This article is in partnership with Day Translations.

Statista issued a report showing in which European countries you can earn the most. The report looked at the annual salaries in Europe converted in US dollars and compared them, placing them from highest to lowest.

Luxemburg took the top spot at about $85k per year, followed by Iceland at about $81k per year and Switzerland at about $79k per year.

Then, in the range between $60k and $70k per year are, in order from highest to lowest:

• Belgium
• Austria
• Norway
• Netherlands
• Denmark
• Germany.

Further down the list are Ireland at $53k, Spain at $47k, Italy at $45k, Portugal at $35k and at the bottom of the list is Greece at $28k.

This data was released in July 2024 after a survey conducted in 2023.

What About Purchasing Power in Europe?

Of course higher salaries are more attractive when you are planning to move to a different country, but what about the purchasing power these salaries have?

It is common knowledge that the cost of living is much higher in Northern Europe, where salaries are also higher, compared to Southern Europe.

Then there is taxation to consider, as each country has different regulations.

Euronews looked at the top four countries in Europe with the highest annual salaries and found that Switzerland’s tax rate on income is 19%; then the publication mentions Iceland but without talking about the tax rate, which varies from about 31% for lower salaries and goes up to more than 46% for higher salaries; Luxemburg is also mentioned but without quoting the income tax rate, which varies according to earnings and goes up to 42%; finally, it mentioned Norway and its income tax rate at 28%.

What if you don’t want to work for somebody else and you plan to be self-employed? As of 2023, there are almost 28 million self-employed people in Europe.

How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Europe? According to the European Research Institute (ERI), a good salary in Europe ranges from 60k euro to 70k euro per year, which equates to approximately 3k euro to 4k euro per month after tax.

According to Nasdaq, you can live comfortably in Slovakia for 1,400 euro a mont, in Portugal and Germany with only 1,500 euro per month or 1,600 euro in Italy, while in Paris you would need at least 3,000 euro per month, less so in the rest of France. Romania has the best value for money as you would only need 1,100 euro per month to have a comfortable lifestyle. For example, renting accommodation in Romania can cost approximately 200 euro per month, making this country among the cheapest in the world.

Ultimately, the decision on where to live and work in Europe can be driven by a series of factors and it depends on whether you give more priority to earning potential versus quality of life.