Over this 23-year period, annual wages in Spain fluctuated greatly, ranging from a low of 28,685 euros in 2006 to a high of approximately 31,910 euros in 2009. The average annual wage stood at approximately 30,655 euros in 2023. Compared to other European countries, Spain ranked fairly low in 2022. The annual salary in the Iberian country was similar to salaries in Italy and Slovenia, but remained far from the figures that were registered in France, Ireland and Germany. Minimum wage Spain's minimum monthly wage was 1,134 euros as of 2024. Unlike the average annual wage, it has been constantly increasing on a nearly continuous basis since 2008, when the minimum wage was 600 euros per month. In 2019, the Socialist government of Spain passed a law by that increased the national minimum wage by 164 euros, therefore making it stand at 900 euros per month and reflecting the largest increase to date. Along with the monthly wage, the national minimum daily wage has also been raised consistently over the past years. In 2024, the gross minimum was 37.8 euros a day, whereas in 2000 it was 20 euros a day. Unequal pay The average salary in Spain diverges considerably according to different factors. For instance, the gender salary gap remains significant in the Mediterranean country, although it has shrunk in recent years. In 2021, the average salary for a male full-time employee was around nine percent higher than his female counterpart. The gender gap is even wider for permanent positions: that year, average annual salaries for women were roughly 6,000 euros less than average salaries for men. The salary gap is also conspicuous when looking at the wage for workers with disabilities, a gap that has increased in recent years. Geographic location is also important; the average net salary in regions such as Extremadura and the Canary Islands was less than 23,100 euros per year in 2022, far from the salary in the Basque Country and Madrid (32,300 and 31,200 euros, respectively).

In 2023, the average gross monthly wage for individuals aged 55 or older in Spain was 2,478 euros, which is almost 600 euros higher than it was in 2006. On the other hand, workers aged between 16 and 24 earned a gross salary of 1,387 euros per month, which is 303 euros higher than at the beginning of the observed period.

In 2022, the Basque Country registered the highest average annual wage in Spain, with approximately 32,313 euros per year. The second and third best-paid regions were the Community of Madrid and Navarre with over 29,000 euros each. Spain's minimum monthly wage was 1,134 euros in 2024, with a daily minimum wage of 37.8.

The average pre-tax income of the top ten percent earners in Spain was over 95,500 euros at purchasing power parity (PPP) as of 2022, almost nine times more than the average income of the bottom half earners. Looking at the distribution of national income in Spain, the earnings of the least affluent half of the population equated to 21 percent of the total country income in 2022, 0.1 percentage points less than one decade earlier. Moreover, the top one percent of earners in Spain accounted for over ten percent of the overall national income.

The national minimum wage per month in Spain increased steadily over the last years. The minimum monthly wage grew by about 89 percent from 2008 to 2024, with salaries increasing from 600 euros a month to 1,134 euros a month in 2023. In 2019, the Socialist government of Spain passed a decree by which the national minimum wage would be given a boost of 164 euros, therefore making it stand at 900 euros per month as of that year, the largest increase to date.

Salaries in Spain

Along with the monthly wage, the national minimum daily wage also grew consistently over the past years, with the gross minimum standing at 37.8 euros a day in 2024 relative to 20 euros a day in 2008. Annual wages in Spain have however not followed this trend and fluctuated greatly during the same period. The highest average wage registered in Spain took place in 2009, year in which the mean salary amounted to over 30,000 euros a year after a period of ongoing growth. Spanish salaries however initiated a downtrend that prompted the average worker to earn approximately 29,113 thousand euros a year in 2022.

Salaries in Europe

Iceland ranked as the European country that featured the highest salaries in 2022, with an average wage of approximately 79,473 euros a year. Luxembourg and Switzerland followed second and third, with average salaries of 78,000 and 73,000 a year, respectively. In terms of growth, Portugal ranked as the country that saw the lowest decrease in salaries in 2022 compared to the previous year, with a development of -0.2 percent more relative to 2021, during that year, no European country registered an increase in real wages.

In 2023, the average annual net income per capita in Spain was 14,082 euros. The autonomous community with the highest average annual net income was the Basque Country, where it exceeded 18,189 euros. In contrast, Extremadura was the region with the lowest average income, with 11,314 euros per year.

After the financial crisis of 2007-2008, salary growth stagnated in Spain, falling from eight percent in 2008 to 0.2 in 2011. In 2016 the average gross annual salary experienced a negative growth, falling by 0.8 percent compared to 2015. In 2023, by contrast, it grew by 7.28 percent.

In 2023, the average annual net income per capita for individuals aged 30-44 amounted to approximately 14,078 euros. The 65 and over age group has the highest average annual net income at 16,185 euros, which was five thousand euros higher than the 16 to 29 age group at 10,129 euros.

Mercadona, the leading Spanish supermarket company , was the supermarket chain with the highest average annual salary in Spain in 2023, where employees earned more of 20,000 euros annually (gross salary). In contrast, Eroski was the supermarket chain with the lowest annual gross salary.

Throughout the analyzed period, workers aged 16 to 24 years experienced the largest fall in average gross monthly wage. Gross salaries plummeted by seven percent in 2012 for those between the ages of 16 and 24, when this age group's monthly salary fell from 1,118.68 to 1,040.31 euros. On the other hand, the gross salary of workers aged 35 to 44 years experienced a relatively stable growth between 2011 and 2015.

In 2022, women working in Spain received, on average, a lower wage than their male counterparts, regardless of their nationality. The pay gap was particularly conspicuous in the case of employees from European countries not in the EU and from Africa. Citizens from the American continent working in Spain received an average wage of 18,232 euros per year.

Among the cultural activities in Spain in 2022, broadcasting activities ranked highest on the average annual salary with almost 41.7 thousand euros annually. This figure represented around 16 thousand euros more than the national average for all cultural occupations that year.

In 2023, the average annual net household income in Spain was 34,821 euros. Far from the national average was the net household income in the southern regions of Extremadura and Andalusia, where it was less than 30,000 euros. The community with the highest average income was Madrid, with more than 42,900 euros.

In 2022, the average salary for a male employed full time was 31,785 euros whereas a female employed full time earned approximately 29,931 euros. The salary gap has shrunk since 2012, when full-time male employees earned over 15 percent more than their female colleagues. However, the gender breach is wider for permanent positions.The gender pay gap Such inequalities in salary are reflected in the index for gender gap in economic participation and opportunities. In the sub-index equal pay for the same job, Spain scored 0.69 points. The degree of discrimination also varies from one industry to the next. In the sectors of health and social services, and professional, scientific and technical activities, male employees earned over 20 percent more per hour than their female counterparts. Some of the disparities in pay can be attributed to the inability of women to work and receive compensation for overtime shifts, night shifts, holiday shifts, seniority, and hazard bonus.Progress in a changing societyEconomically and culturally, society is becoming increasingly fair for younger generations. Even though gender pay gaps have not been eliminated, the pay gap for workers aged 34 years and under is remarkably lower than the gap for workers over the age of 44 and substantially far from those above the age of 64. Similarly, the young adult population in Spain seems more aware than older generations about sexual discrimination against women. Despite such progress, Spaniards remain skeptical about the possibility of overcoming this issue. In 2021, over half the population deemed the possibility of equal pay for men and women unlikely. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 slowed progress in the medium term. The female workforce was particularly vulnerable to the pandemic’s economic and social ramifications, such as heightened job insecurity and the need for unpaid care work.

This statistic shows the average annual wages of professionals in the IT industry in Spain in 2016, by type of technology. Business Intelligence professionals earned the most on average, followed by ERP experts, whose annual salary was around 30.000 euros.

In 2023, women's net income was 13,921 euros, while men's net income was 14,249 euros. In all years analyzed, men earned more than women in Spain. However, the gender pay gap fluctuated over time, narrowing to 88 euros in 2013.

Between 2017 and 2023, the average monthly salary in the Community of Madrid increased by more than 300 euros. In 2019, the average salary was 1,933 euros per month. In 2023, it rose to 2,271 euros.

In 2021, the average gross salary of a woman was 81.6 percent of that of a man's. The pay gap in part time jobs was larger than the one in full time jobs, with a woman's salary amounting to about 90.4 percent of men's salaries.

Over this eleven-year period, annual wages in Spain for people without disabilities increased from 22,800 euros per year in 2010 to 27,100 euros in 2022. In contrast, the average wages in Spain for disabled workers stagnated around 20,000 euros until 2020, increasing to 22,000 in 2022. Spain's minimum monthly wage was 1,000 euros in 2022, with a daily minimum wage of 33.33 euros.

This statistic displays the average monthly salary of self-employed journalists in Spain in 2018, distributed by salary range. According to the source, 22 percent of the self-employed journalists made an average of one thousand to 1.5 thousand euros every month, which made it the most common salary range in the field.