Salary level in Austria
Raise your standard! Austria stands out in an international comparison thanks to its very good level of wages. According to the latest OECD statistics, it is ahead of countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Finland and France and recently also surpasses Germany. It is important to note that as a rule, the monthly salary in Austria is paid fourteen times per year.
Average salary in Austria
The average gross annual salary in Austria is €51.500 for full-time employees (Statistik Austria 2024) and there are slight fluctuations between the Austrian federal states in terms of purchasing power. Lower Austria and Vorarlberg top the list.
An important benchmark used to measure the material prosperity of Austrian households is also the actual individual consumption (AIC), which is expressed as the purchasing power standard (PPS). This includes goods and services consumed by households, regardless of whether the households themselves, the state or charitable organisations pay for them. In this regard Austria is ranked third in Europe, surpassed only by Luxembourg.
Special payments in Austria
In addition to the monthly salary, many companies make special payments to their employees, namely a 13th and 14th monthly salary, as well as holiday pay, holiday and Christmas bonuses.
However, in contrast to vacation pay, in which the employee is also paid a normal salary during her or his vacation, there is no legal entitlement to these special payments. Nevertheless, in practice, the vast majority of employees benefit from these special payments on the basis of collective wage agreements.
Highest paid fields
and occupational groups
A survey of skilled employees carried out by the online job platform Stepstone concludes that the following sectors comprise the highest paid lines of work: chemical and oil processing industry, IT & Internet, banking, energy and water supply and disposal and financial services.
In terms of occupational groups, people working in finance and management boast the highest average salary in Austria, closely followed by IT.
With respect to job titles, project managers, lawyers and controllers are the winners. They are ranked first, second and third respectively in the list of people having the highest wages in Austria.
Living expenses in Austria
Mercer's Cost of Living Survey compares the cost of living for expats in 266 major cities worldwide on an annual basis. Factors such as rent, food, public transport, leisure activities and clothing are taken into account.
While Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore are the most expensive cities in the world for expatriates, three Swiss cities top the ranking within Europe: Zurich, Basel and Geneva. Austria currently ranks 24th worldwide, well behind comparable European cities such as London (8) and Copenhagen (11).
Find the starting salaries for your occupational group here: karrierekompass.atkarrierekompass.at () (German only)