Mapped: Which European Countries Pay the Highest Salaries
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Key Takeaways
- Luxembourg has Europe’s highest average full-time salary, at nearly €83,000.
- Nordic and Western European countries dominate the top of the ranking.
- Salaries in many Eastern and Southern European countries are less than half those seen in the highest-earning countries.
Salaries across European countries vary widely, with the contrast especially apparent between Eastern and Western Europe.
While some European workers earn salaries comparable to those in the United States, others take home less than €20,000 (roughly $23,700) a year, highlighting the wide income gap within Europe’s economy.
This visualization shows the average annual full-time salary in every European country in 2024, using data from Eurostat and the OECD. OECD figures have been converted to euros using 2024 exchange rates.
Europe’s Highest-Paying Countries
Luxembourg ranks first in Europe, with an average full-time salary of around €83,000, also placing it among the highest-paying countries in the world.
Besides being driven by high-paying industries such as IT and finance, Luxembourg also uses a wage indexation system that automatically adjusts salaries in line with inflation to maintain purchasing power.
Here’s a look at average full-time salaries across 31 European nations:
| Rank | Country | Average full-time salary in 2024 (euros) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Luxembourg |
€82,969 |
| 2 |  Iceland |
€77,189 |
| 3 |  Switzerland |
€75,062 |
| 4 |  Denmark |
€71,565 |
| 5 |  Norway |
€64,029 |
| 6 |  Ireland |
€61,051 |
| 7 |  Belgium |
€59,632 |
| 8 |  Austria |
€58,600 |
| 9 |  Netherlands |
€58,248 |
| 10 |  Germany |
€53,791 |
| 11 |  United Kingdom |
€51,657 |
| 12 |  Finland |
€49,428 |
| 13 |  Sweden |
€46,525 |
| 14 |  France |
€43,790 |
| 15 |  Slovenia |
€35,133 |
| 16 |  Spain |
€33,700 |
| 17 |  Italy |
€33,523 |
| 18 |  Malta |
€33,499 |
| 19 |  Lithuania |
€29,104 |
| 20 |  Cyprus |
€27,611 |
| 21 |  Estonia |
€26,546 |
| 22 |  Portugal |
€24,818 |
| 23 |  Czechia |
€23,998 |
| 24 |  Croatia |
€23,446 |
| 25 |  Latvia |
€22,262 |
| 26 |  Poland |
€21,246 |
| 27 |  Romania |
€21,108 |
| 28 |  Slovakia |
€20,287 |
| 29 |  Hungary |
€18,461 |
| 30 |  Greece |
€17,954 |
| 31 |  Bulgaria |
€15,387 |
Iceland ranks second among Europe’s highest-paying countries with the average worker taking home just over €77,000. The country has also has strong union coverage, with around 90% of all employees covered by a trade union—potentially allowing for greater leverage in wage negotiations.
Several Nordic and Western European countries also rank highly. Switzerland, Denmark, and Iceland all report average salaries above €70,000 per year. Meanwhile, Germany and France—Europe’s two largest economies—sit near the middle, with average full-time wages of €53,791 and €43,790, respectively.
The East–West Divide in European Salaries
Moving south and east within Europe, average salaries drop significantly.
While Southern European countries such as Spain, Italy, and Portugal cluster closer to the €30,000 mark, Eastern European nations sit at the bottom of the ranking. Bulgaria reports Europe’s lowest average full-time salary at just €15,387, preceded by Greece, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania.
However, while headline salaries are useful for comparison, they don’t tell the full story. Countries with higher wages also tend to have higher living costs, especially for housing, childcare, and services. Meanwhile, lower-wage countries often benefit from cheaper housing and everyday expenses, partially offsetting income gaps.
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- Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-which-european-countries-actually-pay-the-highest-salaries/
