The wage differences between Germany and Switzerland are definitely higher than 13.90 euros.Image: www.imago-images.de
Compared to Switzerland, people earn significantly less in Germany – but only a look at the median and distribution shows how big the differences really are.
April 2, 2026, 6:18 p.mApril 2, 2026, 6:18 p.m
How much do you actually earn in Germany? New numbers of the Federal Statistical Office show: Wages are rising – but the differences between rich and poor remain large. According to the 2025 earnings survey, the average gross annual salary of full-time employees in Germany last year was 64,441 euros, including special payments such as holiday or Christmas bonuses. The employees in our northern neighboring country earn an average of around 5,370 euros gross per month.
But be careful: a few particularly high earnings drive up the average. You can get a better impression of the wage structure in Germany if you look at the gross median wage. In 2025, including special payments, this was 54,066 euros per year, i.e. 4,506 euros per month. Half of the employees in Germany earned more or exactly that amount, while the other half received less.
Things get exciting when it comes to the distribution of income. Data from the Federal Statistical Office show how widely wages differ: the top 10 percent of full-time employees achieved gross annual earnings of 100,719 euros or more in 2025. The 10 percent at the bottom of the ascending distribution earned 33,828 euros gross or less.
This means that there is sometimes a difference of more than 60,000 euros per year between the lower and upper incomes – and at the absolute top there is even a multiple of that. Because the top 1 percent in Germany earns 219,110 euros or more.
The percentage distribution of gross monthly earnings from April 2025 shows that almost two thirds of Germans earn between 3,000 and 5,000 euros per month and only around 10 percent earn more than 7,000 euros.
On average, the trend is slightly upward: in 2025, wages rose by 4.2 percent in nominal terms, and in real terms – i.e. after deducting inflation – by 1.9 percent. After years of high inflation, this is at least the first sign of recovery.
Nevertheless, the income level in Germany remains significantly below that in Switzerland. In this country, the gross median wage in 2024 was 7,024 francs per month, which currently corresponds to 7,625 euros. Extrapolated over the year, the median income in Switzerland is around 84,300 francs (91,500 euros) – well above the most common income in Germany.
But the comparison has a catch: the cost of living is massively higher in Switzerland. Rents and health insurance premiums in particular put pressure on the budget. Nevertheless, the disposable income in Switzerland is ultimately clearly higher than that in Germany. According to a study by the market research institute NielsenIQ Purchasing power in Switzerland is 53,011 euros, almost twice as high as in Germany (29,566 euros).