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WhereNext Open Data
National median annual earnings — gross and after-tax — for 43 countries. PPP-adjusted figures show real purchasing power. Each row shows the actual data year of the underlying wage survey (2022–2025).
Quick answer
Across 43 countries, the highest nominal gross median salary is Switzerland (~$85,714/yr); the lowest in the dataset is Vietnam (~$2,857/yr). On PPP-adjusted net income, Scandinavian and Swiss medians rival the US despite lower nominal figures. 9 of 43 countries have a median net salary that covers 12+ months of local single-person living costs — a useful affordability proxy for relocation. Source years span 2022–2025 from official wage surveys (OECD, Eurostat, ONS, BLS, etc.).
Key facts
Before you use this data — four important caveats
| Country | Data year | Gross (USD) | Net (USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerlandⓘ | 2022 | $85,714 | $73,267 | 18.3× |
| Icelandⓘ | 2023 | $67,376 | $42,082 | 11.7× |
| Denmarkⓘ | 2023 | $66,390 | $38,207 | 11.9× |
| Luxembourgⓘ | 2022 | $64,948 | $40,680 | 11.6× |
| United Statesⓘ | 2023 | $59,540 | $46,972 | 15.7× |
| Germanyⓘ | 2025 | $55,738 | $34,399 | 13.8× |
| Australiaⓘ | 2025 | $55,541 | $46,980 | 14× |
| Singaporeⓘ | 2023 | $52,941 | $51,485 | 22.9× |
| Norwayⓘ | 2023 | $52,444 | $35,692 | 10.2× |
| United Kingdomⓘ | 2025 | $47,609 | $36,792 | 12.7× |
| Netherlandsⓘ | 2023 | $46,392 | $28,967 | 10.5× |
| Irelandⓘ | 2024 | $46,202 | $34,273 | 10.2× |
| Belgiumⓘ | 2022 | $45,361 | $22,641 | 8.5× |
| Finlandⓘ | 2024 | $44,672 | $37,598 | 12.7× |
| Canadaⓘ | 2023 | $43,333 | $34,255 | 12× |
| Swedenⓘ | 2025 | $41,896 | $33,172 | 10.9× |
| Austriaⓘ | 2023 | $40,206 | $24,935 | 9.4× |
| Israelⓘ | 2025 | $34,057 | $21,582 | 6.1× |
| Franceⓘ | 2023 | $31,443 | $21,807 | 8.9× |
| New Zealandⓘ | 2023 | $30,508 | $25,234 | 8.6× |
| United Arab Emiratesⓘ | 2022 | $29,428 | $29,428 | 13.7× |
| Japanⓘ | 2023 | $29,221 | $23,316 | 8.6× |
| Italyⓘ | 2022 | $25,773 | $17,476 | 7.6× |
| Spainⓘ | 2024 | $25,255 | $17,909 | 8.1× |
| Sloveniaⓘ | 2024 | $24,543 | $13,623 | 6.8× |
| South Koreaⓘ | 2024 | $23,834 | $18,888 | 8.4× |
| Estoniaⓘ | 2025 | $21,328 | $16,721 | 8.6× |
| Lithuaniaⓘ | 2023 | $19,072 | $12,870 | 8.3× |
| Latviaⓘ | 2025 | $18,087 | $12,571 | 7.4× |
| Portugalⓘ | 2023 | $17,938 | $12,742 | 6.4× |
| Slovakiaⓘ | 2023 | $17,526 | $11,848 | 6.8× |
| Hungaryⓘ | 2023 | $16,410 | $10,912 | 7.5× |
| Czechiaⓘ | 2023 | $16,387 | $12,126 | 7.6× |
| Greeceⓘ | 2022 | $14,948 | $10,848 | 5.7× |
| Polandⓘ | 2023 | $13,971 | $12,056 | 9.3× |
| Chileⓘ | 2023 | $8,873 | $8,252 | 5× |
| Thailandⓘ | 2022 | $8,261 | $7,763 | 7.8× |
| Turkeyⓘ | 2023 | $7,917 | $5,426 | 6.4× |
| South Africaⓘ | 2022 | $7,701 | $6,238 | 4.3× |
| Brazilⓘ | 2023 | $6,154 | $5,375 | 4.1× |
| Mexicoⓘ | 2023 | $4,706 | $4,323 | 3.1× |
| Colombiaⓘ | 2023 | $3,211 | $2,954 | 3× |
| Vietnamⓘ | 2022 | $2,857 | $2,391 | 2.7× |
Sorted by gross USD descending. “Months covered” = annual net ÷ estimated monthly cost-of-living basket. ≥12× means the median worker can save at full-basket cost.
National medians span all workers. Pick a profession to see an estimated mid-level salary in each country — gross, after-tax net, and purchasing-power-equivalent net — ranked by how far the pay actually goes. Each estimate is anchored to that country's primary-sourced national median.
| Country | Est. gross | Est. net | PPP-equiv net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | $127,180 | $118,153 | $158,879 |
| United Arab Emirates | $106,158 | $106,158 | $147,138 |
| Poland | $68,700 | $57,886 | $136,142 |
| Lithuania | $93,783 | $63,284 | $124,126 |
| Estonia | $98,916 | $77,550 | $119,625 |
| Hungary | $80,693 | $53,661 | $113,235 |
| Czechia | $80,580 | $56,543 | $105,520 |
| Slovakia | $86,181 | $61,092 | $104,803 |
| Thailand | $40,622 | $34,703 | $102,778 |
| Latvia | $88,939 | $58,877 | $102,038 |
| United States | $133,080 | $98,113 | $98,113 |
| Canada | $118,590 | $92,899 | $97,097 |
| Switzerland | $156,481 | $128,812 | $96,697 |
| South Korea | $101,157 | $70,702 | $92,928 |
| Finland | $119,787 | $87,862 | $90,250 |
| Germany | $129,681 | $72,210 | $87,682 |
| Australia | $129,505 | $97,275 | $87,252 |
| Turkey | $38,930 | $24,199 | $86,906 |
| United Kingdom | $122,413 | $81,216 | $84,453 |
| France | $107,960 | $69,128 | $84,365 |
| Spain | $102,427 | $61,877 | $83,971 |
| Japan | $105,973 | $74,623 | $83,151 |
| New Zealand | $107,124 | $77,639 | $79,131 |
| Netherlands | $121,325 | $70,633 | $77,282 |
| Italy | $102,890 | $56,551 | $73,407 |
| Portugal | $88,207 | $46,001 | $69,822 |
| Ireland | $121,155 | $76,247 | $69,064 |
| Iceland | $140,086 | $83,441 | $68,805 |
| Chile | $43,631 | $37,678 | $68,382 |
| Norway | $126,736 | $77,888 | $67,101 |
| Austria | $115,794 | $58,812 | $67,088 |
| Luxembourg | $137,915 | $76,582 | $66,102 |
| Sweden | $117,305 | $66,791 | $65,014 |
| Slovenia | $101,791 | $42,366 | $63,999 |
| Denmark | $139,204 | $67,282 | $62,433 |
| Greece | $73,504 | $38,883 | $60,900 |
| Belgium | $120,403 | $50,408 | $57,613 |
| South Africa | $37,868 | $27,295 | $56,124 |
| Brazil | $30,261 | $22,179 | $52,356 |
| Israel | $110,297 | $60,060 | $50,834 |
| Mexico | $23,141 | $19,417 | $41,380 |
| Vietnam | $14,049 | $11,347 | $38,948 |
| Colombia | $15,789 | $13,075 | $37,761 |
Ranked by PPP-equivalent net (what the after-tax pay is worth in US price terms). “vs national median” = estimated gross ÷ that country's median gross — how a software engineer compares to the typical worker.
Modelled estimate, not survey data. Each profession figure is the country's national median wage scaled by the role's skill premium — a directional model, not a per-role salary survey. It is for a mid-level professional and varies widely by employer, seniority, bonus, equity, contract type and tax regime. Net is modelled via WhereNext's tax engine and is not tax or employment advice — verify with an employer or qualified advisor before making decisions.
Profession estimates · Source: National median wage surveys (OECD AV_AN_WAGE, Eurostat SES, national statistical offices) + WhereNext tax engine · Last verified Apr 30, 2026 (3 months ago)
Want the full ranking as data? Profession salary API (JSON) · CSV
On nominal after-tax pay, high-wage markets like Switzerland and the United States lead. But on purchasing-power-equivalent net income — what the pay actually buys locally — several lower-cost countries close the gap. Pick a profession in the table above to see the full ranking by PPP-equivalent net.
They are directional estimates, not survey medians for the role. Each profession figure is scaled from a US base salary by a country wage multiplier, then netted through WhereNext's tax engine. The figure is anchored to that country's primary-sourced national median wage (OECD, Eurostat SES, national statistical offices) so you can see how the role compares to the typical worker. Verify any specific offer with the employer.
Purchasing-power-parity-equivalent net income restates after-tax pay in US price terms using the World Bank ICP 2021 price-level index. A $30,000 net salary in a country where prices are 60% of US levels is worth roughly $50,000 in PPP-equivalent terms — it stretches further locally.
No. They model base salary with domestic resident tax only. Bonuses, equity, and special expat regimes (e.g. Portugal's IFICI, Spain's Beckham Law, the US FEIE) can change take-home pay substantially. See the expat tax rates dataset for inbound-foreigner rates.
This is directional data for relocation planning, not employment-contract or legal advice. Full methodology
Profession, experience, sector, and city all determine real take-home pay. The Salary Calculator adjusts for your profession across 95+ countries.
How to cite this data:
WhereNext. "Median Salaries by Country 2026." getwherenext.com/data/median-salaries-2026. Accessed 2026-06-22.
Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Free to use with attribution.
This dataset is free to redistribute, quote, and embed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. The composite form below preserves source lineage so AI assistants can cite both WhereNext and the underlying institutional publishers.
WhereNext composite — Median Salaries 2026 (2026-06-22). Derived from: OECD Average Wages dataset (2024-2025 release); Eurostat Earnings Statistics; ILOSTAT — International Labour Organization; National statistics offices (BLS, ONS, INE, ISTAT, etc.); WhereNext PPP-adjusted median synthesis. Available at https://getwherenext.com/data/median-salaries-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.
WhereNext. (2026). Median Salaries 2026. Retrieved from https://getwherenext.com/data/median-salaries-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.
WhereNext. "Median Salaries 2026." WhereNext, 22 Jun 2026, https://getwherenext.com/data/median-salaries-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. Accessed via https://getwherenext.com/data/median-salaries-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.
@misc{wherenext_getwherenext_com_data_median_salaries_2026,
author = {{WhereNext}},
title = {Median Salaries 2026},
year = {2026},
url = {https://getwherenext.com/data/median-salaries-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation},
note = {CC BY 4.0}
}<a href="https://getwherenext.com/data/median-salaries-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation">WhereNext — Median Salaries 2026</a>
Every WhereNext dataset is free to download, embed, and cite (CC BY 4.0).