Poland
Latest Average Wage
+16.4% · 5 years
$49,074
Country Comparison
Poland vs United States
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Poland
vs
United States
$49,0742025
Latest Average Wage
United States +77.2%
(vs Poland)
$86,9772025
+16.4%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Poland +14.2 pts
(vs United States)
+2.1%2025
+42.0%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Poland +29.1 pts
(vs United States)
+13.0%2025
45.72024
Overall Price Level
United States +54.3 index points
(vs Poland)
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
Poland
10 Years Ago
$34,551 (2015)
Historical Peak
$49,074 (2025)
Latest Wage
$49,074 (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
Poland (POL)United States (USA)
Overall
−54.3 index points
100
45.7vs100
Food
−25.5 index points
100
74.5vs100
Clothing
−8.8 index points
100
91.2vs100
Housing
−72.3 index points
100
27.7vs100
Health
−70.7 index points
100
29.3vs100
Transport
−18.1 index points
100
81.9vs100
Recreation
−41.9 index points
100
58.1vs100
Restaurants & Accommodation
−22.8 index points
100
77.2vs100
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
United States' latest average wage is $86,977 for 2025, about 77.2% higher than Poland's $49,074 for 2025 — a percentage worked out directly from the two reported figures. Per year, that works out to roughly $37,903 on the shared purchasing-power basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Poland shows the stronger movement at +4.6%, against +1.7% for United States. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +16.4% against +2.1%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Housing shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 27.7 for Poland against 100 for United States. That is a separation of 72.3 index points on the US=100 scale, with United States on the higher side and Poland on the lower one. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Clothing: Poland reads 91.2 and United States 100 for 2024, just 8.8 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Transport at 18.1 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 — United States' latest average wage of $86,977 for 2025 stands well above Poland's $49,074 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 77.2% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $37,903 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 Poland recorded +42.0% 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. Poland sits at the highest point of its series — $49,074 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +42.0%. 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: +16.4% for Poland 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
Poland's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 45.7, and United States' reads 100, each measured against the United States reference of 100. United States reads higher in 8 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Housing: 27.7 for Poland against 100 for United States, a gap of 72.3 index points. At the other end, Clothing brings the two closest — 91.2 versus 100, a gap of just 8.8 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Poland reads above 100 in 0 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.
