The Average Salary in Spain with City and Industry Breakdowns

The average salary in Spain is a useful reference point if you’re hiring in the country, but it’s helpful to use a narrower focus for the purposes of salary planning.

You can factor in the particular city in Spain where a hire is based, what industry they’re in, how much experience they bring, and the type of employer signing their contract. A software engineer in Madrid and a retail employee in a smaller city can both be “average” earners and take home very different paychecks.

Take a look at recent averages across major cities and industries in Spain to get a sense of what’s typical and plan salaries accordingly.

What’s the average salary in Spain?

According to the most recent wage report from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), in 2024, the average gross annual salary in the country that year was €29,540.26. That’s about $34,267.70 based on an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 1.16 USD. The average was 5.3% higher than the previous year.

To break it down by month, INE’s separate labor force survey puts the average monthly salary in Spain at €2,385.60, or roughly $2,767.

USD figures use an exchange rate of €1 = $1.16 and are approximate. Hourly figure: INE, Earnings per Normal Hour of Work, 2024. Minimum wage figures: BOE, Real Decreto 126/2026.

The median income in Spain was €24,497.17, meaning about half of employees earned less than that and about half earned more. INE also reported that the most common salary in 2024 was €16,520.18. Outliers can affect the national average, so looking at the median and most common salary alongside the average gives employers a broader perspective of the market.

Keep in mind gross salary isn’t what an employee sees in their bank account. Spanish residents take home less after employee social security contributions and income tax under Spain’s Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas system.

Average salaries in Spain’s largest cities

Average salaries vary considerably depending on where an employee lives, and some of Spain’s biggest employment hubs sit well above the national average.

INE reports annual salary data by autonomous community rather than individual city, so the figures below use each city’s region as a proxy. That means “Madrid” refers to the Community of Madrid, while “Barcelona” refers to Cataluña.

USD figures use an exchange rate of €1 = $1.16 and are approximate. Annual figures: INE, EAES 2024. Monthly figures: INE, EPA wage-decile survey 2024. National minimum wage in Spain: BOE, Real Decreto 126/2026.

Bilbao’s region had the highest average salary among the locations above, with Madrid not far behind. The average income in Barcelona fell above the national average, while Valencia and Seville fell below it.

Those distinctions aren’t surprising in light of the jobs concentrated in each area. Madrid and Barcelona attract employers willing to pay more for specialized talent, while higher housing costs make competitive salaries even more important. For an employer, that means a salary that looks generous against the Spanish average may not be nearly as competitive in Madrid or Barcelona.

Average salary in Spain by industry

INE’s 2024 Wage Structure Survey found that the difference between the average salary in highest- and lowest-paying industries was more than €40,000 per year.

USD figures use an exchange rate of €1 = $1.16 and are approximate. Source: INE, EAES 2024, “Salarios por sección de actividad económica.”

Roles in energy and utilities commanded the highest average salaries at €57,931.81, followed by financial services at €51,862.90. At the other end, hospitality averaged €17,653.42.

Senior roles within an industry tend to have higher salaries, so a sector alone doesn’t tell you what a particular employee should earn. INE’s data shows an even wider spread when salaries were grouped by type of role.

USD figures use an exchange rate of €1 = $1.16 and are approximate. Source: INE, EAES 2024, “Salarios por grupo principal de ocupación.”

Directors and managers earn more than twice the national average, while unskilled service laborers earn just over half. Those deviations highlight that job type is an important part of salary benchmarking.

What is considered a good salary in Spain?

What seems like a “good” salary to an office clerk in Spain might sound inadequate to an engineer. The same figure also lands differently depending on family circumstances and where someone is in their career. An unmarried young professional has different needs than someone supporting a partner and children, and people with more experience tend to want a salary to match.

A paycheck above Spain’s national average doesn’t automatically mean someone has more money left over at the end of the month. €2,700 was above the monthly average in 2024, but in Madrid, housing could eat up a sizable chunk of that income. In a smaller city, the same salary may leave considerably more after rent and everyday expenses. The gross pay is identical, but the standard of living it supports can be very different.

For employers, that distinction matters when deciding what to offer. A competitive salary is the one that makes sense for the job, the market, and the skills an employee brings.

Factors that affect the average salary in Spain

The figures above provide a useful benchmark, but they won’t tell you exactly what one particular candidate should earn. That comes down to specifics about the role and the person:

• Region and cost of living. Salaries tend to be higher in places like the Community of Madrid and País Vasco, where employers also face higher living costs and stronger competition for talent.
• Industry and occupation. A job title can tell you more about expected pay than the national average can. Someone working in finance or technology, for example, is likely to face a very different salary market from someone in hospitality or retail.
• Experience. Someone at the start of their career won’t usually command the same salary as an experienced professional doing similar work.
• Education and language skills. Degrees can open the door to higher-paying roles, while language skills can add value in positions that involve international clients or teams.
• Company size. Large, multinational companies often have more flexibility when setting salaries, while smaller businesses may be more bound to local market rates and their industry’s typical pay.

How Pebl helps employers in Spain

Calculating salaries is only the start of hiring and managing employees in Spain. You need employment contracts that meet local requirements and payroll systems that account for taxes, social security contributions, and statutory benefits. For a company hiring in Spain for the first time, handling all of that without a local entity can become an immense undertaking.

Pebl’s Employer of Record services lets you hire employees in Spain without setting up a local entity in the country. Pebl handles the local employment relationship with respect to payroll compliance requirements. Employee benefits administration is part of the process, too.

As for salary planning, you get access to benchmarking and market insights to inform your offers. Once you start hiring, Pebl’s Global Payroll tool can handle payroll in euros, including taxes and statutory deductions.

Ready to hire in Spain with confidence? Contact Pebl today.