Italy
Data verified August 2026 · Sources
Italy's $53,864 PPP-adjusted wage in 2025 remains 6.8% below its 2010 peak after a long slide, with consumer prices indexing at 64.1 on the US=100 scale.
Italy at a Glance
1Y Change
+1.2%
5Y Change
+1.8%
10Y Change
−3.9%
Historical Peak
$57,790 2010
Change From Peak
−6.8%
Overall Price Level
64.1
Italy’s Wage Story
Follow how PPP-adjusted average annual wages have changed in Italy using constant-price OECD data.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
Ten Years Ago
$56,043 (2015)
Historical Peak
$57,790 2010
Latest Wage
$53,864 2025
Data Coverage
Wage history: 1990–2025
Reported observations: 36
Missing wage years: None
Latest price data: 2024 · 8 of 8 categories available
One of the Few Negative Decades
Italian wages show a −3.9% change over ten years, +1.8% across five, and +1.2% in the latest year. At $53,864 in 2025 the level is 6.8% beneath the 2010 peak of $57,790, making Italy one of the few OECD economies where the decade change is negative. The 2015 reading of $56,043 shows the mid-decade level was actually higher than today's. Among the large euro-area economies in this set, that negative decade stands alone.
Fifteen Years From the High
Italy is a case where wage levels have not kept pace with many OECD peers over the long run, and the −3.9% decade figure confirms that structural weakness. The +1.8% five-year change shows a modest recent recovery, but the gap to the 2010 high — 15 years old — underscores how far the level fell and how slowly it is climbing back. At the latest pace, closing that gap is a multi-year project, not a single-year one. Recovery arithmetic is unforgiving here: the longer the flat years lasted, the more growth the series now needs just to stand still in relative terms.
A Wide Price Gap, a Flat Wage Line
Italy's overall price level for 2024 stands at 64.1, a margin of 35.9 index points below the US benchmark. Read it as a position on the shared index, not a euro cost, and as a companion strand to the long wage stagnation rather than an explanation of it. Italy's wage series begins in 1990 with 36 reported years.
Italy’s Everyday Price Profile
Compare eight consumer price categories in Italy with the United States reference value of 100.
Overall
Food
Clothing
Housing
Health
Transport
Recreation
Restaurants & Accommodation
What Stands Out
Highest: Transport
Transport has the highest relative price level of the 8 reported categories in 2024, at 99.9 against the United States reference of 100. That is −0.1 index points from the benchmark and 4.6 points ahead of the next category, Clothing at 95.3.
Lowest: Housing
Housing is the lowest of the reported categories in 2024 at 50.8, −49.2 index points against the United States benchmark of 100. The spread between the highest and lowest reported categories is 49.1 index points, which shows how uneven the 2024 price profile is across categories.
Overall vs United States
The overall price level for 2024 is 64.1, below the United States benchmark (−35.9 index points). Looking across the profile, all 8 reported categories read below 100, so the overall figure summarizes a spread of category positions rather than a uniform level.
Compare Italy
Choose another OECD economy to compare wages, historical changes and all eight consumer price categories.
Frequently Asked Questions About Italy
What is the average annual wage in Italy?
Italy's 2025 average wage is $53,864. The level remains well below its 2010 peak.
How has the average wage changed in Italy?
The decade change is -3.9%, one of the few negatives in the OECD. The five-year figure is +1.8% and the latest-year change +1.2%, showing modest recovery. Every horizon uses precise target years.
What are consumer price levels like in Italy?
Italy's overall consumer price index is 64.1 for 2024, below the US at 100. That is a relative index standing, not a dollar amount or inflation rate.
How far is Italy's wage from its peak?
Italy's 2025 wage of $53,864 is 6.8% beneath the 2010 high of $57,790. The +1.2% latest-year change shows slow recovery after a long slide. The chart keeps both points visible.