How much do you need to earn to be considered “wealthy” in Germany? It’s actually less than you might think. According to a new income analysis by the German Economic Institute (IW), a single person who earns a salary of more than 3.700 euros net per month is part of the highest-earning 10 percent in the country.
Shining the spotlight on Germany’s wealthiest
Once again, the German Economic Institute (IW) in Cologne has examined income data from previous years to determine how much somebody needs to earn to belong to the top 50 percent, 10 percent, 5 percent and 1 percent of all earners in Germany.
The figures are compiled using data from the so-called “Socio-Economic Panel” (SOEP), a regular survey of around 19.000 households and 35.000 people in Germany about income, jobs and salary developments. The most recent figures date from 2018.
Do you earn 3.700 euros net per month?
According to this, in 2018 a single wage earner fell among the top 10 percent of earners in Germany if they had a net monthly income of more than 3.700 euros. Two years earlier, based on data from 2016, the cut-off was 3.440 euros.
In 2018, anyone with a net monthly income of 4.560 euros or more was part of the top 5 percent. To reach the top 1 percent of earners, you would need a monthly take-home salary of 7.190 euros. This is equivalent to an annual net income of almost 86.000 euros, after taxes, or an annual gross salary of around 150.000 euros.
Work out where your salary puts you
Of course, this figure is a big simplification, since relative wealth depends on a myriad of factors, including things like your employment status, your age, your location, your family, your gender, and your education, to name a few.
For instance, you’re statistically more likely to be wealthy if you have a partner but no children and are not yet retired. Each partner in a childless couple needs to earn just 3.050 euros to belong to the richer half of the population, whereas a couple with two children under the age of 14 would need to earn more than 4.260 euros each.
For this reason, the IW has created a graphic to show not only the income distribution for the entire population of Germany, but also a total of 31 subgroups that differ in terms of employment status, education, gender, place of residence, age and living situation.
Using the calculator below, you can work out your position within society as a whole, and also within your own subgroup. Just fill in your household’s net monthly income, the number of people aged 14 and over, the number of people aged under 14, and toggle your comparison group preferences below.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter
By clicking subscribe, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy. For more information, pleasevisit this page.
FAQs
How much do you need to earn to be considered “wealthy” in Germany? It's actually less than you might think. According to a new income analysis by the German Economic Institute (IW), a single person who earns a salary of more than 3.700 euros net per month is part of the highest-earning 10 percent in the country.
What is the 10 percent income in Germany? ›
In its most recent figures from December 2021, the Institute for German Economy (IW) found that a single person earning €3,700 a month after taxes qualifies as rich, as that puts them in the top ten percent of earners in the country.
What salary is considered top 10 percent? ›
How Does Income Change with Age?
| Age Range | Top 10% | Top 5% |
|---|
| 20-24 | $71,268 | $86,540 |
| 25-29 | $105,884 | $134,392 |
| 30-34 | $146,609 | $175,116 |
| 35-39 | $185,297 | $247,403 |
7 more rowsJan 17, 2023
A good salary in Germany not only depends on your lifestyle but also on where you live as the cost of living differs from city to city. A good annual gross salary in Germany is between €64,000 to €81,000. But most Germans who earn a yearly gross salary of €60,000 and above are happy with their salary.
What is the top 1% net worth in Germany? ›
But the BBC calculated that the lower boundary of the top one percent stands at around $800,000 – or €690,172. That places Germany's one percent firmly among the global upper crust.
What is the richest 1% in Germany? ›
To reach the top 1 percent of earners, you would need a monthly take-home salary of 7.190 euros. This is equivalent to an annual net income of almost 86.000 euros, after taxes, or an annual gross salary of around 150.000 euros.
What percent of Germany is wealthy? ›
The secular decline of wealth concentration at the top
We find that over the long run, the concentration of wealth in the hands of the German top 1% has fallen by almost half, from close to 50% in 1895 to 27% today.
What is considered a high salary in Germany? ›
Is 60.000 Euros A Good Salary In Germany? 60.000 euros a year in Germany is considered a good gross salary as it is well above the average salary of 47.700 euros a year for the whole country. Most Germans who earn 60.000 euros or more are very happy with their salary.
What is a poor salary in Germany? ›
For Germany, this means that single people who make less than €1,148 in net income a month are considered below the poverty line. For single parents with one child, that figure is €1,492, and for a household of two parents and two children, €2,410.
Is 100k top 10 percent? ›
The top 5% of households, three quarters of whom had two income earners, had incomes of $166,200 (about 10 times the 2009 US minimum wage, for one income earner, and about 5 times the 2009 US minimum wage for two income earners) or higher, with the top 10% having incomes well in excess of $100,000.
If you had an income of $200,000, that would put you in the top 10% of household incomes or the top 5% of individual incomes in 2021.
What is considered top 20%? ›
The real median household income in the U.S. is around $71,000, according to the latest Census Bureau data. In order to be in the top 20% of income, you'd need to earn nearly double that amount or an average of $130,545 per year.
How much salary is enough to survive in Germany? ›
Average Salary in Germany
As mentioned above, an average resident in Germany can expect to incur roughly €1200 – €3000 per month in costs. Let us see how this matches up with average gross salaries across the country: Berlin – €3,168 per month. Munich – €3,780 per month.
How much money do you need to live comfortably in Germany? ›
Cost of living in Germany vs India
| Expense | Average cost in Germany (₹ INR) |
|---|
| Rent (1-bed apartment, per month) | ₹78,606 |
| Monthly utilities (gas, water, internet, electricity, phone) | ₹22,272 |
| Public transport monthly pass | ₹6,114 |
| Groceries (per month, for a single person) | ₹17,468 |
4 more rowsMay 16, 2023
What is the average cost of rent in Germany? Average rent costs in Germany range from €300 to €800 per calendar month for a room in shared accommodation and from €500 to €1,346 for a one-bedroom flat.
What percentage of Germans are millionaires? ›
Countries by number and percentage of millionaires
| Country or subnational area | Number of millionaires | Percentage of millionaires (% of adult population) |
|---|
| France * | 2,796,000 | 5.6 |
| Germany * | 2,683,000 | 3.9 |
| Canada * | 2,291,000 | 7.6 |
| Australia * | 2,177,000 | 11.2 |
45 more rowsAround one-in-three people (29%) in Germany belong to the low-income group of which 10% are poor, while 7% are in the high-income group.
What income puts you in the top 20 percent? ›
How Much Income Do You Need to Be in the Top 20%? The real median household income in the U.S. is around $71,000, according to the latest Census Bureau data. In order to be in the top 20% of income, you'd need to earn nearly double that amount or an average of $130,545 per year.
