The lowest-paid jobs in Hungary: staggering differences in net wages across the country
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Data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office reveals that the lowest-paid jobs in Hungary are all within the same sector. Budapest boasts the highest average monthly salary, significantly raising national indicators in the first quarter of 2024. While the average income in the capital surpasses HUF 500,000 (EUR 1,284.23), in the lowest-earning counties, this figure is nearly HUF 200,000 (EUR 513.69) lower.
Pénzcentrum examined data from the Central Statistical Office for the first three months of this year, highlighting a positive change since 2023: the average net monthly salary in all counties of Hungary has reached HUF 300,000 (EUR 770.54). However, significant regional disparities remain. Although the national average monthly income is HUF 414,301 (EUR 1,064.11), in Budapest, the average salary reaches HUF 503,108 (EUR 1,292.21). In other areas, it barely crosses HUF 300,000.
County averages show great discrepancies
Overall, the numbers indicate that the wage gap between the capital and the rest of the country—as well as the national average—has continued to widen in the first economic quarter of 2024.
Aside from Budapest, wages in only one county exceeded the national average: in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, net salaries were close to HUF 450,000 (EUR 1,155.81). The average amount taken home crossed the HUF 400,000 (EUR 1,027.38) threshold in Fejér and Komárom-Esztergom Counties as well.
On the other hand, Somogy, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Nógrád, Békés and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Counties finished at the bottom of the list. Although Pénzcentrum highlights as a positive that the average net salary in these counties has also exceeded HUF 300,000—this was not the case in the three lowest-earning counties in 2023—overall, salaries are more than HUF 170,000 (EUR 436.64) lower in these areas compared to Budapest. The best-performing county of the bottom five is Somogy, with a net average of HUF 333,027 (EUR 855.37), while the absolute lowest is Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg with HUF 303,151 (EUR 778.63).
Clear as mud.