Average Salaries Across Europe by Country: Which Pay the Most - and Where Earnings Go Furthest

The gap hidden inside the EU average

According to Eurostat, the average hourly labour cost across the EU was €34.9 in 2025. That single number conceals an extreme spread. In 2025, hourly labour costs ranged from €12.0 in Bulgaria to €56.8 in Luxembourg. No country-level decision should be based on the EU average alone.

A portion of that cost never reaches employees as take-home pay. Across the EU in 2025, non-wage costs - mainly employers' social contributions - made up 24.8% of total labour costs (25.6% in the euro area). This share varied sharply by country: France carried the highest non-wage burden at 32.3%, Sweden at 31.7%. At the other end, Romania recorded just 4.8%, Lithuania 5.5% and Malta 5.8%.

Median hourly earnings: the country-by-country picture

Eurostat's structure of earnings survey - covering enterprises with 10 or more employees, and excluding agriculture, public administration, private households and extraterritorial organisations - reported these median gross hourly earnings in euros in 2022:

Highest median hourly earnings: - Denmark: €29.8 - Luxembourg: €24.0 - Belgium: €23.8 - Ireland: €20.3 - Germany: €19.4 - Finland: €19.3 - Sweden: €19.3 - Netherlands: €19.0

Lowest median hourly earnings: - Bulgaria: €4.1 - Romania: €5.6 - Hungary: €5.7 - Portugal: €6.2 - Croatia: €6.8 - Poland: €6.9

In nominal euro terms, the highest national median was 7.4 times the lowest, according to Eurostat.

Where salaries go furthest: purchasing power matters

Nominal figures tell only part of the story. When Eurostat applies purchasing power standards (PPS) - a unit that removes price level differences between countries - the ranking shifts.

Median gross hourly earnings in PPS (2022): - Denmark: 22.4 PPS - Belgium: 21.3 PPS - Luxembourg: 18.4 PPS - Germany: 17.3 PPS - Ireland: 17.0 PPS

The gap narrows considerably in PPS terms: the highest national median was 3.3 times the lowest - compared with 7.4 times in euro terms. Belgium, which ranked third nominally, rises to second in PPS. Luxembourg, which ranked second nominally, drops to third - meaning its high nominal wage reflects, in part, higher local prices.

At the lower end of the PPS ranking, Eurostat recorded: Bulgaria (6.7 PPS), Portugal (7.4 PPS), Hungary and Latvia (8.9 PPS each), Croatia (9.4 PPS), Slovakia (9.7 PPS), Greece (9.8 PPS) and Romania (9.9 PPS).

Low-wage work: where it is common and where it is rare

Eurostat defines low-wage earners as employees who earn two-thirds or less of their national median gross hourly earnings. In 2022, 14.7% of EU employees fell into that category, down from 15.2% in 2018.

Countries with the highest shares of low-wage earners in 2022: - Bulgaria: 26.8% - Romania: 23.9% - Latvia: 23.3% - Greece: 21.7% - Estonia: 21.2% - Cyprus: 20.0%

Countries with the lowest shares: - Portugal: 1.8% - Sweden: 4.1% - Finland: 6.5% - Italy: 8.8% - Slovenia: 9.4% - France: 9.7% - Denmark: 9.7%

Because the low-wage threshold is defined against each country's own median - not a single EU-wide benchmark - a low incidence figure does not necessarily mean high absolute wages. Portugal's 1.8% low-wage share sits alongside a median hourly wage of €6.2. The definition is relative by design.

What job seekers should take from this

For anyone weighing a role in a different European country, the PPS-adjusted figures are the more reliable starting point. A euro-for-euro comparison overstates the real advantage of nominally higher-paying markets when living costs differ. Eurostat's data shows the gap between top and bottom shrinks from 7.4 times to 3.3 times once prices are accounted for.

The data covers a specific set of countries and sectors; figures are from 2022 for earnings and 2025 for labour costs, and both come from Eurostat's harmonised surveys. Use them as a directional guide, not a definitive salary promise for any individual role.

Browse open positions across Europe on NewLuxJob to see what employers in different markets are currently offering.

Source: Eurostat, Wages and labour costs (data extracted 31 March 2026)