Average Salaries in Germany in 2026: Median, Occupations, States and Cities
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Average salary in Germany: what to use as a benchmark
In Germany, salaries are almost always discussed in gross terms: before taxes, social-security contributions and possible supplements. To assess the market, it is therefore important to understand exactly what figure you are looking at: average salary, median, monthly income, annual income, full-time employment, or data including bonuses.
For a general benchmark in 2026, three different indicators are useful:
| Indicator | Amount | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Average full-time gross salary according to Destatis, 2024 | €4,701 per month | The average for full-time employment; high incomes pull it up noticeably |
| Full-time median according to the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, 2024 | €4,013 per month | Half of full-time employees earn less, and half earn more |
| StepStone Salary Report 2026 market median | €53,900 per year | A benchmark based on the portal’s 2025 data and its own methodology |
The median is usually more practical than the average, particularly when moving country or negotiating pay. It is less distorted by very high incomes and is closer to what the middle of the market earns. The BA also reports an interquartile range: in 2024, half of full-time employees were roughly between €3,051 and €5,449 gross per month.
If you count not only full-time employment but all workers covered by social insurance, including some part-time employees and trainees, the median is lower: about €3,340 gross per month. That is why comparing a “salary in Germany” without specifying the calculation base is risky.
Where to check salaries by occupation
The most reliable official source for median salaries is the Bundesagentur für Arbeit’s statistics and Entgeltatlas. Entgeltatlas lets you look up the median by Beruf, federal state and a number of large cities.
Destatis is useful for overall salary trends, sectors and averages. StepStone’s market reports and services such as Gehalt-Check are best used as an additional benchmark for negotiations rather than official statistics: they have a different sample and methodology.
What matters to immigrants
An employment contract almost always states the gross amount. Net income matters more for a personal budget, so before comparing it with income in another country, calculate your net salary separately.
At the start after moving, income may be below the median for the occupation. The most common factors are not citizenship itself, but German language skills, recognition of qualifications, local experience, collective agreements, region and employer size.
Official statistics also have a technical limitation: very high incomes in BA and Entgeltatlas data are not displayed in full because of the Beitragsbemessungsgrenze in pension insurance. Tables for 2024 therefore contain labels such as >€7,450 or >€7,550, while in 2026 the unified Beitragsbemessungsgrenze in the general pension system is €8,450 per month.
Mindestlohn and Minijob in 2026
Mindestlohn sets the lower pay limit for most employees. In 2026, the minimum wage in Germany is €13.90 gross per hour. The next increase to €14.60 is planned for 1 January 2027.
Because the Minijob limit is tied to Mindestlohn, the limit for geringfügige Beschäftigung in 2026 is €603 per month, and it is expected to rise to €633 in 2027.
| Indicator | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Mindestlohn | €13.90 per hour | €14.60 per hour |
| Minijob limit | €603 per month | €633 per month |
| Hours per month when paid exactly Mindestlohn | about 43.4 hours | about 43.4 hours |
For entry-level jobs in hospitality, cleaning, retail, warehousing and household services, Mindestlohn often becomes the practical lower limit. If an offer is below it, check it especially carefully.
Salaries by education and qualifications
Higher education helps, but in Germany the labour market looks more broadly: a recognised Berufsabschluss, task level, experience, sector and language skills all matter.
Official BA median by education, 2024:
| Education | Median gross pay per month |
|---|---|
| No recognised vocational qualification | €2,987 |
| Recognised vocational qualification | €3,870 |
| Academic education | €5,916 |
Official BA median by task level, 2024:
| Task level | Median gross pay per month |
|---|---|
| Helfer — assistant-level work | €2,863 |
| Fachkraft — skilled work | €3,720 |
| Spezialist — specialised work | €5,005 |
| Experte — expert level | €6,292 |
This is an important takeaway for newcomers: a decent salary in Germany does not always require a university degree. A recognised vocational qualification often raises income noticeably compared with unskilled employment.
StepStone’s 2025 figures place the market median for employees with a university degree above that for employees without an academic degree. These figures are useful for negotiations, but they cannot be directly combined with official BA medians.
Vocational secondary education in Germany can be a strong alternative to an academic path, especially in technical, medical and manufacturing occupations.
Sectors and company size
Income depends strongly not only on the job, but also on the sector. According to Destatis data for 2024, finance, insurance, IT, communications, and professional and scientific-technical services were above average among full-time employees including special payments. Hospitality, agriculture, and some administrative and support services were usually below average.
Average annual income by selected Destatis sectors, 2024:
| Sector | Average gross income per year |
|---|---|
| Finance and insurance | €90,652 |
| Information and communication | €83,565 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | €79,637 |
| Real-estate activities | €61,570 |
| Transport and warehousing | €50,106 |
| Administrative and support services | €47,842 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | €40,413 |
| Hospitality and food services | €38,722 |
Company size matters too. According to the BA, the 2024 median rises with the number of employees:
| Employer size | Median gross pay per month |
|---|---|
| 1–9 employees | €3,048 |
| 10–49 employees | €3,491 |
| 50–249 employees | €3,896 |
| 250+ employees | €4,825 |
When looking for a job in Germany, it is worth considering this separately: large companies tend to pay more, but they usually have stricter requirements for fit, language skills, experience and role suitability.
Gender pay gap
According to the official BA full-time median for 2024, men earned €4,138 gross per month and women earned €3,793. The difference was about €346.
StepStone’s 2025 market sample shows a similar issue: the median for women is lower than for men. In such reports, it is important to check whether they refer to the “unadjusted” gap or a figure adjusted for job, sector, tenure, region and other factors.
These figures cannot be directly compared with the official Gender Pay Gap for hourly pay, because the calculation base is different. For a practical salary assessment, examine occupation, region, tenure and level of responsibility separately.
Tenure and experience
In Germany, employers do not pay “for age”; they pay for experience, task level and value to the employer. However, the length of uninterrupted employment correlates well with income.
Official BA median by length of uninterrupted employment, 2024:
| Uninterrupted tenure | Median gross pay per month |
|---|---|
| Under 1 year | €2,914 |
| 1–2 years | €3,232 |
| 3–4 years | €3,551 |
| 5–6 years | €3,733 |
| 9–10 years | €4,034 |
| 20+ years | €4,945 |
The overall full-time median of €4,013 is reached at roughly 9–10 years of uninterrupted employment. In a real career, income is also affected by moving between companies, collective agreements, managerial responsibility and changing region.
States and cities: where pay is higher
The regional gap in Germany remains noticeable. According to the BA median for 2024, western Germany was at about €4,117 gross per month, and eastern Germany at about €3,539. The difference was about €578.
Official median salary by federal state, BA 2024:
| State | Median gross pay per month |
|---|---|
| Hamburg | €4,527 |
| Baden-Württemberg | €4,356 |
| Hesse | €4,325 |
| Berlin | €4,198 |
| Bavaria | €4,166 |
| Bremen | €4,157 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | €4,038 |
| Saarland | €3,975 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | €3,920 |
| Lower Saxony | €3,832 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | €3,731 |
| Brandenburg | €3,402 |
| Saxony | €3,388 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | €3,353 |
| Thuringia | €3,307 |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | €3,294 |
A high salary in Munich, Frankfurt or Hamburg does not always mean higher disposable income: rent and the cost of living can consume a substantial part of the advantage.
Market reports by city are useful as an additional map for negotiations. For example, StepStone’s 2025 data showed higher medians in Munich and Frankfurt am Main than in Leipzig, Dresden or Chemnitz. But this is the portal’s market sample, not an official ranking of all employees.
Salary trends and purchasing power
Nominal salary alone says little about quality of life. What matters is whether income grows faster than prices.
According to Destatis, nominal wages rose by about 5.4% in 2024, inflation was around 2.2%, and real wages rose by about 3.1%. Growth continued more moderately in 2025: nominal wages rose by about 4.2%, inflation was around 2.2%, and real wages rose by about 1.9%.
According to the BA, the full-time median increased from €3,796 in 2023 to €4,013 in 2024. That is about +€218 or +5.7%.
Examples of salaries by occupation
For a specific position, it is better not to rely on a general table but to check Entgeltatlas using the German name of the occupation. There you can see medians by Beruf, state and large city.
High medians for broad BA occupational groups, 2024:
| Occupational group | Median gross pay per month |
|---|---|
| Computer science and other ICT occupations | €5,907 |
| Technical development and production management | €5,760 |
| Finance, accounting and tax consulting | €5,354 |
| Construction design, architecture and surveying | €5,267 |
| Procurement, sales and retail occupations | €5,100 |
Low medians for broad BA occupational groups, 2024:
| Occupational group | Median gross pay per month |
|---|---|
| Cleaning and sanitation | €2,536 |
| Tourism, hotels and gastronomy | €2,666 |
| Food production and processing | €2,862 |
| Agriculture, animal work and forestry | €2,930 |
| Textiles and leather | €2,949 |
Benchmarks for selected fields, BA 2024:
| Field | Median gross pay per month |
|---|---|
| Software development | €6,097 |
| IT consulting | €6,063 |
| Care for sick and elderly people | €4,890 |
| Early childhood education and childcare | €4,100 |
| Automotive engineering | €3,588 |
| Occupational therapy | €3,475 |
| Physiotherapy | €3,248 |
| Cooks | €2,882 |
How to use these figures when looking for a job
- Find the German name of the occupation and check it in Entgeltatlas.
- Compare not only Germany as a whole but also the state or city where the vacancy is located.
- Assess company size, sector, collective agreement and task level separately.
- Convert gross pay to net pay, taking account of Steuerklasse, insurance and any children.
- Use the official median as a baseline for negotiations, and market reports as an additional argument.
If the occupation is regulated, requires Anerkennung, or is covered by collective agreements, it is best to check the salary benchmark against several sources: Entgeltatlas, vacancies, sectoral wage agreements and advice from relevant organisations.
