Cost-of-living rankings · Eurostat PLI 2024
Highest Median Net Income
Countries by median net household income (EUR) — the income side of affordability.
- #1 Highest income
- Switzerland (€51,926)
- Average
- €23,893
- Top–bottom spread
- €43,739
- Countries ranked
- 29
The verdict
According to Eurostat, Switzerland leads on median net income at €51,926 EUR, ahead of Luxembourg at €50,046; the Top 5 cutoff is €36,192, with a €43,739-point spread down to Romania.
- €51,926
- #1 Switzerland
- €50,046
- #2 Luxembourg
- €36,192
- Top 5 cutoff
- €43,739
- Top–bottom spread
Every figure is rendered live from the same Eurostat 2024 ranking query as the table below, no AI summaries, no synthetic statistics.
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 29 countries
What this shows: each bar's length is this country's median net income relative to the highest value in the table (€51,926); hover or tap a bar for its share of the #1 leader and exact rank.
| Rank | Country | Median net income |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 2 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | |
| 3 | 🇳🇴 Norway | |
| 4 | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 5 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 6 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 7 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 8 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 9 | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 10 | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | |
| 12 | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | |
| 14 | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 15 | 🇲🇹 Malta | |
| 16 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 17 | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 18 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | |
| 19 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 20 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 21 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 22 | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 23 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 24 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | |
| 25 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 26 | 🇬🇷 Greece | |
| 27 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | |
| 28 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 29 | 🇷🇴 Romania |
Wide highest income gap: Switzerland → Romania
Eurostat median net household income (EUR). Switzerland sits at €51,926 versus Romania at €8,187 - a €43,739 gap on the income ladder. Pair incomes with price levels on best-value and cheapest overall.
Mid-table Malta (€22,034) is far from both poles, the favourable end is a different cost world from the tail. Open any country profile for the full per-category breakdown.
Price companions
What to do with this ranking
Switzerland and Romania anchor the two ends of this highest income table -- open either profile for the full per-category breakdown, or compare them side by side.
- Switzerland's full cost profile
- Compare Switzerland vs Romania
- See the best value ranking
- Run your own numbers in the calculator
Rankings reflect national averages, not a personal budget -- a country's largest cities typically run above its national figure.
Source: Eurostat, comparative price levels (prc_ppp_ind) and median equivalised net income Price-level indices, EU-27 = 100, 2024.
Sources: Eurostat comparative price levels (prc_ppp_ind) · Eurostat median equivalised net income (ilc_di03) · 2024. Methodology