What Jobs Pay Around the World
Comparing salaries across countries is harder than it looks, and most comparisons get it wrong in the same three ways: converting at the exchange rate instead of purchasing power, comparing gross figures that mean different things, and ignoring the statutory benefits and employer contributions that sit outside the number entirely. Occupation-level wage data exists at good quality for only a handful of countries.
The United States publishes a wage survey covering 830 occupations across every state and 393 metropolitan areas, in full, for free. Almost nowhere else does. That asymmetry shapes everything in this section, and pretending otherwise would be the first mistake.
What can actually be compared
For a small number of countries — the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and several EU members through the European survey of earnings — occupation-level figures exist and are broadly comparable. For most of the world, what exists is an average wage, sometimes broken down by sector, and nothing finer.
So a question like "what does my occupation pay in Portugal" often has no published answer, and a page that gives you one confidently has usually derived it from something weaker than it appears.
The three errors that recur
Converting at the exchange rate. The exchange rate tells you what your money buys if you spend it in the other country tomorrow. It tells you almost nothing about living there, which is what purchasing power parity is for.
Comparing gross to gross. Gross pay is not the same quantity everywhere. In some countries it is paid over thirteen or fourteen months; in others large employer contributions sit on top of it and never appear in the figure you were quoted.
Ignoring what the salary does not have to cover. Where healthcare, a pension contribution and several weeks of leave are statutory, a lower gross figure can be a better package, and no currency conversion will show you that.
The one that decides it
Take-home. Marginal rates and the thresholds they apply at differ enormously, and a gross comparison between two countries with different tax structures is a comparison of two things nobody receives.
Articles in this section
- Comparing Salaries Across Countries Without Getting It Wrong 1 min read
- Exchange Rates or Purchasing Power: The Right Way to Convert 2 min read
- Gross Pay Means Different Things in Different Countries 2 min read
- The Countries With the Highest Average Wages 1 min read
- Where Your Occupation Pays Best Outside the US 2 min read
- Thirteenth-Month Salaries and Other Structures Americans Miss 1 min read
- How Employer Social Contributions Change What You Really Cost 1 min read
- Statutory Benefits That Replace Cash Pay in Other Countries 2 min read
- Which Countries Publish Occupation-Level Wage Data 2 min read
- Working Abroad: Where the Take-Home Actually Lands 2 min read
Common questions
Can I compare my salary to another country's directly?
Not at the exchange rate, and not gross to gross. Convert at purchasing power, then compare take-home, then account for what the salary does not have to cover in each place.
Which countries publish occupation-level wage data?
A handful u2014 the UK, Canada, Australia and several EU members through the European earnings survey. For most countries what exists is an average wage, sometimes by sector, and nothing finer.
Why is the US data so much better?
The US publishes a large employer survey covering 830 occupations by state and metro area, in full and for free. Very few countries publish at that resolution, and none publishes more.
What is purchasing power parity?
A conversion based on what a comparable basket of goods costs in each country, rather than what currencies trade at. It is the right tool for asking what a salary is worth to live on.
Does a lower salary abroad mean lower living standards?
Not necessarily. Where healthcare, pension contributions and substantial paid leave are statutory, a lower gross figure can leave you better off than a higher one that must cover all three privately.
What is a thirteenth-month salary?
An additional month's pay, mandated or customary in many countries, usually paid at year end. An annual figure quoted as twelve months understates total pay wherever it applies.
Getting Paid More
Once you know what the work pays, the next question is how to get more of it.
Read it →