How many Spaniards earn less than you? The answer depends on how much money you earn each month, but also on whether your salary is expressed in gross or net terms and on how the extra payments are distributed. The latest data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) make it possible to know how salaries are distributed in Spain and provide a reference for comparing each worker’s income with that of the rest of salaried employees. According to official statistics, half of Spanish workers earn less than 2,001.4 euros in gross pay per month, while the other half exceeds that figure.
The figure corresponds to the median salary for 2024, the latest available year in the salary deciles statistics of the Active Population Survey (EPA), published in November 2025. For its part, the average salary stood at 2,385.6 euros in gross pay per month, 5% higher than in 2023. The difference between the two figures is significant: the average is calculated by adding up all salaries and dividing by the number of workers, while the median indicates the exact point that leaves 50% of salaried employees below it and the other 50% above it.
This explains that the Spanish average salary is higher than what most workers earn. The highest wages push the average upward, so earning less than 2,385 euros per month does not necessarily mean being in the worst-paid half of the population. To know each paycheck’s position more accurately, it is more useful to analyze the distribution of salaries by bracket.
How many workers earn less than you according to your salary
The INE divides salaried employees into ten groups, known as deciles, each of which represents 10% of the workers ordered from lowest to highest salary. From this distribution, it is possible to identify four main brackets that make it possible to compare monthly incomes.
| Monthly gross salary | Percentage of workers | Salary position |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 1,582.20 € | 30% | 30% with lower salaries |
| From 1,582.20 € to less than 2,001.40 € | 20% | Between the 30th and 50th percentiles |
| From 2,001.40 € to less than 2,659.80 € | 20% | Between the 50th and 70th percentiles |
| 2,659.80 € or more | 30% | 30% with higher salaries |
Median salary: 2,001.40 € gross per month.
Average salary: 2,385.60 € gross per month.
Source: National Statistics Institute (INE), salary distribution by deciles of the Active Population Survey (EPA), 2024 data. Monthly gross salaries with extra payments prorated. The percentages refer to wage earners, not to the whole of the Spanish population.
The data show that three out of every ten workers receive less than 1,582.2 euros gross per month. This group consists of approximately 5.53 million wage earners. At the opposite end, another 5.53 million earn 2,659.8 euros or more, an amount that places them among the 30% of workers with the highest incomes.
Between these two extremes is the remaining 40%, about 7.38 million people, whose salaries range from 1,582 to 2,659 euros per month. Within this group is the median of 2,001 euros, which divides the overall workforce into two halves.
For example, a person who earns 1,500 euros gross per month is among the 30% with the lowest salaries. If they receive 2,100 euros, they earn more than the pay of approximately half of wage earners, although they still do not reach the threshold of the best-paid 30%. On the other hand, someone who earns 2,700 euros gross per month falls among the 30% with the highest salaries.
It is worth bearing in mind that these figures do not make it possible to determine the exact percentage of workers who earn less than a person with any given salary. To know a specific percentile, it would be necessary to consult the more detailed limits of the distribution. The preceding brackets serve as general reference and do not constitute an individualized calculation.
What is the most usual salary in Spain
Another way to analyze income is to look at annual salary, a reference that is especially useful for comparing job offers and pay that include extra payments. According to the 2024 Annual Wage Structure Survey, whose final data were published by the INE on 28 May 2026, the annual average salary reached 29,540.26 euros, 5.3% higher than the previous year.
However, the annual median salary was 24,497.17 euros, while the most frequent salary, called the modal salary, stood at 16,520.18 euros gross per year. This latter figure indicates what the remuneration was that appeared most often in the distribution, not how much the majority of workers earned.
In fact, the INE points out that 29.5% of wage earners had annual earnings of between 16,000 and 23,000 euros, which shows the high concentration of workers in the lower and intermediate brackets of the distribution.
It is important not to confuse the annual figures of the Survey of Wage Structure with the monthly ones of the EPA. Although both come from the INE and correspond to 2024, they use different methodologies and statistical populations, so they should not be combined to directly calculate a worker’s wage position.
The difference between earning 1,500 euros with full-time or part-time work
One of the factors that most influences the wage distribution is the type of working hours. The INE data include both those who work full time and those who have part-time contracts, which considerably affects the results.
In 2024, 87% of part-time workers earned less than 1,582.2 gross euros per month, compared with 20.4% of wage earners with full-time hours. By contrast, 34.8% of those who worked full time received at least 2,659.8 euros, a proportion that fell to 2% among part-time employees.
This means that comparing two pay slips only by their monthly amount can be misleading. A person who earns 1,200 euros for a 20-hour weekly shift is not necessarily in worse wage conditions per hour than another who receives 1,800 euros working 40 hours. To correctly assess remuneration, the contracted hours, the collective agreement, and the conditions of the position must also be taken into account.
The type of contract also shows significant differences. Indefinite workers received an average salary of 2,484.5 gross euros per month, while temporary workers earned an average of 1,872.7 euros.
Women, young people and autonomous communities: where the lowest salaries are concentrated
The distribution of wages is also not homogeneous between men and women. According to the INE, 39.9% of female workers were earning less than 1,582.2 gross euros per month in 2024, compared with 20.7% of men. At the upper end, 33.7% of male wage earners received at least 2,659.8 euros, while among women that figure stood at 26.1%.
The difference is also reflected in the averages: 2,593 euros per month for men and 2,163.2 euros for women. However, the statistical agency warns that these differences are conditioned by factors such as the type of working hours, occupation, seniority, and sector of activity, so they cannot be automatically attributed to a single cause.
Age is another relevant element. Workers under 25 received an average salary of 1,372.8 euros per month, compared with the 2,680.7 euros for workers aged 55 or over. The greater presence of temporary contracts, part-time working hours, and lower seniority among young people explains part of this difference.
There are also significant territorial inequalities. Basque Country was the autonomous community with the highest average monthly salary, at 2,809.9 euros, followed by Madrid, with 2,761.7 euros, and Navarre, with 2,589.1 euros. At the opposite end were Canary Islands, with 2,051.7 euros; Murcia, with 2,120.9; and Extremadura, with 2,127.2 euros.
In addition, in Basque Country, 46.5% of wage earners received at least 2,659.8 euros per month, while in Madrid it was 39.3%. By contrast, Extremadura, Canary Islands, and Murcia showed a higher concentration of salaries below 1,582.2 euros.
How to compare your payslip correctly with INE data
To find out which pay bracket a salary falls into, the first thing is to use gross pay, not the net amount that reaches your bank account. INE data includes amounts before IRPF withholdings and Social Security contributions, so they cannot be compared directly with the money received after deductions.
It is also necessary to prorate the extra pay. The INE calculates the monthly gross salary by dividing the corresponding annual remuneration by twelve. Thus, a worker who receives 1,800 euros gross in 14 pays has an annual remuneration of 25,200 euros and a comparable monthly salary of 2,100 euros gross, not 1,800.
Finally, it should be remembered that the most recent salary distribution data from this survey corresponds to 2024, so it does not represent an exact picture of the payslips for November 2026. Increases in collective agreements, changes to the minimum wage, and the evolution of the labor market may have altered the amounts since then.
With these precautions, statistics allow establishing three clear benchmarks: who earns less than 1,582 euros in gross monthly pay is among the 30% with lower income; who exceeds 2,001 euros is placed above the median; and who reaches 2,660 euros is included in the 30% best paid. Some thresholds that help to put Spanish salaries into perspective and to understand why earning below the national average does not necessarily mean earning less than most workers.