The median wage for all full-time employees subject to social insurance contributions was €4,013 per month in 2024. Compared to 2023, wages and salaries have thus increased by €218 or 5.7 percent. The significant increase is mainly attributable to wage increases resulting from higher collective wage agreements.
Salary by gender
While the median pay for men was €4,138, women earned €3,793. The difference amounted to 346 euros, representing a decrease of €21 compared to 2023. This so-called unadjusted gender pay gap has various causes. The different professional fields and industry focuses of women and men play a decisive role here. Family-related career breaks, which are more common among women, also delay or sometimes prevent career advancement and, as a result, higher earnings.
Highest fees in Hamburg, lowest in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
The highest median salaries were earned by full-time employees in Hamburg (€4,527), Baden-Württemberg (€4,356) and Hesse (€4,325). The median is lowest in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (€3,294), Thuringia (€3,307) and Saxony-Anhalt (€3,353).
Academics were among the top earners
How much employees earn also depends heavily on their qualifications. While people without vocational qualifications earned €2,987, those with recognised vocational qualifications earned €3,870. Academics earned a median salary of €5,916.
Age affects pay
With increasing age – which is usually accompanied by greater professional experience – the median pay of employees rises. Employees under the age of 25 earned €3,061, while those aged between 25 and 55 earned €4,079. Employees aged 55 and over earned €4,165.
Salary Atlas with results by profession
With the publication of the latest figures, the BA Salary atlas has also been updated
accordingly. There, the fees for all professions can be accessed in real time.
Wichtig:Methodological notes
The BA statistics show median salaries and not "average salaries" in the strict sense.
Furthermore, only full-time employees are taken into account. The data is based on
social security contributions reported by employers. Since wages and salaries are
only reported up to the contribution assessment ceiling for pension insurance,
which last year was €7,550 in western Germany and €7,450 in eastern Germany, the
actual salary earned by all employees is not known. The BA statistics therefore show
the median wage, i.e. half of the employees earn a wage below this median wage
and half earn a wage above it. The BA always assesses salaries on December 31
for all full-time employees.