Average Annual Salary in Netherlands (2024)
Average annual wages in the Netherlands from 1990 to 2024, expressed in constant 2024 USD at purchasing power parity. At $75,370 in 2024, the Netherlands sits approximately 23% above the OECD average of $61,147. Source: OECD Average Annual Wages dataset.
Data
| Year | Avg. Annual Wage (USD PPP) | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | $70,115 | — |
| 1991 | $70,664 | +0.8% |
| 1992 | $71,037 | +0.5% |
| 1993 | $72,233 | +1.7% |
| 1994 | $72,757 | +0.7% |
| 1995 | $71,343 | -1.9% |
| 1996 | $71,106 | -0.3% |
| 1997 | $71,328 | +0.3% |
| 1998 | $69,044 | -3.2% |
| 1999 | $70,363 | +1.9% |
| 2000 | $72,085 | +2.4% |
| 2001 | $73,154 | +1.5% |
| 2002 | $73,381 | +0.3% |
| 2003 | $73,899 | +0.7% |
| 2004 | $75,062 | +1.6% |
| 2005 | $75,061 | 0% |
| 2006 | $74,898 | -0.2% |
| 2007 | $75,942 | +1.4% |
| 2008 | $76,403 | +0.6% |
| 2009 | $79,334 | +3.8% |
| 2010 | $79,441 | +0.1% |
| 2011 | $79,184 | -0.3% |
| 2012 | $79,448 | +0.3% |
| 2013 | $79,686 | +0.3% |
| 2014 | $79,252 | -0.5% |
| 2015 | $80,218 | +1.2% |
| 2016 | $80,538 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | $79,951 | -0.7% |
| 2018 | $79,065 | -1.1% |
| 2019 | $78,508 | -0.7% |
| 2020 | $80,227 | +2.2% |
| 2021 | $79,312 | -1.1% |
| 2022 | $76,238 | -3.9% |
| 2023 | $74,549 | -2.2% |
| 2024 | $75,370 | +1.1% |
About this Dataset
In 2024, the Netherlands' average annual salary stood at $75,370 in constant 2024 USD, adjusted for purchasing power parity. That is approximately 23% above the OECD-wide average of $61,147, 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' 2024 average wage of $75,370 is $14,223 above the OECD average of $61,147. However, real wages declined 4.9% over the past decade (from $79,252 in 2014), driven by inflation outpacing collective bargaining settlements in 2021–2023. 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 2024 at annual frequency. Key methodological notes:
- Unit: Constant 2024 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: 1990–2024, 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 $80,538 in 2016 and fell in every subsequent year through 2023 except 2020. By 2023 the average wage had dropped to $74,549, a 7.4% real decline from peak. The 2022 and 2023 episodes were particularly sharp: wages fell 3.9% in 2022 and a further 2.2% in 2023, erasing gains accumulated over the preceding decade. Dutch headline inflation peaked above 14% in late 2022, among the highest rates in the eurozone. 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. A partial recovery of +1.1% materialised in 2024, as negotiated wage rounds finally outpaced price growth.
Like several other OECD economies, the Netherlands shows a 2009 composition spike. The average wage rose 3.8% from $76,403 in 2008 to $79,334 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 2024, real wages in the Netherlands grew just 7.5%, from $70,115 to $75,370, roughly 0.2% 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.