United States
Latest Average Wage
+2.1% · 5 years
$86,977
Country Comparison
United States vs France
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
United States
vs
France
$86,9772025
Latest Average Wage
United States +43.8%
(vs France)
$60,4832025
+2.1%2025
5-Year Wage Change
France +1.6 pts
(vs United States)
+3.7%2025
+13.0%2025
10-Year Wage Change
United States +11.3 pts
(vs France)
+1.7%2025
1002024
Overall Price Level
United States +29.6 index points
(vs France)
70.42024
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
France
Latest Average Wage
+3.7% · 5 years
$60,483
Wage Milestones
United States
10 Years Ago
$76,999 (2015)
Historical Peak
$86,977 (2025)
Latest Wage
$86,977 (2025)
France
10 Years Ago
$59,485 (2015)
Historical Peak
$61,289 (2019)
Latest Wage
$60,483 (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
United States (USA)France (FRA)
Overall
+29.6 index points
100
100vs70.4
Food
+6.6 index points
100
100vs93.4
Clothing
+13.9 index points
100
100vs86.1
Housing
+31.7 index points
100
100vs68.3
Health
+56.6 index points
100
100vs43.4
Transport
−14.0 index points
100
100vs114
Recreation
+17.8 index points
100
100vs82.2
Restaurants & Accommodation
+9.9 index points
100
100vs90.1
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
United States' latest average wage is $86,977 for 2025, about 43.8% higher than France's $60,483 for 2025 — a relative difference calculated from the two reported values. In annual terms the gap comes to about $26,494 on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, United States shows the stronger movement at +1.7%, against +1.0% for France. The five-year horizon reverses the ordering — United States at +2.1% and France at +3.7% — 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: 100 for United States against 43.4 for France. Measured on the US=100 scale, the two readings for this category are 56.6 index points apart, United States above France. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Food: United States reads 100 and France 93.4 for 2024, just 6.6 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Restaurants & Accommodation at 9.9 index points apart. A gap this small leaves the category effectively tied on the shared US=100 scale.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Few pairings separate this cleanly — United States' latest average wage of $86,977 for 2025 stands well above France's $60,483 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 43.8% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $26,494 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 United States recorded +13.0% and France +1.7%, 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. 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%. France stands just below its historical high of $61,289 in 2019, only 1.3% away, with a ten-year change of +1.7%. The shared direction still leaves room for different speeds: +3.7% for France 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
United States' overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 100, and France's reads 70.4, each measured against the United States reference of 100. United States reads higher in 7 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Health: 100 for United States against 43.4 for France, a gap of 56.6 index points. At the other end, Food brings the two closest — 100 versus 93.4, a gap of just 6.6 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, United States reads above 100 in 0 of its 8 reported categories, and France in 1 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
