Average salary in Bulgaria (2025)

Statistical averages from Eurostat. Figures in euros; local currency shown where useful.

Average gross / month

€1,552

Average net / month

€1,204

Minimum wage / month

€620

About 41% of the average wage

Real change (3y)

+13.8%

Wage growth after inflation

Job marketEmployment, vacancies, inflation and working patterns

Inflation right now

3.5%

As of 2025-12

Unemployment rate

3.5%

Share of the active workforce

Youth unemployment

13.1%

Ages 15–24

Employment rate

77.0%

Ages 20-64, share of the population in work

Job vacancy rate

0.8%

As of 2025-Q4

Part-time workers

1.7%

Share of employment, ages 20-64

Usually work from home

1.4%

Plus 2.6% sometimes (2025)

Income, tax & workHousehold income, tax burden, time and employer cost

Median income / year

€8,862

Household equivalised, after tax

Tax wedge

34.9%

Tax + social contributions on labour

Usual weekly hours

39.9 h

Main job, ages 20–64

Labour cost / hour

€12

Total cost to employ (gross + employer)

Compared with the EU average

Deviation from the simple average of all covered countries. Green means better for workers: higher pay and employment, lower costs, unemployment and tax.

Average net / month€1,204 vs EU €2,592 · -53.6%

Average gross / month€1,552 vs EU €3,309 · -53.1%

Cost of living60 vs EU 98 · -38.9%

Unemployment rate3.5% vs EU 6.3% · -44.0%

Employment rate77.0% vs EU 75.8% · +1.6%

Tax wedge34.9% vs EU 35.6% · -2.1%

Pay by age (2022)

Mean gross monthly pay by age band, all occupations.

Occupation-level figures come from the 2022 Structure of Earnings Survey, the latest round of this four-yearly survey. The next round covers 2026.

Net salary trend

Average net monthly salary in euros.

Cost of living by category

Price level relative to the EU average (EU = 100). Above the line is pricier than the EU norm; below is cheaper.

Food & non-alcoholic drinks92.6

Alcohol & tobacco69.9

Clothing & footwear78

Housing & utilities40.6

Furnishings & household equipment77.9

Health46.6

Transport69.7

Information & communication100.9

Recreation & culture66

Education62.6

Restaurants & hotels55.7

Other goods & services62.2

Housing

House prices (1-year change)

+14.6%

Annual change in the house price index

Housing cost overburden

6.9%

Share of people spending over 40% of income on housing

Work incentives

How much of extra earnings is lost to taxes and withdrawn benefits. Lower is better: it means taking a job or a raise pays off.

Low-wage trap

22.4%

Lost when pay rises from a low wage

Unemployment trap

82.4%

Lost when taking a job from unemployment

Gender pay gap by sector

Unadjusted gap in average gross hourly pay between men and women, by economic sector.

Information & communication28.3%

Manufacturing21.5%

Financial services20.3%

Health & social work17.4%

Professional & scientific16.2%

Wholesale & retail trade9.4%

Education4.9%

Construction-24.8%

Pay by occupation

Monthly earnings by ISCO-1 occupation group. Click headers to sort.

Occupation		Median	P10	P90
Managers	€1,487	€1,141	€487	€2,912
Professionals	€1,185	€982	€414	€2,190
Technicians and associate professionals	€775	€651	€331	€1,318
Clerical support workers	€529	€437	€273	€900
Craft and related trades workers	€519	€435	€271	€866
Plant and machine operators and assemblers	€479	€399	€265	€766
Service and sales workers	€376	€298	€262	€578
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers	€372	€288	€261	€532
Elementary occupations	€357	€290	€261	€531

Under 30: €494
30 to 49: €487
50 and over: €487
Men, mean gross: €494
Women, mean gross: €479

Other regions: Bulgaria

Shade the map by GDP, income or unemployment. Hover a region; click to open it.

Region	GDP per person	Household income	Unemployment
Severen tsentralenBG32	€10,700	€6,500	4.0%
SeveroiztochenBG33	€12,500	€6,700	3.9%
SeverozapadenBG31	€10,300	€6,100	7.3%
YugoiztochenBG34	€13,900	€6,200	4.6%
YugozapadenBG41	€26,300	€11,300	1.9%
Yuzhen tsentralenBG42	€10,700	€6,700	3.2%

Averages are simple means of available NUTS 2 regional observations; they are not population-weighted. For unemployment, rank 1 is the lowest rate.

Pay by industry

Mean gross monthly pay by economic sector.

Information & communication€2,141

Electricity & gas€1,408

Professional & scientific€1,310

Mining & quarrying€1,228

Financial services€1,159

Public administration€1,016

Education€994

Health & social work€939

Transportation & storage€816

Wholesale & retail trade€795

Manufacturing€781

Real estate€781

Administrative & support€773

Other services€748

Arts & entertainment€742

Construction€730

Water & waste€656

Accommodation & food services€586

Occupation-level figures come from the 2022 Structure of Earnings Survey, the latest round of this four-yearly survey. The next round covers 2026. Covers firms with 10 or more employees.

Pay by education

Mean gross annual pay by highest completed education.

Below upper-secondary€6,760

Upper-secondary€8,322

Tertiary (degree)€16,674

A tertiary degree pays about 100% more than an upper-secondary education here.

Occupation-level figures come from the 2022 Structure of Earnings Survey, the latest round of this four-yearly survey. The next round covers 2026.

Income inequality

How evenly income and pay are distributed.

Gini coefficient

37.7

0 = fully equal, 100 = fully unequal

Top 20% vs bottom 20%

6.9x

Income share ratio (S80/S20)

High pay vs low pay

4.4x

P90 earnings vs P10 earnings

In-work poverty

11.8%

Employed but below the poverty line

Low-wage earners

26.8%

Earning under two-thirds of the median wage

Estimate your net salary

Bulgaria

Gross monthly (EUR)

Net (EUR): €1,204
Net (local): €1,204
Deductions: 22.4%

Estimate based on Eurostat net/gross ratios. Not tax advice.

Summary

In 2025, the average net monthly salary in Bulgaria was around €1,204. That corresponds to an average gross salary of roughly €1,552/month. The statutory minimum wage is about €620/month. Real wages have grown by 13.8% over the last three years, after inflation. Price levels sit at 60% of the EU average.