Average salary in Spain: real income after tax, minimum wage and pay by profession

The average salary in Spain, according to INE for 2024, is €29,540 gross a year, around €2,462 a month if divided by 12. The median is €24,497: half of all workers earn less. A single employee on the average salary takes home around €1,930 a month in Madrid. The minimum wage (SMI) is €1,221 a month over 14 payments, or €17,094 a year (INE, Encuesta Anual de Estructura Salarial).

Spain continues to attract professionals from all over the world with its pleasant climate, high-quality healthcare and growing economy. Before moving, however, it is important to assess realistically how much people earn in Spain and what expenses to expect. In this article we look in detail at what the average salary in the country actually means, what taxes you pay in Spain, where salaries are highest and everything you need to know about working in Spain.

The economic situation and the labour market in Spain

The Spanish government is actively working to improve the economic situation after the pandemic crisis. According to Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), in the second quarter of 2026 gross pay per worker averaged €2,512.68 a month, 4.0% more than a year earlier (the quarterly labour cost survey ETCL).

The labour market has its own peculiarities. Spain is one of the countries with high unemployment — 10.2% (Q3 2026, INE, EPA), above the European Union average. Youth unemployment remains among the highest in the EU. Even so, the situation is much better for qualified professionals with work experience and language skills.

The State Public Employment Service (SEPE) reports steady demand for professionals in information technology, healthcare, renewable energy and financial services. Job vacancies are in greatest demand in big cities such as Barcelona and Madrid.

Average salary in Spain

The average salary in Spain is €29,540 gross a year (INE wage structure survey for 2024): around €2,110 a month over 14 payments, or €2,462 spread over 12 months. It rose by 5.3% over the year.

After income tax and social security, a single employee on the average salary takes home around €1,930 a month in Madrid and €1,900 in Catalonia, dividing the year by 12. The calculation uses the 2025 tax scales and 2026 contributions; with children and a joint return the figure is higher.

The average depends heavily on profession and region and does not reflect what most people earn: high salaries of managers and specialists pull it up. That is why the median and the percentile breakdown follow below.

Most employees in Spain are paid 14 times a year instead of 12: the two extra payments come in the summer (usually June) and at Christmas (December). The annual amount does not change, only the monthly one.

Median salary in Spain

The median splits all workers into two equal halves: half earn more and half earn less. It is more accurate than the average because it is not distorted by managers’ high salaries.

The median salary in Spain is €24,497 gross a year (INE, 2024): around €1,750 a month over 14 payments. For planning a move it is a more honest benchmark than the average.

How much the top 10% earn

INE publishes not only the average and the median but also percentiles: the thresholds below which a given share of workers earn. They show where your salary would sit in the distribution.

A salary of €80,000 a year means more than 90% of workers earn less: in Spain that is the top ten per cent. The average salary is €32,058 for men and €26,905 for women.

Minimum wage (SMI) in Spain

The Spanish government regularly indexes the minimum wage. In 2026 the minimum wage (Salario Mínimo Interprofesional, SMI) is currently €1,221 a month over 14 payments. The 2026 amount was set by Real Decreto 126/2026: 3.1% more than the €1,184 of 2025 (Real Decreto 87/2025). How this changed the income thresholds for residence permits.

The minimum wage in Spain in 2026:

• €1,221 a month gross with 14 payments
• €1,424.50 a month gross with 12 payments
• €17,094 a year gross before tax

The minimum wage is the Spanish equivalent of Russia’s MROT. Spain has no official subsistence minimum: its role is shared by four indicators — the IPREM reference indicator, the SMI minimum wage, the Ingreso Mínimo Vital guaranteed income and the statistical poverty threshold. What each one is used for is explained in our guide to the IPREM in Spain.

The minimum wage in Spain is one of the key social indicators: it protects workers’ rights and ensures a minimum decent standard of living.

Taxes on salaries in Spain: a detailed breakdown

Income tax on salaries in Spain: how the system works

Personal income tax in Spain (IRPF — Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas) is charged on a progressive scale: the higher the income, the higher the rate. It has two parts, state and regional, so the final amount depends on the autonomous community. It is reported on the Modelo 100 tax return.

Income tax rates: national and regional

Tax is made up of two scales applied to the same taxable base: a national one and a regional one. The national part is the same across the country:

The regional part is added on top, so the top rate depends on where you are registered: 45% in Madrid, 50% in Catalonia, 54% in the Valencian Community (AEAT, IRPF Manual 2025). The taxable base is salary minus employee contributions and a €2,000 allowance (LIRPF, art. 19), and no tax is charged on the €5,550 personal minimum.

Social security contributions in 2026

Both employee and employer pay contributions. The employee share is deducted from salary; the employer share is paid on top and is not part of gross pay.

Contributions are charged on salary up to the base ceiling of €5,101.20 a month in 2026 (Orden PJC/297/2026), so an employee pays no more than €3,979 a year however much they earn. The employer also pays workplace accident cover at a rate that depends on the activity, and since 2025 a solidarity contribution applies to salary above the ceiling, almost all of it paid by the company.

Tax on footballers’ salaries in Spain

Tax on footballers’ salaries in Spain deserves special attention. Until 2015 Spain had the so-called Beckham Law, which allowed highly paid professionals, including footballers, to pay a flat 24% tax instead of the progressive scale.

From 2015, however, footballers were excluded from the scheme. Tax on their salaries is now calculated on the general progressive scale, which means 45–54% on the top slice of income depending on the region.

For example, a single footballer earning 10 million euros a year takes home around €5,514,359 in Madrid, €5,018,824 in Catalonia and €4,622,126 in the Valencian Community: almost the whole amount is taxed at the regional top rate. Many top footballers use complex optimisation schemes through image rights and corporate structures, which sometimes leads to disputes with the tax authorities.

Tax relief

There are tax deductions and reliefs:

• For children and dependants
• For mortgages (for contracts signed before 2013)
• For donations
• For people with disabilities

A special regime for IT specialists and digital nomads

In 2023 Spain introduced the startup visa and the digital nomad visa, which give remote workers and freelancers the right to live and work in the country. If the conditions are met, income is taxed at a flat 24% rate instead of the progressive scale for the first six years — this is the Beckham Law regime. The income threshold for the digital nomad visa is €2,849 a month, 200% of the minimum wage (Real Decreto 126/2026).

Take-home pay on €80,000, €150,000 and €300,000 gross

The higher the salary, the more the result depends on the region and on whether the Beckham regime is available. Below is a single employee without children: Madrid with the mildest regional scale, Catalonia with one of the toughest, and the Beckham regime with its flat 24% rate.

The calculation uses the 2025 tax scales and 2026 employee contributions; the solidarity contribution on salaries above the ceiling is left out, as for the employee it is a fraction of a per cent. The Beckham regime is open to people who move to Spain for an employment contract and have not been Spanish tax resident in the previous five years; it lasts six years, and 24% is charged on the full amount up to €600,000 with no deductions. More in our article on the Beckham law.

The gap grows with income: on €80,000 Beckham leaves €4,740 a month against €4,490 in Madrid, and on €300,000 €18,670 against €14,940. Take-home pay for the self-employed and for families is worked out in our article on digital nomad taxes.

Salaries by region in Spain

A salary on its own says little without the cost of living: €1,800 in Madrid and in Murcia are different money. You can compare incomes, rents and the size of expat communities across all 52 provinces on the relocation map.

Pay in Spain is highest in the Basque Country, Madrid and Navarre and lowest in Extremadura and the Canary Islands. The table shows the average and median salary by autonomous community for 2024, ordered by the average.

Gross pay per worker, 2024. Source: INE, Encuesta Anual de Estructura Salarial.

Regional salaries are best compared with housing costs: rent in Madrid and Barcelona takes a noticeably bigger share of income than in Valencia or Murcia.

Salaries by profession and specialism: a detailed overview

Pay depends directly on profession, qualifications, work experience and language skills. Let’s look at the main categories of professionals and their income levels.

Average salary by sector

The best-paid sectors are Energy supply; Finance and insurance; IT and communications; the lowest-paid are Hospitality; Arts and recreation.

Gross pay per worker, 2024. Source: INE, Encuesta Anual de Estructura Salarial.

Average salary by occupation group

Gross pay per worker, 2024. Source: INE, Encuesta Anual de Estructura Salarial.

Accountant, shop assistant, university lecturer, beautician: INE data

INE publishes pay for individual occupations only in its four-yearly Structure of Earnings Survey. The latest covers 2022, when the average salary across all occupations was €26,949 a year and the median €22,383. Occupations are grouped into sub-major groups of the CNO-11 classification, so the figures below apply to the whole group that includes each profession.

INE does not publish this breakdown by region, so there is no separate figure for a shop assistant in Madrid. As a benchmark, the average salary in Madrid across all occupations was €34,410 a year in 2024 (+16% against the Spanish average).

Below are benchmarks for individual professions taken from job ads and collective agreements. These are not INE figures: they change faster and depend on the employer.

IT specialists and the technology sector

Information technology remains one of the best-paid fields. The highest-paying vacancies in Spain are often in IT. Demand for specialists keeps growing, especially with the digital transformation of the economy.

Programmers and developers:

• Junior developer (1 year of experience): €3,800 a month (€45,500 a year)
• Mid-level developer (2-5 years): €4,200-5,000 a month (€50,000-60,000 a year)
• Senior developer (5+ years): €5,500-8,000 a month (€66,000-96,000 a year)

Specialist IT roles:

• Cybersecurity expert: €4,000-6,000 a month
• Data Scientist / data analyst: €4,500-7,000 a month
• AI and machine learning specialist: €4,500-8,000 a month
• DevOps engineer: €4,000-6,500 a month
• UI/UX designer: €3,000-4,500 a month

Testers:

• Manual tester: €2,271 a month
• Automation tester: €2,620 a month

Business and management in IT:

• Business analyst: €4,400 a month
• IT Project Manager: €5,000-7,000 a month

The IT hubs in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia are popular in Spain, and you can find jobs with good conditions there.

Doctors’ salaries in Spain

A doctor’s salary in Spain depends on specialism, experience, place of work (public or private clinic) and region. The standard of medicine and healthcare in Spain is high, which is reflected in specialists’ pay.

Doctors’ salaries in Spain by specialism:

General practitioners:

• Junior doctor (1-3 years): €2,800-3,200
• Experienced GP: €3,500-4,000

Specialist doctors:

• Cardiologist: €4,500-6,000
• Surgeon: €5,000-7,000
• Neurologist: €4,500-6,500
• Oncologist: €5,000-7,500
• Anaesthetist: €5,500-7,000
• Radiologist: €5,000-6,500

Dentists:

• Dentist’s salary in Spain in private practice: €3,500-6,000
• Orthodontist: €4,500-8,000
• Implantologist: €5,000-9,000

Doctors’ salaries in private clinics are usually 20-30% higher than in public ones. Doctors can also combine work in the public and private sectors. Note that working as a doctor requires recognition of your degree (homologación) and fluent Spanish. Higher education must be officially recognised.

Nurses’ salaries in Spain

Nurses in Spain earn less than doctors, but their pay remains competitive compared with other professions.

Nurses’ salaries in Spain:

• Newly qualified nurse (0-2 years’ experience): €1,800-2,200
• Experienced nurse (3-10 years): €2,200-2,800
• Senior nurse/supervisor: €2,800-3,500

Specialist nurses:

• Theatre nurse: €2,500-3,200
• Intensive care nurse: €2,600-3,300
• Neonatal nurse: €2,500-3,200
• Home care nurse: €2,200-2,800

Nurses in private clinics may earn 10-20% more. Night shifts and weekend work are paid extra. Working as a nurse also requires recognition of your qualification and Spanish at B2-C1 level.

Teachers’ salaries in Spain

A teacher’s salary in Spain depends on the type of school (public or private), region, experience and level of education.

State schools:

• New teacher (1-5 years): €1,800-2,200 (€25,200-30,800 a year with 14 payments)
• Experienced teacher (5-15 years): €2,200-2,600
• Senior teacher (15+ years): €2,600-3,000

Private schools:

• Private school teacher: €1,500-2,500 a month (depends on the school’s prestige)
• International school teacher: €2,500-4,000

Foreign language teachers:

• English teacher: €1,500-2,500
• Language school teacher: €1,200-1,800 (often paid by the hour, €15-25 an hour)

Universities:

• Assistant professor: €2,200-3,000
• Associate professor: €3,000-4,000
• Professor: €4,000-6,000

Teachers in state schools receive 14 payments a year, summer holidays (2 months) and job security. Conditions in private schools can vary. To teach in a state school you have to pass a competitive exam (oposiciones).

Police officers’ salaries in Spain

A police officer’s salary in Spain varies with rank, experience, region and type of police force.

National Police (Policía Nacional):

• New officer (oficial): €1,700-2,000
• Experienced officer (5-10 years): €2,000-2,400
• Inspector: €2,500-3,200
• Commissioner: €3,500-5,000

Civil Guard (Guardia Civil):

• Guard: €1,700-2,100
• Corporal: €2,100-2,600
• Sergeant: €2,600-3,200
• Officer: €3,500-5,500

Local police (Policía Local/Municipal):

• Municipal police officer: €1,600-2,200
• Senior officer: €2,200-2,800

Police salaries in Spain include extra allowances for night shifts, overtime, hazardous conditions and length of service. Police officers also receive 14 payments a year and are entitled to early retirement. Work in special units (counter-terrorism, drug enforcement) is paid above the base rate.

Footballers’ salaries in Spain

Footballers’ salaries in Spain are among the highest in the world of sport. Spain is home to two of the biggest football clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, where the best-paid footballers on the planet play.

Top level (La Liga, big clubs):

• World-class stars: €10-40 million a year (before tax)
• First-team players at top clubs: €3-10 million a year
• Squad rotation players: €1-3 million a year
• Young academy players: €100,000 – 500,000 a year

Middle level (La Liga, mid-table clubs):

• First-team players: €500,000 – 2 million a year
• Substitutes: €200,000 – 500,000 a year

Second division (La Liga 2):

• First-team players: €100,000 – 400,000 a year
• Average salary: €50,000 – 150,000 a year

Regional leagues:

• Third tier: 20,000 – 80,000 euros a year
• Fourth tier and below: many players receive token payments or play semi-professionally

A footballer’s pay in Spain also includes bonuses for wins, goals, assists, individual achievements and commercial deals with brands. Top footballers earn more from endorsements than from their club salary.

Remember that tax on footballers’ salaries in Spain can reach 45–54% depending on the region, which significantly reduces net income. How much is left from a 10 million euro salary in Madrid, Catalonia and the Valencian Community is calculated above, in the section on tax on footballers’ salaries.

Other professions

Electricians’ salaries in Spain:

• Apprentice electrician: €1,500-1,900
• Experienced electrician (5+ years): €2,000-2,800
• Specialist electrician (industrial installations): €2,500-3,500
• Freelance electrician (autónomo): €2,000-4,000 a month (depends on orders)

An electrician’s salary in Spain depends on qualifications, licences and region. In big cities electricians earn 20-30% more than in the provinces. The picture is similar in trades and service jobs: we have covered how the earnings of a pastry chef in a bakery and a stable worker are made up in separate articles.

Vets’ salaries in Spain:

• Newly qualified vet: €1,600-2,000
• Experienced vet (5+ years): €2,200-3,000
• Specialist vet (surgeon, oncologist): €3,000-4,500
• Vet with their own clinic: 3,000-6,000 euros a month (depends on the business)

Vets in private clinics usually earn more than in municipal services. Vets working with farm animals can earn more thanks to farm call-outs.

Club DJs’ pay in Spain:

• Beginner DJ (local bars): €50-150 per gig (often 3-4 hours)
• Resident at a mid-level club: €200-500 a night or €1,200-2,000 a month with regular gigs
• DJ at well-known clubs (Ibiza, Barcelona, Madrid): €500-2,000 per gig
• Well-known DJs (touring): €5,000-50,000 per gig
• World stars: €50,000-200,000+ per gig

A club DJ’s pay in Spain is extremely unstable and depends on fame, the season (summer in Ibiza is peak earning time) and the format of the gigs. Most beginner DJs combine this work with other jobs.

Engineers and technical specialists

Engineering professions are traditionally well paid, especially in renewable energy and industrial manufacturing. For architects the range depends heavily on whether the degree has been recognised (homologación) and whether you can sign off projects — this is covered separately in our article on working as an architect.

• Process engineer: €1,985-4,065
• Systems engineer: €2,699-5,703
• Renewable energy engineer: €3,500-5,500
• Architect: €2,800-5,000
• Civil engineer: €2,500-4,500

Financial sector

Bank employees, financial analysts and accountants receive stable and competitive salaries.

• Accountant: €2,200-3,500
• Financial analyst: €3,500-6,000
• Bank manager: €4,000-7,000
• Auditor: €3,000-5,000

Marketing and sales

Digital marketing and e-commerce are booming in Spain.

• Digital marketer: €2,500-4,500
• Sales Manager: €3,000-5,500 (often + bonuses)
• Marketing manager: €3,500-6,000
• Content manager: €2,000-3,000

Tourism and hospitality

Despite the well-developed tourism industry, salaries in this sector are among the lowest in the country.

• Waiter: €1,200-1,600 (+ tips, roughly 25 euros a day)
• Cook: €1,500-2,200
• Hotel housekeeper: €1,200-1,500
• Hotel receptionist: €1,800-2,500
• Tour guide: €1,500-2,000 (seasonal work)

Construction and skilled trades

• Welder: €1,900-3,000
• Carpenter: €1,700-2,500
• Site foreman: €2,500-4,000

The salary comparison shows a significant gap between highly qualified professionals and service workers.

Cost of living in Spain

To understand the real purchasing power of Spanish salaries, you need to look at the main expenses. The cost of living varies by city and region. A full breakdown of every expense item is in our guide to how much money you need to live in Spain.

Renting a home

Rent is the biggest expense for most residents. Flat prices in Spain vary widely.

Madrid:

• Studio/one-bedroom flat in the centre: €1,000-1,500
• Studio outside the centre: €700-1,000
• Three-room flat in the centre: €1,600-2,500
• Three-room flat outside the centre: €1,100-1,600
• Room in a shared flat: €450-700

Barcelona:

• Studio in the centre: €1,200-1,800
• Studio outside the centre: €800-1,200
• Three-room flat in the centre: €2,000-3,000
• Room: €500-800

Valencia, Seville, Málaga (medium-sized cities):

• Studio in the centre: €600-900
• Studio outside the centre: €500-700
• Room: €300-500

Provinces and small towns:

• Studio: €400-600
• Two-room flat: €600-900

For 1,700 euros you can rent a good flat in most Spanish cities, except central Madrid and Barcelona. For 1,300 euros comfortable options are available in medium-sized cities. Property in Spain can also be bought as an investment.

Utilities

Monthly utility bills (electricity, water, gas, internet) for an 85-square-metre flat:

• In summer: 80-120 euros
• In winter (with heating): 150-200 euros
• Internet: 30-50 euros
• Mobile phone: 10-30 euros

Groceries

Food makes up a significant part of the budget. Average grocery spending per person: €300-500 a month

Approximate supermarket prices:

• Milk (1 litre): 0.90-1.20 euros
• Bread: 1-2 euros
• Eggs (12): 2-3 euros
• Cheese (1 kilogram): 8-15 euros
• Chicken breast (1 kilogram): 6-9 euros
• Fruit and vegetables: €1-3 per kilogram
• Water (1.5 litres): 0.30-0.60 euros
• Wine: from €3 a bottle

Eating out

• Lunch at an inexpensive café (menú del día): 10-15 euros
• Dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant: 40-60 euros
• Coffee: 1.50-2.50 euros
• Beer in a bar: 2-4 euros

On €1,700 a month you can live comfortably in medium-sized cities and cover all basic expenses.

Transport

Public transport:

• Single metro/bus ticket: €1.50-2.50
• Monthly pass (Madrid, Barcelona): €55-80
• Monthly pass (other cities): €35-55

Private car:

• Petrol (1 litre): €1.50-1.70
• Parking in the city centre: €2-4 an hour

Taxi/Uber:

• Base fare: 3-4 euros
• Per kilometre: 1-1.50 euros

Approximate monthly budget

For one person (excluding rent): 687-900 euros

For a family of four (excluding rent): 2,420-3,000 euros

Including rent:

• Single person in Madrid/Barcelona: 1,700-2,500 euros
• Single person in a medium-sized city: 1,200-1,600 euros
• Family in Madrid/Barcelona: 3,500-5,000 euros
• Family in a medium-sized city: 2,500-3,500 euros

The average cost of living depends on your lifestyle and city. Expenses in the capital are much higher than in the provinces. You can live comfortably here on an income from 2,000 euros.

How much in-demand jobs pay in 2026

Most employment contracts in Spain are signed by waiters, shop assistants, cleaners and labourers (SEPE, 2025 data). According to INE data for 2024, restaurant and retail workers earn an average of €18,919 gross a year (−36% against the Spanish average), and unskilled service workers €16,063 (−46%). Skilled specialists are paid differently: the average salary in IT and communications is €42,742 (+45%), and in health and social work €32,225 (+9%).

Which professions are in demand according to official SEPE data, what the hard-to-fill occupations catalogue is and how foreigners are hired through it is covered in our article on working in Spain, in the section In-demand professions in Spain and the hard-to-fill occupations catalogue. Average salaries for all occupation groups are in the table above.

Work for foreigners: visas and documents

If your income comes from remote work for a foreign employer, a Spanish salary is not needed for residence — the digital nomad permit fits. Working for yourself means registering as autónomo, which is our gestor service, and a project with an innovative component can use the startup visa.

Citizens of countries outside the European Union (including Russians) need special documents to work. There are several ways to obtain a residence permit in Spain:

Main documents

1. An employment contract from a Spanish employer
2. A work permit (permiso de trabajo)
3. An entry visa (issued through a Spanish consulate)
4. A residence permit (residencia) after entry

Types of visa

• Work visa (requires an employment contract)
• Visa for highly qualified professionals (favourable conditions for IT specialists, engineers, scientists)
• Digital nomad visa (for remote workers)
• Visa to start a business (autónomos) — allows you to run a business and set up a company
• Golden visa — abolished on 3 April 2025; investing in property no longer gives the right to a residence permit
• Startup visa for entrepreneurs launching innovative projects

Language skills

Most professions require at least an intermediate level of Spanish (B1-B2). Learning Spanish makes settling in much easier. In Catalonia it is also useful to know Catalan, and in the Basque Country, Basque.

For IT specialists and jobs at international companies English is often enough, but knowing Spanish greatly expands your options and makes integration easier. Many Spanish job sites are available only in the local language.

Getting citizenship

You can obtain Spanish citizenship, as a second citizenship, after 10 years of legal residence (2 years for people from Latin American countries). The advantages of citizenship include free movement within the EU, obtaining Schengen visas for relatives and access to European programmes. There are also citizenship-by-investment programmes, including St Kitts and Nevis as an alternative.

Comparison with other European countries

For context, it is useful to compare salaries with incomes in other European countries:

Average salary (net):

• Germany: 2,900-3,200 euros
• France: 2,300-2,600 euros
• United Kingdom: 2,500-2,900 euros
• Spain: around €1,930 (average salary, Madrid)
• Italy: 1,700-2,000 euros
• Portugal: 1,200-1,500 euros

Spain sits in the middle of the list of European countries by income. Salaries are lower than in Germany or the Nordic countries but higher than in Eastern Europe and Portugal. At the same time, the cost of living, especially in smaller towns, remains moderate, which makes a comfortable standard of living in Spain possible.

Pros and cons of working in Spain

Advantages of life in Spain

The advantages of living in Spain are many:

✅ Warm climate and nature — more than 300 sunny days a year
✅ High-quality healthcare — the standard of medicine is among the best in the world
✅ Work-life balance — Spaniards value time for rest and family
✅ Culture and history — a rich cultural heritage
✅ Safety — a low crime rate
✅ Affordable education — state and private schools, universities offering high-quality higher education
✅ Good infrastructure — modern transport, internet, services
✅ The chance to obtain EU citizenship together with your family

Disadvantages

The downsides of life in Spain also need to be considered:

❌ High unemployment — especially among young people
❌ Language barrier — Spanish is essential for most professions
❌ Bureaucracy — getting documents can take a long time
❌ High taxes — a progressive scale of up to 45%
❌ Low salaries compared with Northern Europe
❌ Insecure employment contracts — many people work on temporary contracts
❌ A complex tax system that needs careful study

Practical tips for moving

Everything you need to know for a successful move:

1. Learn the language

Start learning Spanish before you move. Even a basic level will make settling in and job hunting much easier.

2. Get your qualifications recognised

Degrees and certificates require official recognition (homologación). The process can take from 6 months to a year.

3. Research the job market

Use job search sites:

• InfoJobs
• LinkedIn
• Indeed España
• Glassdoor

Check your qualifications and how well they match employers’ requirements.

4. Work out your budget

Calculate all expenses in advance: rent, food, transport, insurance, taxes. Make sure your income will cover everything you need. You can exchange money into euros at a good rate before moving.

5. Open a bank account

You will need a Spanish bank account to receive your salary. You can open one once you have your NIE (foreigner identification number).

6. Take out health insurance

Until you obtain official resident status, you will need private health insurance.

7. Find a home

Start with a short-term rental (Airbnb, Booking), then look for a long-term home through Idealista or Fotocasa, the popular Spanish property platforms.

8. Consider business options

If you plan to run a business, look into the conditions for developing a business and setting up a company in Spain. The startup visa opens up many opportunities.

Income trends in 2026

The latest annual INE salary data are for 2024 (Encuesta Anual de Estructura Salarial): the average gross salary is €29,540 a year, against €28,050 a year earlier, a change of 5.3%.

The minimum wage for 2026 is €1,221 a month over 14 payments, or €17,094 a year (Real Decreto 126/2026, from 1 January). No income tax (IRPF) is paid on it: Real Decreto-ley 5/2026 (art. 28) introduced a deduction of €590.89 a year for employment income up to €17,094 and a smaller one up to €20,048.45. For high earners the state part of the IRPF scale is unchanged at 9.5% to 24.5%, and the final rate depends on the region; take-home pay on €80,000, €150,000 and €300,000 gross is shown in the calculation above.

Pensions were raised by 2.7% in 2026, in line with average inflation over the 12 months to December 2025 (Real Decreto-ley 3/2026). The maximum state pension is €3,359.60 a month over 14 payments, or €47,034.40 a year, so on a high salary retirement income is planned in advance and from your own capital. Civil servants’ pay rose by 1.5% from 1 January 2026, with a further 0.5% due in early 2027 if inflation for 2026 is at least 1.5% (Real Decreto-ley 14/2025).

Inflation in September 2026 was 4.9% year on year; core inflation, excluding energy and unprocessed food, was 3.1% (INE, CPI).

Interesting facts about salaries and life

• Spain is one of the best countries to work in the IT sector thanks to its growing number of tech hubs
• Spain has one of the lowest crime rates in Europe
• Madrid and Barcelona account for more than 60% of well-paid vacancies
• Thousands of professionals seek to move to Spain every year
• Spanish cities feature in many international publications’ rankings of the best places to live
• Digital nomad programmes are popular in Spain

Frequently asked questions

What is the average salary in Spain?

The average salary in Spain is €29,540 gross a year according to INE for 2024, around €2,462 a month over 12 months. The median is €24,497: half of all workers earn less.

How much do you take home on the average salary?

A single employee on the average salary takes home around €1,930 a month in Madrid and €1,900 in Catalonia. Income tax and the 6.5% employee contribution come out of gross pay.

Where in Spain are salaries highest?

According to INE, the average salary is highest in the Basque Country, Madrid and Navarre and lowest in Extremadura and the Canary Islands.

What is the minimum wage in Spain?

The minimum wage (SMI) is €1,221 a month over 14 payments, or €17,094 a year gross.

How much do you need to earn to be in the top 10%?

More than €52,515 gross a year: that is the 90th percentile of salaries in Spain according to INE. A quarter of workers earn less than €17,457.

Is the Beckham regime worth it on a €150,000 salary?

Yes, considerably. For a single employee in Madrid the Beckham regime leaves around €9,170 a month against €7,810 on the ordinary scale. The regime is available when you move for an employment contract and lasts six years.

Key facts about salaries in Spain

The average salary in Spain is €29,540 gross a year and the median €24,497 (INE, 2024). A single employee on the average salary takes home around €1,930 a month in Madrid; real income depends heavily on profession, region, qualifications and experience.

Pay is highest in the Basque Country, Madrid and Navarre. The most sought-after specialists work in IT, medicine, engineering, renewable energy and digital marketing. At high incomes, the region you register in and the Beckham regime become decisive: the difference in take-home pay can reach several thousand euros a month.

For a comfortable life you ideally need a net income of at least €2,700 for a single person and €4,000 for a family. Knowing Spanish, having your education documents recognised and work experience greatly improve your chances of finding a job with a decent salary.

Spain is not only a place of financial opportunity but also offers a high quality of life: a warm climate, excellent healthcare, safety, culture and a good work-life balance. The advantages of life here far outweigh the disadvantages, especially for those willing to adapt to the local culture and learn the language.

With proper preparation and realistic expectations, moving to this sunny country can be a successful life decision. Everything you need for a comfortable life is here — from good infrastructure to the chance to obtain citizenship and a second, European Union citizenship together with your family.