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.
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FAQs
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 percent of Germany is rich? ›
Germany's grossly unequal distribution of wealth is an underappreciated cause of this malaise: The top 10 per cent of households have at least €725,000 ($793,000) of net assets and control more than half of the country's wealth, while the bottom 40 per cent of households have at most €44,000 of net assets, according to ...
How much money is enough in Germany? ›
What is the cost of living in Germany? It would be hard to get by for less than €1,000 a month in Germany, and this rises to around €1,500€ - €2,000€ in the cities where rents are higher. Students can usually cover living costs for around €850 a month.
Are there a lot of rich people in Germany? ›
Germany is one of the top 5 countries with the highest number of billionaires in 2024. There are 140 billionaires in Germany, as of 2024. It is one of the largest economies with a total wealth of $17.42 trillion, as of 2022.
What is considered a high salary in Germany? ›
But, in general terms, 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 rich part of Germany? ›
Munich (München): Munich is often considered one of the wealthiest cities in Germany, with neighborhoods like Bogenhausen and Grünwald.
What net worth is considered rich in Germany? ›
Having a net worth of over 1 million euros puts you in the top 8% wealthiest households in Germany. Several million euros is generally considered financially independent or rich. How many millionaires are there in Germany? Germany has over 2 million millionaire households representing over 8% of the total population.
What is the top 1% salary 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.
How rich is the average German? ›
In 2022 the median and mean wealth per adult in Germany was 256.180 USD, a decrease of 14.360 USD from 2021 figures, making the federal republic the 16th wealthiest country in the world.
Is Germany a rich or Poor country? ›
Germany is not Europe's richest country on a per capita GDP basis, or on a median personal wealth basis. On a per capita GDP basis, Germany is number 11, behind all of the Nordic countries, Switzerland, Ireland, and two of the three Benelux countries.
The old myth of the superpower US as a rich, modern and efficient economy remains alive, underpinned by a per capita gross domestic product (in 2022) 57 per cent higher than in Germany—still 21 per cent superior after adjusting for the differential effect of exchange rates on purchasing power.
What makes Germany so rich? ›
In particular, the export of motor vehicles and parts as well as chemical products make Germany the third-largest exporting nation in the world. The service sector contributes the largest share to the country's GDP, accounting for 70%.
How much is a house in Germany? ›
The average price of detached and duplex houses in the biggest cities in Germany varied between approximately 5,000 euros and 10,000 euros per square meter in the second quarter of 2023. Housing was most expensive in Munich, where the square meter price of houses amounted to 9,931 euros.
How much do you need to live comfortably in Germany? ›
All told, how high is the cost of living in Germany? According to Destatis, it adds up to €2,507 a month, with 37% of this going towards housing and energy costs and 15% on food, alcohol, and tobacco (as of September 2022). If you calculate this on an annual basis, the average cost of living in Germany is €30,084.
Which profession is highly paid in Germany? ›
Which job has the highest Salary in Germany? Some of the good paying jobs in Germany are pilot, doctor, portfolio manager, sales manager, lawyer, and many more.
What percentage of German population is poor? ›
Just over 17.3 million people in Germany were affected by poverty or social exclusion in 2022. This equated to 20.9% of the population, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports on the basis of first results of the survey on income and living conditions (EU-SILC).
What percentile is wealth in Germany? ›
Altogether the wealthiest ten per cent of households together own about 60 per cent of the total wealth, net, i.e. minus debts. The lower 20 per cent have no assets at all. About nine per cent of all households have negative equity and are in debt (Grabka and Westermeier 2014).
What is the top 1% of income in Germany? ›
The 1% Club
| Countries | Region | Wealth (USD) |
|---|
| 🇩🇪 Germany | Europe | $3,430,000 |
| 🇫🇷 France | Europe | $3,273,000 |
| 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR | Asia | $3,094,000 |
| 🇬🇧 UK | Europe | $3,070,000 |
13 more rowsMar 6, 2024
