Average Annual Salary in Netherlands (2025)
Average annual wages in the Netherlands from 1990 to 2025, expressed in constant 2025 USD at purchasing power parity. At $80,136 in 2025, the Netherlands sits approximately 24% above the OECD average of $64,809. Source: OECD Average Annual Wages dataset.
Data
| Year | Avg. Annual Wage (USD PPP) | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 72,715 | n/a |
| 1991 | 73,285 | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 73,671 | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 74,912 | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 75,455 | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 73,989 | -1.9% |
| 1996 | 73,767 | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 74,074 | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 71,837 | -3.0% |
| 1999 | 73,244 | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 75,116 | +2.6% |
| 2001 | 76,236 | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 76,264 | 0.0% |
| 2003 | 76,759 | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 77,890 | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 77,999 | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 77,804 | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 78,846 | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 79,097 | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 81,826 | +3.5% |
| 2010 | 81,996 | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 81,266 | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 81,739 | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 82,108 | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 81,670 | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 82,711 | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 83,103 | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 81,828 | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 81,126 | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 80,831 | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 81,772 | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 80,401 | -1.7% |
| 2022 | 76,315 | -5.1% |
| 2023 | 76,028 | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 78,683 | +3.5% |
| 2025 | 80,136 | +1.8% |
About this Dataset
In 2025, the Netherlands' average annual salary stood at $80,136 in constant 2025 USD, adjusted for purchasing power parity. That is approximately 24% above the OECD-wide average of $64,809, placing the Netherlands among the highest-wage economies in the OECD. The figure covers mean gross wages for a full-time, full-year equivalent employee across the total economy, compiled by the OECD Centre for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs from national accounts and labour force surveys.
The Netherlands' 2025 average wage of $80,136 is $15,327 above the OECD average of $64,809. Real wages remain 3.1% below the level of a decade earlier ($82,711 in 2015), reflecting a period of inflation outpacing collective bargaining settlements in 2021–2023 that has only partially reversed since. For labour cost modelling, total employer cost in the Netherlands typically runs 20–30% above the gross wage once social insurance contributions are included.
The dataset covers the Netherlands from 1990 to 2025 at annual frequency. Key methodological notes:
- Unit: Constant 2025 US dollars, adjusted for purchasing power parity using OECD deflators
- Definition: Mean gross annual wage of full-time, full-year equivalent employees, total economy
- Coverage: 1990–2025, annual frequency, Netherlands (ISO-3: NLD)
- Measure code: WG (average wage) with USD_PPP unit measure, series AV_AN_WAGE
- Publisher: OECD Centre for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS.SAE)
Dutch real wages peaked at $83,103 in 2016 and fell in every subsequent year through 2023 except 2020. By 2023 the average wage had dropped to $76,028, an 8.5% real decline from peak. The decline was concentrated in 2022, when wages fell 5.1% as Dutch headline inflation peaked above 14% in late 2022, among the highest rates in the eurozone; 2023 brought only a marginal further dip of 0.4%. Collective bargaining agreements (which typically cover large portions of the Dutch workforce through sector-wide CAOs, collectieve arbeidsovereenkomsten) generally lag inflation by 12–18 months, widening the real wage gap before settlements catch up. Recovery gathered pace from 2024: wages rose 3.5% to $78,683, and a further 1.8% in 2025 to $80,136 — though the 2016 peak has not yet been fully reclaimed.
Like several other OECD economies, the Netherlands shows a 2009 composition spike. The average wage rose 3.5% from $79,097 in 2008 to $81,826 in 2009, not because employees received large increases during the financial crisis, but because lower-wage workers were more likely to lose jobs. The remaining employed workforce had a higher average wage, pushing the statistical mean upward. This is a standard feature of aggregate average wage series during recessions with uneven job loss across income levels.
From 1990 to 2025, real wages in the Netherlands grew 10.2%, from $72,715 to $80,136, roughly 0.3% per year on average. That slow pace reflects several structural features of the Dutch labour market: a high share of part-time employment (the Netherlands consistently ranks among the OECD leaders in part-time work, particularly among women), a mature economy with limited scope for productivity catch-up, and wage-setting institutions that typically restrain nominal growth in exchange for employment stability. Analysts modelling Dutch labour costs or consumer spending capacity should treat the OECD mean as a full-time equivalent figure; median take-home pay across the actual workforce is likely somewhat lower once part-time workers are considered on their actual hours worked.