Belgium
Latest Average Wage
+6.0% · 5 years
$80,009
Country Comparison
Belgium vs United States
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Belgium
vs
United States
$80,0092025
Latest Average Wage
United States +8.7%
(vs Belgium)
$86,9772025
+6.0%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Belgium +3.9 pts
(vs United States)
+2.1%2025
+4.3%2025
10-Year Wage Change
United States +8.7 pts
(vs Belgium)
+13.0%2025
77.52024
Overall Price Level
United States +22.5 index points
(vs Belgium)
1002024
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
United States
Latest Average Wage
+2.1% · 5 years
$86,977
Wage Milestones
Belgium
10 Years Ago
$76,731 (2015)
Historical Peak
$80,009 (2025)
Latest Wage
$80,009 (2025)
United States
10 Years Ago
$76,999 (2015)
Historical Peak
$86,977 (2025)
Latest Wage
$86,977 (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
Belgium (BEL)United States (USA)
Overall
−22.5 index points
100
77.5vs100
Food
−10.1 index points
100
89.9vs100
Clothing
−11.8 index points
100
88.2vs100
Housing
−25.8 index points
100
74.2vs100
Health
−47.2 index points
100
52.8vs100
Transport
+14.0 index points
100
114vs100
Recreation
−14.3 index points
100
85.7vs100
Restaurants & Accommodation
+1.0 index points
100
101vs100
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
United States' latest average wage is $86,977 for 2025, about 8.7% higher than Belgium's $80,009 for 2025 — a percentage worked out directly from the two reported figures. That is roughly $6,968 a year on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Belgium shows the stronger movement at +1.8%, against +1.7% for United States. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +6.0% against +2.1%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Health shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 52.8 for Belgium against 100 for United States. That is a separation of 47.2 index points on the US=100 scale, with United States on the higher side and Belgium on the lower one. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Restaurants & Accommodation: Belgium reads 101 and United States 100 for 2024, just 1.0 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Food at 10.1 index points apart. Closeness here describes the index readings only, not the baskets behind them.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
United States' latest PPP-adjusted average wage is $86,977 for 2025, moderately higher than Belgium's $80,009 for 2025. In relative terms the gap is 8.7% — calculated from the two reported values — equivalent to about $6,968 a year on the same purchasing-power basis. Both figures are expressed in USD PPP at constant 2025 prices, so they can be set side by side without any further conversion. 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 Belgium recorded +4.3% and United States +13.0%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction.
Wage Direction
The five-year direction is shared here: both series rise, with different momentum on each side. Belgium sits at the highest point of its series — $80,009 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +4.3%. United States sits at the highest point of its series — $86,977 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +13.0%. The shared direction still leaves room for different speeds: +6.0% for Belgium against +2.1% for United States, so the distance between the two levels keeps shifting. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
Belgium's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 77.5, and United States' reads 100, each measured against the United States reference of 100. United States reads higher in 6 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Health: 52.8 for Belgium against 100 for United States, a gap of 47.2 index points. At the other end, Restaurants & Accommodation brings the two closest — 101 versus 100, a gap of just 1.0 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Belgium reads above 100 in 2 of its 8 reported categories, and United States in 0 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
