What is the average salary in Hungary?

‍The average salary in Hungary per person is HUF 7,264,800 (HUF 605,400 per month) or €18,832 per year or per month €1,569. The average salary after tax in Hungary is HUF 493,401 per month. These income figures are from the latest (February 2024) to be release by the Hungarian Central Statistics Office.

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What is the average salary in Budapest?

Generally, the average salary in a capital city is higher than the national average – especially when you single out data for full-time workers. According to Central Statistical Office (KSH), the average salary in Budapest is HUF 413,000 per month (net) or €1,071. Unfortunately, the KSH has only compiled regional data up to 2022. The national average in 2022 was HUF 334,920 per month, which means workers in Budapest were earning HUF 78,431 per month more (on average) which is approximately 18%. Below, you can see the net averages for each region in Hungary for the year 2022.

Minimum wage in Hungary

Hungary is one of the countries in Europe that does have a government mandated minimum wage for full-time workers. As of December 2023, the minimum wage in Hungary is HUF 266,800 per month for full-time workers. This works out to be HUF 177,400 after taxes, or around €460.

There is also a minimum wage from full-time workers with at least secondary education or vocational training, which is HUF 326,000, and for part-time workers, HUF 200, 100. 

What is a good salary in Hungary?

It’s hard to say what’s considered a good salary in Hungary, as this will depend on a where you live (cost of living, avg. wages, job opportunities) and your spending habits. The average salary mentioned above (HUF 493,401) would be considered good. You should first determine what’s a standard wage people in your field of work make per month. 

Another way to determine what a good salary is would be based on your rental preferences. As a general rule of thumb, a full-time worker will pay a third of their salary towards rent. In Budapest, the avg. one-bedroom flat outside the city goes for around HUF 177,325 therefore if you were making around HUF 500,000 you would have plenty left over for travel and savings (which are generally the comforts associated with a good salary). Of course, there are plenty of people in Hungary that think HUF 300-400k is enough. 

Taxes in Hungary 

It is common to distinguish between net and gross pay in Hungary. There are two elements to the income tax in Hungary, first the flat personal income tax which is 15% and second the social security contribution, 18.5%. Both of these taxes are mandatory for tax residents in Hungary. The total tax burden is then 33.5% of your monthly wages. 

Let’s take an example of the tax rate using the avg. national salary. Someone earning HUFF 605,400 will pay HUF 181,620 in taxes and be left with HUF 423,780. There are tax benefits that can further decrease the tax rate an individual pays if they have children and/or are under 25 years old.   

Highest paying occupations in Hungary

The highest paying occupations in Hungary, overall, were Chief Executive Officers in top management with average of 2,214,450 Ft per month. Following closely are Country Managers/Directors with a monthly salary of 1,852,640 Ft and Managing Directors at 1,638,490 Ft. IT Directors also feature prominently with an average monthly salary of 1,568,540 Ft. Pilots in the transport, haulage, and logistics sector earn 1,535,140 Ft per month, while Production Directors in top management have an average salary of 1,429,950 Ft. IT Architects in the field of Information Technology earn 1,424,520 Ft monthly. This is based on salary data from Fizetesek.

According to Penzcentrum, the highest paying occupation in 2022 not requiring a degree was Air traffic controller with an impressive average salary of 2,297,405 Ft. They are followed by legislators and ministers earning 1,832,686 Ft, athletes with 1,409,403 Ft, and stockbrokers and financial advisors at 1,311,910 Ft. Software developers also earn a significant amount at 1,016,263 Ft, closely followed by other software and applications developers at 983,571 Ft. 

Average salaries in other European countries

Country	Average Annual Salary (Euros)
Switzerland	€84,159
Norway	€56,810
Denmark	€49,850
Germany	€49,260
Finland	€47,688
Sweden	€43,690
Netherlands	€42,236
France	€39,800
Italy	€35,561
Austria	€31,407
United Kingdom	€30,031
Spain	€29,113
Slovenia	€27,350
Estonia	€22,850
Portugal	€22,000
Poland	€20,390
Czechia	€19,200
Hungary	€18,807
Croatia	€16,440
Greece	€15,335