PayScope EU

Average salary in France (2025)

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

Average gross / month
€3,700
Average net / month
€2,696
Minimum wage / month
€1,867
About 47.3% of the average wage
Real change (3y)
-0.7%
Wage growth after inflation
Job marketEmployment, vacancies, inflation and working patterns
Inflation right now
0.7%
As of 2025-12
Unemployment rate
7.7%
Share of the active workforce
Youth unemployment
19.8%
Ages 15–24
Employment rate
75.4%
Ages 20-64, share of the population in work
Job vacancy rate
2.4%
As of 2025-Q4
Part-time workers
16.7%
Share of employment, ages 20-64
Usually work from home
11.1%
Plus 24.4% sometimes (2025)
Income, tax & workHousehold income, tax burden, time and employer cost
Median income / year
€26,459
Household equivalised, after tax
Tax wedge
38.0%
Tax + social contributions on labour
Usual weekly hours
37.2 h
Main job, ages 20–64
Labour cost / hour
€45
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€2,696 vs EU €2,592 · +4.0%
Average gross / month€3,700 vs EU €3,309 · +11.8%
Cost of living106 vs EU 98 · +8.4%
Unemployment rate7.7% vs EU 6.3% · +23.2%
Employment rate75.4% vs EU 75.8% · -0.5%
Tax wedge38.0% vs EU 35.6% · +6.6%

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 drinks106.8
Alcohol & tobacco135.7
Clothing & footwear97
Housing & utilities120.7
Furnishings & household equipment107
Health94.3
Transport108.2
Information & communication89.7
Recreation & culture102.5
Education96.8
Restaurants & hotels116
Other goods & services101

Housing

House prices (1-year change)
+0.7%
Annual change in the house price index
Housing cost overburden
6.4%
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How much of extra earnings is lost to taxes and withdrawn benefits.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
51.4%
Lost when pay rises from a low wage
Unemployment trap
75.1%
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.

Financial services31.7%
Professional & scientific16.0%
Wholesale & retail trade15.2%
Information & communication11.3%
Manufacturing10.7%
Education9.6%
Health & social work8.3%
Construction-11.6%

Pay by occupation

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

OccupationMedianP10P90
Managers€5,518€4,401€2,823€8,654
Professionals€4,761€4,195€2,731€7,094
Technicians and associate professionals€2,926€2,719€1,904€4,064
Plant and machine operators and assemblers€2,269€2,181€1,609€3,023
Craft and related trades workers€2,238€2,191€1,564€2,970
Clerical support workers€2,190€2,007€1,483€2,956
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers€2,148€1,993€1,406€3,329
Service and sales workers€2,113€1,941€1,500€2,897
Elementary occupations€1,963€1,803€1,403€2,590

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

Managers€5,518

Salary range

P10 €2,823Median €4,401P90 €8,654

Middle 80% of full-time earners fall between P10 and P90.

Professionals€4,761

Salary range

P10 €2,731Median €4,195P90 €7,094

Middle 80% of full-time earners fall between P10 and P90.

Technicians and associate professionals€2,926

Salary range

P10 €1,904Median €2,719P90 €4,064

Middle 80% of full-time earners fall between P10 and P90.

Plant and machine operators and assemblers€2,269

Salary range

P10 €1,609Median €2,181P90 €3,023

Middle 80% of full-time earners fall between P10 and P90.

Craft and related trades workers€2,238

Salary range

P10 €1,564Median €2,191P90 €2,970

Middle 80% of full-time earners fall between P10 and P90.

Clerical support workers€2,190

Salary range

P10 €1,483Median €2,007P90 €2,956

Middle 80% of full-time earners fall between P10 and P90.

Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers€2,148

Salary range

P10 €1,406Median €1,993P90 €3,329

Middle 80% of full-time earners fall between P10 and P90.

Service and sales workers€2,113

Salary range

P10 €1,500Median €1,941P90 €2,897

Middle 80% of full-time earners fall between P10 and P90.

Elementary occupations€1,963

Salary range

P10 €1,403Median €1,803P90 €2,590

Middle 80% of full-time earners fall between P10 and P90.

Other regions: France

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

RegionGDP per personHousehold incomeUnemployment
AlsaceFRF1€38,700€23,2005.1%
AquitaineFRI1€37,700€24,0007.7%
AuvergneFRK1€34,400€23,4006.4%
Basse-NormandieFRD1€34,600€23,2006.6%
BourgogneFRC1€35,900€23,1007.0%
BretagneFRH0€36,600€23,6005.6%
Centre — Val de LoireFRB0€35,500€23,5006.1%
Champagne-ArdenneFRF2€37,800€22,4007.0%
CorseFRM0€37,500€24,2007.3%
Franche-ComtéFRC2€31,900€22,7008.2%
GuadeloupeFRY1€29,100€18,90016.6%
GuyaneFRY3€17,700€12,00016.9%
Haute-NormandieFRD2€35,800€23,0008.0%
Ile de FranceFR10€69,500€29,6008.8%
La RéunionFRY4€27,500€19,20016.3%
Languedoc-RoussillonFRJ1€33,000€22,3008.9%
LimousinFRI2€32,100€23,2006.2%
LorraineFRF3€31,300€22,6007.8%
MartiniqueFRY2€29,900€20,60013.4%
MayotteFRY5€13,100€8,50024.9%
Midi-PyrénéesFRJ2€38,600€23,6006.5%
Nord-Pas de CalaisFRE1€33,500€21,2009.0%
Pays de la LoireFRG0€37,500€23,3006.6%
PicardieFRE2€31,700€21,9007.5%
Poitou-CharentesFRI3€34,900€23,2006.4%
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’AzurFRL0€41,800€25,9007.3%
Rhône-AlpesFRK2€43,400€24,6007.1%

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.

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.

Income inequality

How evenly income and pay are distributed.

Gini coefficient
30.4
0 = fully equal, 100 = fully unequal
Top 20% vs bottom 20%
4.7x
Income share ratio (S80/S20)
High pay vs low pay
3.08x
P90 earnings vs P10 earnings
In-work poverty
8.7%
Employed but below the poverty line
Low-wage earners
9.7%
Earning under two-thirds of the median wage

Estimate your net salary

France
Net (EUR)
€2,697
Net (local)
€2,697
Deductions
27.1%

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

Summary

In 2025, the average net monthly salary in France was around €2,696. That corresponds to an average gross salary of roughly €3,700/month. The statutory minimum wage is about €1,867/month. Real wages have fallen by 0.7% over the last three years, after inflation. Price levels sit at 106% of the EU average.

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Source: Eurostat. Figures are statistical averages, not tax advice.