fujian, and Shandong provinces, as well as the municipality of Tianjin, had per capita disposable incomes of more than CNY20,000, the data also showed. The figure for Chongqing was above the mainland average at CNY19,920.

Third-ranked Zhejiang had a disposable income of CNY34,317 per person because its county-level economies are very developed, with each having its own positive characteristics, and the gap between urban and rural areas is small.

In urban areas of Zhejiang, disposable income reached CNY39,728 per head, while in rural areas it was CNY23,126.

Jiangsu, Tianjin, and Guangdong had per capita disposable incomes of between CNY25,000 and CNY28,000, ranking fourth to sixth, respectively. Shandong’s was CNY20,309.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione