Netherlands
Latest Average Wage
−2.0% · 5 years
$80,136
Country Comparison
Netherlands vs United States
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Netherlands
vs
United States
$80,1362025
Latest Average Wage
United States +8.5%
(vs Netherlands)
$86,9772025
−2.0%2025
5-Year Wage Change
United States +4.1 pts
(vs Netherlands)
+2.1%2025
−3.1%2025
10-Year Wage Change
United States +16.1 pts
(vs Netherlands)
+13.0%2025
78.42024
Overall Price Level
United States +21.6 index points
(vs Netherlands)
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
Netherlands
10 Years Ago
$82,711 (2015)
Historical Peak
$83,103 (2016)
Latest Wage
$80,136 (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
Netherlands (NLD)United States (USA)
Overall
−21.6 index points
100
78.4vs100
Food
−15.6 index points
100
84.4vs100
Clothing
−17.3 index points
100
82.7vs100
Housing
−26.9 index points
100
73.1vs100
Health
−39.2 index points
100
60.8vs100
Transport
+19.0 index points
100
119vs100
Recreation
−10.0 index points
100
90vs100
Restaurants & Accommodation
−0.8 index points
100
99.2vs100
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
United States' latest average wage is $86,977 for 2025, about 8.5% higher than Netherlands' $80,136 for 2025 — computed straight from the two reported values. Per year, that works out to roughly $6,841 on the shared purchasing-power basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Netherlands shows the stronger movement at +1.9%, against +1.7% for United States. The five-year horizon reverses the ordering — Netherlands at −2.0% and United States at +2.1% — 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: 60.8 for Netherlands against 100 for United States. United States sits on the higher side of that 39.2-point spread; Netherlands reads 39.2 index points lower on the US=100 scale. The gap is stated in index points, which are not interchangeable with percentages.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Restaurants & Accommodation: Netherlands reads 99.2 and United States 100 for 2024, just 0.8 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Recreation at 10.0 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 Netherlands' $80,136 for 2025. In relative terms the gap is 8.5% — calculated from the two reported values — equivalent to about $6,841 a year on the same purchasing-power basis. 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 Netherlands recorded −3.1% against United States' +13.0%, so the current levels were reached on visibly different long-term paths.
Wage Direction
The two wage series are currently moving in opposite directions, and the separation between them is growing. Netherlands is partway through a recovery: the latest year added +1.9%, though the level remains 3.6% below its peak. 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%. United States is the side gaining in real terms (+2.1% over five years), while Netherlands records −2.0%, so the five-year measures point away from each other instead of converging. Each percentage is a real, PPP-adjusted change; nominal pay movements are outside what this dataset reports.
Price Profile
Netherlands' overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 78.4, and United States' reads 100, each measured against the United States reference of 100. One side of this pairing dominates the price profile: United States sits higher in 7 of the 8 comparable categories. Health separates the two most: Netherlands reads 60.8 and United States 100, 39.2 index points apart. The two sit closest in Restaurants & Accommodation (99.2 versus 100), only 0.8 index points apart. Counted against the US reference of 100, 1 of Netherlands' 8 reported categories sit above the line, against 0 of United States' 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
