The Average Salary in Italy and Other Key Figures for Benchmarking

Careful salary research can pay off when you’re pursuing an applicant who knows their worth. When hiring in Italy, producing a competitive offer requires more than looking up general salary benchmarks.

That’s because the national average salary in Italy is rarely the only factor driving the actual pay. You also need to factor in location, role, sector, and collective agreements. Calculating your total employee cost is a more realistic way to build competitive compensation packages and stay compliant with labor laws.

To help you do the math, here’s a detailed breakdown of monthly average salaries in Italy, mandatory employer contributions, and how to hire compliantly.

What’s the average salary in Italy?

“Average” and “median” figures are similar, but they can tell different stories about pay. To calculate average salaries, you add the total amount of money earned by a group of employees, then divide that by the number of employees. The average monthly salary or an annual figure provides an overall picture, but can be heavily skewed or pulled upward by a small number of high-earning executives.

Median salaries, on the other hand, are the middle value if you line up every employee’s salary from lowest to highest. The median income in Italy can be a more accurate reflection of what a typical employee makes versus average monthly salaries.

Here’s a breakdown of what salaries look like in Italy, based on recent statistics:

• Average annual gross salary. It’s €33,523 per year, based on 2024 Eurostat data.
• Average hourly salary. €16.4 per hour is the average, according to 2022 data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT).
• Median pay. It’s €31,704 per year or €2,642 per month, per ISTAT data from 2024 to 2025.
• Minimum wage. In Italy, a national minimum wage doesn’t exist. Instead, collective agreements set pay floors for different sectors, Eurostat reports.

Gross vs. net salary in Italy

Gross pay is what an employee negotiates or earns on paper, while net pay is the actual amount that hits their bank account. Put another way, net salary is what remains after all mandatory and voluntary deductions are subtracted from gross pay.

This means employers have to budget for the total cost of employment rather than the gross salary. And employees need to take into account that their gross to net salaries can look much different due to taxes and contributions.

In Italy, the average single employee faced a tax rate of 28.6% in 2025, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. That means the average employee’s take-home pay after deductions was 71.4% of their gross wage.

Average income in Italy by region

Italy’s average incomes have a pronounced regional divide. ISTAT reported on average disposable income by region in 2024. While disposable income isn’t always a direct reflection of average income—since it also reflects taxes—it provides insight into individuals’ purchasing power, which income plays a major role in. The ISTAT report showed variations between regions of Northern and Southern Italy:

• Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano/Bozen. It had the highest average disposable income per inhabitant at €32,700.
• Lombardy. The northern region ranked second, at €28,200.
• Emilia-Romagna. The region averaged €26,700.
• Sicily. €17,400 was the average.
• Campania. It was close behind Sicily, at €17,200.
• Calabria. The region had the lowest average on the list, at €16,800.

Average salary in Italy by role

Typical pay in Italy also depends on two key factors: the employee’s contract category and the sector the employee works in.

Italy’s National Institute for Social Security (INPS), sorts every full-time employee into four categories, and the highest-paying jobs average about €145,000 more than the lowest-paying. Here’s a breakdown of the average gross annual salary in 2024 for each, according to INPS.

Salaries also vary significantly by job in Italy. ISTAT’s 2022 data found that the finance sector had the highest average earnings (€25.9 per hour) while hospitality had the lowest (€10.9 per hour). The overall national average fell in the middle at €16.4 per hour.

Main components and employer costs of Italy’s salary system

Employers incur costs when hiring in Italy beyond an employee’s base salary. You also need to account for mandatory contributions and other statutory employment costs, such as:

• Social security contributions. Employers typically contribute approximately 33% of gross salary to INPS. The exact rate depends on sector, company size, and applicable collective agreements (CCNL). The 33% contribution bundles pension, healthcare, and unemployment.
• Severance accrual. “Trattamento di Fine Rapporto” (TFR) is a mandatory severance fund, paid upon termination of employment. Employers are responsible for managing TFR, and the accrual is calculated at a rate of the annual gross salary divided by 13.5, plus 1.5% for each year of service, with compensation for inflation.
• Collective bargaining and additional pay periods. CCNLs determine sector-level minimum pays, seniority increments, additional leave, and extra salary payments. Thirteenth-month pay is required in Italy, and some CCNLs also require 14th-month pay. Employees typically receive the additional installments in December and June, respectively.
• Workplace accident insurance. Italy’s National Institute for Insurance Against Accidents at Work oversees the employer contribution for insurance against workplace accidents. The rate varies by activity and risk category.

What you pay an employee and what it costs to employ them are two different numbers. Contribution rates and legal obligations can vary substantially depending on the employee and company classification, so always verify the latest figures. Factoring these costs into your payroll and workforce budget helps you plan accurately and avoid unexpected expenses.

How Pebl helps you hire and pay employees in Italy

Salary benchmarks are useful, but they don’t show the full picture of hiring compliantly in Italy. Alongside benchmarks, you also need to account for collective agreements, payroll, social contributions, reporting, and ongoing compliance.

Things can go wrong at many points—especially if you aren’t familiar with Italy’s regulations. Pebl’s Employer of Record service solves this problem by acting as a hire’s legal employer on your behalf, so you don’t have to navigate the system yourself. Pebl handles responsibilities ranging from onboarding to payroll and statutory benefits with respect to Italian laws.

If you already have a local entity in Italy, Pebl’s global payroll services can still be helpful, aiding with payment calculations and statutory deductions. You get support ensuring you pay your employees accurately and on time.

Contact Pebl to find the best solution for your team and start hiring in Italy.

FAQ

What’s considered a good salary in Italy?

There’s no sweeping “good salary” figure in Italy, as earnings depend heavily on location, role, sector, experience level, collective agreements, and contract categories. That said, the average across the country in 2024 was €33,523 per year.

Can you live on €3,000 a month in Italy?

The purchasing power of €3,000 per month in Italy depends largely on individual circumstances and the cost of living within the region a person lives. Major cities can be more expensive, while living costs may be more manageable in smaller towns. In 2024, the average monthly household consumption expenditure in Italy was below €3,000 at €2,755.