The net income needed to live comfortably in Europe varies sharply from one country to another, with a single adult needing the equivalent of €6,491 a month in Switzerland to reach the upper-middle-income benchmark, compared with just €603 in North Macedonia.
The figures, calculated by Euronews Business using national median disposable incomes, highlight the wide financial differences between European countries. They also show why earning what is considered a relatively high income in one country does not necessarily provide the same standard of living elsewhere.
Defining a comfortable income is difficult because the cost of housing, food, energy, transport and other essentials varies across Europe. Household size also matters, while income alone does not account for savings, debts, investments or whether someone owns their home.
One way to compare incomes is through equivalised disposable income, a measure that takes account of the money available to a household after taxes and social contributions have been deducted. It includes income from employment, investments, social benefits and other sources, adjusted for household size to reflect the different needs of adults and children.
The measure is useful for comparing living standards, but it is not the same as the salary an individual must earn. It represents household disposable income adjusted for household composition.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) classifies middle-income households as those with equivalised disposable incomes between 75% and 200% of the national median. Within this range, households earning between 75% and 100% of the median are considered lower-middle-income, those between 100% and 150% are classified as middle-income, and those between 150% and 200% fall into the upper-middle-income group.
There is no officially established income threshold that guarantees a comfortable lifestyle. However, Sebastian Koenigs, a senior economist at the OECD, told Euronews Business that households earning more than 150% of the national median could generally be assumed to have sufficient income to live relatively comfortably, if income is the main measure available.
Using this benchmark, Euronews Business calculated the monthly net household income needed to reach 150% of the national median for three household types: a single adult, a couple without children, and a couple with two children under the age of 14.
In 2025, the EU’s median equivalised disposable income stood at €22,939 a year, or approximately €1,912 a month. For a single adult, reaching 150% of that median requires a monthly net income of about €2,867.
Across the 34 European countries included in the comparison, the monthly benchmark for a single adult ranges from €603 in North Macedonia to €6,491 in Switzerland. Within the European Union, Luxembourg has the highest figure at €6,256, while Romania has the lowest at €1,023.
Several other European countries also require more than €4,000 a month for a single adult to reach the benchmark. Norway stands at €5,240, followed by Austria at €4,568, Denmark at €4,524, Ireland at €4,392 and the Netherlands at €4,308.
The figures also reveal notable differences among Europe’s largest economies. Germany has the highest benchmark among the EU’s four biggest economies, at €3,611 a month for a single adult. France follows at €3,307, while Italy stands at €2,758 and Spain at €2,546.
A single adult in Germany therefore needs €1,065 more per month than someone in Spain to reach the same relative income position. These figures do not mean that living in Germany necessarily costs exactly that much more. Instead, they reflect each country’s median disposable income and the income required to reach 150% of it.
At the other end of the scale, the benchmark is below €1,000 a month in Albania, at €723, Turkey, at €755, Montenegro, at €825, Serbia, at €975, and North Macedonia, at €603. All five are EU candidate countries, according to the article’s comparison.
Among EU member states, 11 countries have monthly benchmarks between €1,000 and €1,900. These include Portugal at €1,808, Poland at €1,799, Greece at €1,463, Bulgaria at €1,108 and Hungary at €1,099.
Household size changes the amount of income required, but not in a simple one-to-one relationship. A couple without children does not need twice the income of a single adult because partners can share expenses such as rent, heating and electricity.
Eurostat’s equivalence scale assigns a weight of 1 to the first adult in a household, 0.5 to each additional person aged 14 or older, and 0.3 to each child under 14. Under this method, a couple without children is assumed to need 1.5 times the income of a single adult, while a couple with two children under 14 needs 2.1 times as much.
Using the EU benchmark, a couple without children would need approximately €4,301 in monthly net household income to reach the upper-middle-income threshold. For a couple with two children under 14, the figure rises to about €6,021.
The same multipliers apply across the countries in the comparison, so the ranking remains unchanged for couples and families. However, the amounts required can still differ substantially depending on the country where a household lives.
Nominal euro figures also have an important limitation: they do not show how much those incomes can actually buy. Goods and services, particularly housing, can cost very different amounts across countries. Purchasing power standards (PPS), an artificial currency unit designed to account for differences in price levels, provide a more meaningful comparison of purchasing power.
In PPS terms, the monthly benchmark for a single adult in the EU is 2,830. Across the countries compared, it ranges from 1,031 PPS in Albania to 4,709 PPS in Luxembourg. The difference is approximately 4.6 times, compared with a gap of around 10.8 times when measured in euros.
Within the EU, Hungary has the lowest benchmark at 1,495 PPS. Luxembourg’s figure is just over three times higher, whereas the gap between the two countries is around six times when measured in euros.
These adjusted figures narrow the apparent differences in income between countries, but they do not eliminate them. They also do not mean that households with the same relative income can afford identical lifestyles.
Professor Koen Caminada of Leiden University told Euronews Business that the same position in a country’s income distribution can translate into very different purchasing power elsewhere. Earning 150% of the national median in one country does not necessarily provide the same standard of living as earning that proportion in another.
National averages can also hide substantial differences within individual countries. Housing costs, in particular, can make a significant difference to the money households have left after paying essential bills. Someone living in an expensive capital city may face a very different financial situation from someone earning a similar income in a smaller town or rural area.
Koenigs noted that many OECD countries experience regional differences in both income and living costs. This means that national income benchmarks provide a useful starting point, but they cannot show precisely how comfortably every household can live in a particular location.
Wealth is another important part of the equation. Income measures the money coming into a household, while wealth includes assets such as property, savings and investments, minus debts. Two households earning the same amount can therefore have very different levels of financial security.
Koenigs pointed out that people on relatively low incomes may manage their expenses more easily if they own their homes and live in areas where prices are lower. Homeowners without mortgage payments, for example, may face fewer monthly housing costs than renters on higher incomes, although they still have maintenance and other expenses.
Caminada also highlighted the importance of savings and access to financial resources. A household with a modest income and accessible savings may be better prepared for an unexpected bill or temporary job loss than a higher-income household carrying substantial debt and holding little money in reserve.
For that reason, an income above 150% of the national median should not automatically be treated as proof of financial security. Dr Markus M. Grabka of the German Institute for Economic Research, known as DIW Berlin, similarly told news outlets that income above this level does not, on its own, guarantee financial stability.
Caminada argues that a genuinely comfortable standard of living should mean more than being able to cover monthly bills. Households should be able to afford adequate housing, food, energy and transport, take part in social activities, enjoy some leisure time and save money. They should also be able to manage an unexpected expense or a temporary loss of income without immediately facing serious financial difficulties.
The 150% benchmark is therefore best understood as a way to compare relative income levels, rather than a universal definition of comfort. The amount a household needs in practice depends on where it lives, how many people it supports, its housing arrangements, its debts and the savings available to fall back on.
