Austria
Latest Average Wage
+3.3% · 5 years
$78,301
Country Comparison
Austria vs Japan
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Austria
vs
Japan
$78,3012025
Latest Average Wage
Austria +56.0%
(vs Japan)
$50,1832025
+3.3%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Austria +5.4 pts
(vs Japan)
−2.2%2025
+5.5%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Austria +7.2 pts
(vs Japan)
−1.6%2025
77.12024
Overall Price Level
Austria +17.9 index points
(vs Japan)
59.22024
Wages are PPP-adjusted average annual wages; price levels use the United States reference of 100. Years shown are each country's latest reported observation.
How Wages Have Changed
Follow PPP-adjusted average annual wages in constant prices across both economies.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
Japan
Latest Average Wage
−2.2% · 5 years
$50,183
Wage Milestones
Austria
10 Years Ago
$74,198 (2015)
Historical Peak
$78,301 (2025)
Latest Wage
$78,301 (2025)
Japan
10 Years Ago
$51,027 (2015)
Historical Peak
$52,662 (1997)
Latest Wage
$50,183 (2025)
Compare Everyday Price Levels
See how eight consumer price categories compare with the United States reference value of 100.
United States = 100 · Differences shown in index points
Austria (AUT)Japan (JPN)
Overall
+17.9 index points
100
77.1vs59.2
Food
−18.2 index points
100
93.8vs112
Clothing
+24.2 index points
100
95.2vs71
Housing
+13.8 index points
100
62.3vs48.5
Health
+28.8 index points
100
62.7vs33.9
Transport
+30.6 index points
100
115vs84.4
Recreation
+17.4 index points
100
95.8vs78.4
Restaurants & Accommodation
+17.6 index points
100
90.2vs72.6
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Austria's latest average wage is $78,301 for 2025, about 56.0% higher than Japan's $50,183 for 2025 — a percentage worked out directly from the two reported figures. Per year, that works out to roughly $28,119 on the shared purchasing-power basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Austria shows the stronger movement at +0.8%, against −0.5% for Japan. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +3.3% against −2.2%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Transport shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 115 for Austria against 84.4 for Japan. That is a separation of 30.6 index points on the US=100 scale, with Austria on the higher side and Japan on the lower one. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Housing: Austria reads 62.3 and Japan 48.5 for 2024, just 13.8 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Recreation at 17.4 index points apart. Two readings this close mean the category sits at nearly the same point of the US=100 scale for both.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Few pairings separate this cleanly — Austria's latest average wage of $78,301 for 2025 stands well above Japan's $50,183 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 56.0% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $28,119 a year. No extra conversion is needed here: each figure is already a purchasing-power-adjusted annual amount in constant prices. For scale, neither series has moved by that much within any single reported year, so the gap is structural rather than the product of one unusual observation. Over ten years Austria recorded +5.5% against Japan's −1.6%, so the current levels were reached on visibly different long-term paths.
Wage Direction
This pairing shows two wage paths pulling apart rather than tracking each other. Austria sits at the highest point of its series — $78,301 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +5.5%. Japan continues to drift below its peak, with a one-year change of −0.5% and a five-year change of −2.2%. With Austria gaining in real terms at +3.3% over five years and Japan at −2.2%, the five-year measures move away from each other rather than closing in. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
Austria's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 77.1, and Japan's reads 59.2, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Austria reads higher in 7 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Transport: 115 for Austria against 84.4 for Japan, a gap of 30.6 index points. At the other end, Housing brings the two closest — 62.3 versus 48.5, a gap of just 13.8 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Austria reads above 100 in 1 of its 8 reported categories, and Japan in 1 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
