Germany
Latest Average Wage
+2.0% · 5 years
$76,285
Country Comparison
Germany vs Austria
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Germany
vs
Austria
$76,2852025
Latest Average Wage
Austria +2.6%
(vs Germany)
$78,3012025
+2.0%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Austria +1.3 pts
(vs Germany)
+3.3%2025
+7.1%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Germany +1.5 pts
(vs Austria)
+5.5%2025
71.52024
Overall Price Level
Austria +5.6 index points
(vs Germany)
77.12024
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
Austria
Latest Average Wage
+3.3% · 5 years
$78,301
Wage Milestones
Germany
10 Years Ago
$71,244 (2015)
Historical Peak
$76,285 (2025)
Latest Wage
$76,285 (2025)
Austria
10 Years Ago
$74,198 (2015)
Historical Peak
$78,301 (2025)
Latest Wage
$78,301 (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
Germany (DEU)Austria (AUT)
Overall
−5.6 index points
100
71.5vs77.1
Food
−5.1 index points
100
88.7vs93.8
Clothing
−4.8 index points
100
90.4vs95.2
Housing
+1.8 index points
100
64.1vs62.3
Health
−12.0 index points
100
50.7vs62.7
Transport
−1.0 index points
100
114vs115
Recreation
−9.2 index points
100
86.6vs95.8
Restaurants & Accommodation
+0.9 index points
100
91.1vs90.2
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Austria's latest average wage is $78,301 for 2025, about 2.6% higher than Germany's $76,285 for 2025 — a relative difference calculated from the two reported values. That is roughly $2,017 a year on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Germany shows the stronger movement at +1.9%, against +0.8% for Austria. The five-year horizon reverses the ordering — Germany at +2.0% and Austria at +3.3% — so the latest year is not the whole story. 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: 50.7 for Germany against 62.7 for Austria. Measured on the US=100 scale, the two readings for this category are 12.0 index points apart, Austria above Germany. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Restaurants & Accommodation: Germany reads 91.1 and Austria 90.2 for 2024, just 0.9 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Transport at 1.0 index points apart. Closeness here describes the index readings only, not the baskets behind them.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Germany and Austria report nearly the same PPP-adjusted average annual wage: $78,301 for 2025, against $76,285 for 2025. The difference is 2.6% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $2,017 a year, which is small next to either figure. Both figures are expressed in USD PPP at constant 2025 prices, so they can be set side by side without any further conversion. Over ten years Germany recorded +7.1% and Austria +5.5%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction. For most side-by-side readings the two wage levels can be treated as equivalent within this dataset.
Wage Direction
The five-year direction is shared here: both series rise, with different momentum on each side. Germany sits at the highest point of its series — $76,285 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +7.1%. 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%. The shared direction still leaves room for different speeds: +3.3% for Austria against +2.0% for Germany, 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
Germany's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 71.5, and Austria's reads 77.1, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Austria reads higher in 6 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Health: 50.7 for Germany against 62.7 for Austria, a gap of 12.0 index points. At the other end, Restaurants & Accommodation brings the two closest — 91.1 versus 90.2, a gap of just 0.9 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Germany reads above 100 in 1 of its 8 reported categories, and Austria in 1 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
