Which European countries have the best salaries after taxes?

Published connected 02/04/2026 - 10:30 GMT+2•Updated 10:45

If you enactment successful Luxembourg, you're successful luck — you're apt being paid the highest hourly wage connected mean crossed the full of Europe

The Grand Duchy astatine the bosom of the continent offers an mean nett wage of €49.7 per hour, according to caller Eurostat figures released this week.

A radical of Nordic nations comes next, with Iceland successful 2nd spot (€47.0), followed by Norway (€45.8) and Denmark (€44.7).

At the different extremity of the table, Latvia (€12.9), Romania (€12.9) and Bulgaria (€10.5) person the lowest mean hourly wage.

Which countries are seeing the fastest nett wage growth?

It's not each atrocious quality for Eastern Europe, however. Between 2021 and 2025, Bulgaria recorded the largest summation successful nett salaries, with a 69.4% surge.

Poland besides performed highly powerfully with wages aft taxes rising by 66% implicit the aforesaid period, followed by Romania with a 61.3% surge.

Workers successful Croatia, Lithuania and Hungary besides saw their nett wage summation by much than 50% connected average.

On the different hand, wage slips remained comparatively unchangeable successful Norway (5.5%), Sweden (6.1%) and Italy (10.6%), which reported the slowest summation successful Europe betwixt 2021 and 2025.

Germany, France and Spain besides posted wage maturation beneath the EU mean of 20%.

Where bash taxes measurement the astir connected employers and employees?

Starting and moving a medium-sized concern successful the EU tin beryllium costly for employers.

For businesses with astatine slightest 10 employees, workers outgo astir €35 per hr successful total. The complaint rises to €38 erstwhile looking solely astatine Eurozone countries.

Around a 4th of that wealth is for non-wage costs, similar societal contributions. But determination are immense differences from 1 state to different successful however labour costs are allocated.

Employers successful France (32%), Sweden (32%) and Slovakia (29%) prolong the highest non-salary costs, portion that stock is astir zero successful Romania, Lithuania and Malta, according to Eurostat.

Spanish and Italian businesses study higher taxes connected enactment than the EU average, portion reporting nett hourly wages beneath the bloc's average.

Which countries grounds the highest labour costs successful total?

Employers successful Luxembourg wage the astir successful total, astir €57 per hour, erstwhile you see wages and societal contributions, the highest complaint successful the EU.

That’s a afloat €5 much per hr than second-placed Denmark and astir €10 much than the Netherlands successful 3rd place.

But the spread betwixt the apical and the bottommost of the ranking is glaring.

In Bulgaria, labour costs are conscionable €12 per hour, the lowest successful the EU, and a small implicit €15 successful Hungary.

According to Eurostat, hourly labour costs astatine the full system level roseate by 4.1% successful the EU and by 3.8% successful the euro area, compared with 2024.

Malta was the lone state wherever full labour costs went down (-0.5%), portion the largest increases were recorded successful Bulgaria (+13.1%), Croatia (+11.6%) and Slovenia (+9.3%).