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MONEY

What is considered a decent salary in Spain?

How much money do you need to earn a month to live a relatively comfortable life in Spain in 2024? We've crunched the figures to give you an idea of what average and above average earnings are in the country.

Published: 5 September 2024 11:04 CEST
Updated: 8 September 2024 05:46 CEST
What is considered a decent salary in Spain?
The average gross annual salary is Spain €27,000, but is that considered to be decent wages to live comfortably? Photo: Pixabay/Pexels

There are various sets of figures out there when it comes to average income in Spain. You can go based on (wildly differing) numbers cited in the Spanish press, numbers used in EU wide analysis, and data sets from the country’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

Then of course there’s also different types of salary: do you mean gross or net income? Are we talking annual income or monthly? Is it calculated by 12 or 14 annual payments? And what about the regional differences?

It can be a lot to get your head around, and therefore difficult to say what exactly is considered a ‘decent’ income in Spain. As we will see, the basic answer is that it depends on several factors (scroll to the bottom for the quick answer).

Starting with the basics, according to the latest salary figures available from INE the average annual wage in Spain is €26,948.87 gross per year. That works out to €2,245 per month gross in 12 payments and €1,924 in 14 payments, something which is common in Spain.

Of course, tax deductions (something partly devolved to the regional governments in Spain) and other financial conditions vary whenever you are and mean that the average net income is harder to gauge. 

But INE data shows that for women in Spain the average salary is €24,359.82 per year and for men €29,381.84. Women’s average income grew by 5.1 percent year on year, while men’s average salaries grew by 3.5 percent.

However, this doesn’t tell the full story and there are some pretty stark regional and professional differences hidden within that headline figure. 

So, what can we actually consider a decent salary in Spain?

International and regional differences

Whether or not you think €27,000 per year is a decent salary is relative to several factors. If you’re coming from Morocco or Portugal, for example, you probably would consider it a decent income, whereas if you move to Spain from Stockholm or Switzerland this would likely seem a very low salary.

Similarly, regional differences within Spain also shape perspectives on what’s considered a decent salary or not – and there are some pretty striking differences between the different parts of the country. What’s considered a decent salary in Murcia, for example, would probably be considered poor by someone who has worked in Madrid.

Regional breakdown:

Andalucía – €24,041.96

Aragón – €26,012.71

Asturias – €26,745.93

Balearic Islands – €27,145.79

Basque Country – €32,313.73

Canary Islands – €23,096.92

Cantabria – €25,291.14

Castilla y León – €24,186.89

Castilla-La Mancha – €23,751.71

Catalonia – €28,774.55

Valencia – €24,510.34

Extremadura – €21,922.73

Galicia – €24,169.68

Madrid – €31,230.73

Murcia – €23,851.69

Navarra  – €29,189.52

La Rioja – €24,903.38

If you’ve lived or worked in Spain, you’ll know that when Spaniards talk about salaries they generally refer to monthly income as opposed to the annual figure. Often when jobs are advertised in Spain they’ve advertised in monthly gross figures, so that’s what we’ll do here too.

It should also be noted that in Spain often salaries are paid in 14 instalments as opposed to 12, as is common abroad. So the following figures are the INE’s annual average divided into 14 payments.

INE figures show that the highest average gross monthly salaries in Spain are in Basque Country, with €2,308 per month, followed by Madrid (€2,230) and the Balearic Islands (€1,938).

In fact, thinking in terms of annual gross income, the Basque Country and Madrid are the only two regions in Spain that exceed the €30,000 per year threshold on average, so both would be considered more than decent salaries in Spain.

The next highest monthly gross salaries are in Navarra (€2,084), Catalonia (€2,055), Asturias (€1,910), Cantabria (€1806), La Rioja (€1,778), Castilla y León (€1,727) and Galicia (€1,726).

At the other end of the scale are Extremadura (€1,565), the Canary Islands (€1,649), Murcia (€1703) and Andalusia (€1,717) gross per month.

Job types

Of course, what’s considered a good or bad salary in Spain can also depend on the sector and position. A general manager of a tech company would consider a waiters salary very low, but that same salary may be considered poor compared to similar positions abroad.

Hospitality professionals have the lowest average annual wages in Spain, with €16,274.71 — 39.6 percent below the national average.

By occupation the annual earnings of ‘Directors and managers’ were on average €59,478.63, 120.7 percent higher than the average wage and a very good salary in Spain.

Surprisingly, the INE specified that the ‘economic activity’ (as opposed to occupation) with the highest annual salary in Spain is, according to the INE stats, workers ‘Electricity, gas, steam and aircon workers’ with €55,470.69 gross per year.

On the other hand, the lowest salaries overall corresponded to unskilled workers in services (not including transport workers) with an average annual salary of just €14,665.40, 45.6 percent below the average.

Nationality

There’s also quite a gap between Spanish workers’ income and those of foreigners.

Spanish workers have the highest average annual wages with €27,500, whereas all non-Spanish worker groups had a salary below the average. 

The lowest was that of those from Latin America on average (€18,214.62).

READ ALSO: What jobs do foreigners in Spain do?

Conclusion: What is considered a decent salary in Spain?

As we have seen, there is no one answer to this question in Spain. It really depends on where in Spain you’re living, where in the world you’ve come from, the sector you’re working in and even personal opinion.

The average headline figure is roughly €27,000 per year (€2,245 per month gross in 12 payments), which after tax ends up being roughly around €1,700 to €1,800 a month depending on your personal circumstances. 

Therefore, if after tax you earn €2,000 or more a month, the average person in Spain will consider that you earn a good or above average salary, enough to cover rent/mortgage, daily costs, enjoy a few meals out and some leisure and still save some money every month.

In big cities such as Barcelona, Madrid or Palma de Mallorca where rents and living costs have increased the most in recent years, €2,000 may be enough for you to break even every month but not necessarily enough to live a relatively comfortable life or maintain a small family.

To give you an idea, Barcelona authorities believe the cut-off to live “with dignity” in the Catalan capital is €1,516 a month, anything below that and the average person struggles. Financial website El Cronista also points out that in Madrid you need between €1,800 and €2,500 a month to live a decent life in the Spanish capital.

Therefore, what’s considered a good salary in these bigger pricier cities in Spain would be closer to €2,500 net a month in most Spaniards’ eyes. 

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WORKING IN SPAIN

How to make money by dog walking and pet sitting in Spain

Have you ever thought about making some extra money by dog walking or pet sitting in Spain? Here's how to go about setting yourself up, what you need to know and what you can expect to earn.

Published: 16 September 2024 13:02 CEST
How to make money by dog walking and pet sitting in Spain

Spaniards love their pets. In fact, they own around 30 million of them. With that many furry friends around, it’s reasonable to think that there may be a money-making opportunity somewhere, including dog walking or pet sitting.

Firstly, you’ll need to decide what services you’re going to offer – dog walking or petting sitting or both.

When it comes to pet sitting, there’s probably more money to be made if the pet comes to you, providing you have the space and the set up. This is because there are many companies which connect pet sitters with owners in exchange for free accommodation while they’re on holiday, so you won’t actually be making money, but you may be saving it.

READ ALSO – Compulsory courses and paperwork: The new rules for pet owners in Spain 

Not everyone who owns a dog has time to walk it every day, especially if they have busy jobs, so that provides many opportunities for dog walkers. This is mostly the case in big cities.

Dog walking in Spain is not really seen as a profession like it is perhaps in the United States, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t people doing it or making money from it on the side.

It’s worth keeping in mind that if you’re making from dog walking, pet sitting or anything else, you should be declaring your earnings to the tax man. If you’re not employed by a company with an official contract and you just have individual clients, which is probably the case when dog walking, in order to legally do this you will have to register as self-employed or autónomo.

In order to do this you will be paying €60 a month in social security during the first year plus taxes on earnings. After that, even you will be paying a minimum of €225 in social security fees.

This means you’ll need to do a lot of dog walking in order to make any money on top of your fees. For this reason, many people opt to be paid in cash for dog walking and simply won’t declare it, but be aware if you get caught doing this, there are some hefty fines to pay.

READ ALSO – Under the table: How many workers in Spain don’t pay taxes?

You don’t need an official qualification to be a dog walker or a pet sitter in Spain, but it’s important that you have a lot of knowledge of pet behaviour. It’s one thing to be able to look after your own pet or just walk your neighbour’s dog once in a while, but it’s a whole other level to walk five dogs at once or have 10 of them in your home.

It’s a good idea to research as much as you can about animal behaviour, and maybe take a class with an expert trainer so that you know how to handle the responsibility and clients will be happy with the services you provide.

If you’re going to have other people’s pets in your home, you will also need to be very organised. Have proper feeding times, places for them all to sleep and maybe even send small updates and photos to the owners.  

READ ALSO: How much does it cost to keep a pet in Spain? 

How much money can I make from dog walking and pet sitting in Spain?

Typically in Spain you could charge between €5 and €15 per hour for dog walking, although that will depend on location, your experience and the difficulty of the animal. According to website CronoShare, the average price is €8 per hour. 

In Madrid for example, dog walkers can charge between €7 and €10 per hour. However, the price could increase and be around €15 per hour if it is a holiday, weekend or any request for a special day that was not arranged in advance.

There are dog walkers who charge prices based on the number of walks, regardless of the number of dogs being walked, however, another dog walker may charge based on the number of pets in addition to the number of walks.

You can also add extra for any other jobs you need to do such as feeding them, giving them medication, training them or if it’s a public holiday.

When it comes to pet sitting in your home you could start at the lower end of a flat fee of €10 per day for example if you are taking care of many dogs or you could charge higher the more responsibilities you have. If you’re only taking care of a couple at a time, you may also need to charge more to make it financially viable for you.

How do I go about being a dog walker or a pet sitter?

There are many online sites that you can advertise your services such as CronoShare which has a page where people can look for dog walkers.

You can also advertise yourself on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, promoting pictures of you looking after pets and following people who have pets or joining groups. For example, Barcelona has a cats Facebook group as well as a dog one and a specific dog sitting one where people are often asking for people to help look after their pets.

For this type of activity word of mouth is invaluable too, so it’s important to do a good job and let your clients know that you’re looking for more work if they know of anyone.

There are also many companies who need pet sitters and dog walkers. In this case you would work for them as an employee, rather than setting up on your own and finding your own clients. 

Is it a good way of making money?

This depends, if you are already self-employed and are paying social security fees and want to top up your income, dog walking could be a good option.

If you’re not, you will have to register as self-employed as mentioned above. You can make it work if you work hard to advertise your services and offer lots of them, such as dog walking and pet sitting for example.

It’s doable, but you’ll need to make a good name for yourself to keep your business afloat.

READ: Nine ways to make extra money in Spain

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