Cayman Islands Salary Calculator
There is no income tax in the Cayman Islands. The deductions that do exist: 5% pension on earnings up to CI$87,000, and your share of health insurance (employers must pay at least half of your own premium, at FOI-verified SHIC rates). Enter a salary, age and dependants to see true monthly take-home and the rent you could comfortably afford. USD converts at CI$0.82 per US$1.00.
Salary and Take-Home Pay in the Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands has no income tax and no payroll tax. Two things do come off a salary: pension, at 5% of gross pay but only on earnings up to the CI$87,000 pensionable-earnings cap under the National Pensions Act (the employer contributes a matching 5%; the maximum employee deduction is CI$4,350 a year), and the employee's share of mandatory health insurance. Employers must pay at least 50% of the employee's own SHIC (Standard Health Insurance Contract) premium; at the FOI-verified HIC rates that leaves roughly CI$62 to CI$84 a month for the employee at the legal minimum, depending on age. Dependants added to the policy cost CI$69 a month each and are typically 100% employee-paid. Take-home pay is still far higher than in most countries for the same gross salary.
Example: a US$100,000 gross salary (about CI$82,000) takes home roughly US$94,000 in the Cayman Islands after the 5% pension deduction and the employee half of a minimum health premium, versus roughly US$76,000 in a typical US state and roughly US$71,000 in the UK after income tax and national insurance. Because pension is capped, higher salaries keep an even larger share: a CI$150,000 salary deducts the same CI$4,350 pension as a CI$87,000 one. Two edge cases: employees who are not Caymanian or permanent residents are pension-exempt for their first nine months of continuous employment in the Islands, and household domestics are exempt from mandatory pension entirely (National Pensions Act section 25(2)).
How Far Does a Cayman Salary Go?
Daily.ky's salary calculator converts gross pay to true monthly take-home, then builds a live monthly budget on top of it: the current median rent for your bedroom count from the Daily.ky rental index, electricity at CUC's current all-in rate for a typical home of that size, groceries scaled from the live Daily.ky staples basket, and fuel at live pump prices (a car is assumed; the minibus network has no fixed schedule and is not a practical commute for most working professionals). What is left is your potential savings rate, the number that matters for anyone weighing a move. It also tests rent against an adjustable rent-to-income ceiling, defaulting to the standard 30% benchmark now that groceries, utilities and insurance are itemised as their own budget lines. USD salaries convert at the fixed bank rate of CI$0.82 per US$1.00 (the retail rate is CI$0.80). The national minimum wage is CI$8.75 (US$10.50) per hour as of January 2026.
For context, the ESO Occupational Wage Survey 2023 (the official employer-reported survey of 16,694 employees, published July 2024) puts median monthly basic earnings at CI$4,000 (CI$48,000 a year) and the mean at CI$4,679, with occupation medians ranging from under CI$1,000 a month for bartenders to CI$12,874 for lawyers. The calculator on this page benchmarks a salary against any of the 324 surveyed occupations, with the published 10th, 25th, 50th and 75th percentile points, and shows the rent you could comfortably afford.
What Jobs Pay in the Cayman Islands (ESO 2023)
Median monthly basic earnings (salary, wages and overtime) from the ESO Occupational Wage Survey 2023, the official employer-reported survey of 16,694 employees, published July 2024. The workforce-wide median is CI$4,000 a month (CI$48,000 a year). Use the calculator's occupation benchmark above for any of the 324 surveyed occupations.
| Occupation | Median monthly | Median annual | 25th–75th percentile (monthly) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawyers | CI$12,874 | CI$154,488 | CI$8,200 – CI$20,500 |
| Managing directors and chief executives | CI$12,152 | CI$145,824 | CI$8,303 – CI$16,667 |
| Civil engineers | CI$6,825 | CI$81,900 | CI$5,807 – CI$8,189 |
| Software developers | CI$6,667 | CI$80,004 | CI$4,870 – CI$7,919 |
| Nursing professionals | CI$6,590 | CI$79,080 | CI$6,271 – CI$7,045 |
| Accountants | CI$6,402 | CI$76,824 | CI$5,243 – CI$8,217 |
| Financial analysts | CI$6,008 | CI$72,096 | CI$5,243 – CI$7,853 |
| Real estate agents and property managers | CI$5,586 | CI$67,032 | CI$3,744 – CI$8,075 |
| Police officers | CI$4,317 | CI$51,804 | CI$3,817 – CI$4,469 |
| Chefs | CI$2,953 | CI$35,436 | CI$1,793 – CI$4,100 |
| Plumbers and pipe fitters | CI$2,973 | CI$35,676 | CI$2,060 – CI$3,857 |
| Carpenters and joiners | CI$2,841 | CI$34,092 | CI$2,166 – CI$3,537 |
| Security guards | CI$2,652 | CI$31,824 | CI$2,031 – CI$4,028 |
| Cooks | CI$2,023 | CI$24,276 | CI$1,325 – CI$2,615 |
| Cashiers and ticket clerks | CI$1,958 | CI$23,496 | CI$1,506 – CI$2,130 |
| Bartenders | CI$997 | CI$11,964 | CI$847 – CI$1,426 |
Source: ESO Occupational Wage Survey 2023 Report, Table A9. Basic earnings exclude allowances and bonuses. There is no income tax on any of these figures.
Frequently Asked Questions: Cayman Islands
Is there income tax in the Cayman Islands?
No. The Cayman Islands has no income tax and no payroll tax. The only mandatory deductions from a salary are a 5% pension contribution (on earnings up to the CI$87,000 pensionable-earnings cap) and the employee's share of health insurance, where the employer must pay at least half of the employee's own premium.
How much is take-home pay in the Cayman Islands?
Typically 94-96% of gross. A US$100,000 salary (about CI$82,000) takes home roughly US$94,000 after the 5% pension deduction and the employee half of a legal-minimum SHIC health premium. Because pension is capped at CI$87,000 of earnings, higher salaries keep an even larger share. The Daily.ky salary calculator computes it by age band and dependants.
What gets deducted from a salary in the Cayman Islands?
Two things: pension at 5% of earnings up to CI$87,000 (maximum CI$4,350 a year; non-Caymanians are exempt for their first nine months of employment, household domestics entirely), and health insurance, where the employer pays at least 50% of the employee's own SHIC premium (roughly CI$62-84 a month left for the employee at FOI-verified rates) and dependants cost CI$69 a month each, typically employee-paid.
Is CI$80,000 a good salary in the Cayman Islands?
Yes, by the official numbers: the ESO Occupational Wage Survey 2023 puts the workforce-wide median at CI$4,000 a month (CI$48,000 a year), and CI$80,000 (about CI$6,667 a month) sits above the 75th percentile of all surveyed earners. It is also above the median for accountants (CI$6,402/month). Whether it lives comfortably depends mostly on rent; the Daily.ky salary calculator benchmarks any of the 324 surveyed occupations and tests the budget against live median rents.
What is the average salary in the Cayman Islands?
Per the ESO Occupational Wage Survey 2023 (published July 2024), average monthly basic earnings were CI$4,679 (about CI$56,000 a year) and the median was CI$4,000 a month (CI$48,000 a year). Medians range from under CI$1,000 a month for bartenders to CI$12,874 for lawyers. There is no income tax on any of it.
Is there income tax in the Cayman Islands?
No. The Cayman Islands has no income tax, no payroll tax, no capital gains tax, and no inheritance tax. The only mandatory deduction from an employee's salary is pension, at 5% of gross pay, with the employer contributing a matching 5%. This is why take-home pay is much higher than in most countries for the same gross salary.
What is the take-home pay on a US$100,000 salary in the Cayman Islands?
Roughly US$94,000 a year. With no income tax, the mandatory deductions are the 5% pension contribution (about US$5,000) and the employee half of a legal-minimum SHIC health insurance premium, which varies by age. The same salary nets roughly US$76,000 in a typical US state and about US$71,000 in the UK after income tax and national insurance. Use the calculator on /salary-calculator for any salary, which prices health insurance by age band and dependants.
What is a good salary in the Cayman Islands?
Average earnings sit in the low-to-mid CI$4,000 per month range (about CI$48,000 to CI$54,000 a year), though finance, law, and medicine pay well above that. Because the cost of living is high, Daily.ky's calculator tests take-home pay against a 25% rent-to-income ceiling: a comfortable salary is one where rent stays at or below a quarter of monthly take-home. Try your own figure on /salary-calculator.
What is the minimum wage in the Cayman Islands?
The national minimum wage is CI$8.75 (about US$10.50) per hour as of January 2026. There is no separate lower training or youth rate for standard employment. Tipped workers in the tourism sector have a partially different arrangement, but the CI$8.75 floor is the headline figure.