Cost-of-living rankings · Eurostat HICP 2023
Highest Median Net Income
Countries by median net household income (EUR) — the income side of affordability.
- #1 Highest income
- Switzerland (€51,500)
- Average
- €21,042
- Top–bottom spread
- €45,700
- Countries ranked
- 31
Top 10 - Highest income
Highest Median Net Income (top 10)
Median net household income in euros, the income side of affordability. Higher is better.
Full ranking, all 31 countries
| Rank | Country | Median net income |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | €51,500 |
| 2 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | €38,500 |
| 3 | 🇮🇸 Iceland | €36,500 |
| 4 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | €33,800 |
| 5 | 🇳🇴 Norway | €32,500 |
| 6 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | €32,500 |
| 7 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | €28,500 |
| 8 | 🇦🇹 Austria | €28,500 |
| 9 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | €27,500 |
| 10 | 🇫🇮 Finland | €26,900 |
| 11 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | €26,800 |
| 12 | 🇩🇪 Germany | €26,100 |
| 13 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | €25,500 |
| 14 | 🇫🇷 France | €25,500 |
| 15 | 🇮🇹 Italy | €19,500 |
| 16 | 🇪🇸 Spain | €17,500 |
| 17 | 🇲🇹 Malta | €17,500 |
| 18 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | €17,500 |
| 19 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | €16,500 |
| 20 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | €14,500 |
| 21 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | €13,200 |
| 22 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | €12,500 |
| 23 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | €12,000 |
| 24 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | €11,000 |
| 25 | 🇬🇷 Greece | €11,000 |
| 26 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | €9,800 |
| 27 | 🇵🇱 Poland | €9,800 |
| 28 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | €9,200 |
| 29 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | €8,200 |
| 30 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | €6,200 |
| 31 | 🇷🇴 Romania | €5,800 |
How to read this ranking
These are median net household incomes in euros, drawn from Eurostat's income statistics. Income alone does not determine living standards, a high income in an expensive country can buy less than a modest income where prices are low. Pair this with the best-value ranking, which combines income and cost.
The mid-table country, Spain (€17,500), is a useful reference: countries above it score higher than typical, those below lower. A country can rank well on one category and poorly on another, cheap groceries do not guarantee cheap rent. Open any country profile for the full per-category breakdown.
Other rankings
Source: Eurostat, comparative price levels (HICP) and median equivalised net income Eurostat, comparative price levels (HICP) and median equivalised net income Price-level indices, EU-27 = 100, 2023.
Read our methodology - how these indices are sourced and computed.