The minimum wage and average salary in Spain in 2025

With the cost of living as it is, your finances can have a big impact on your quality of life. Luckily, workers in Spain earn a reasonable living. The country has the seventh-highest minimum salary in Europe, which the government adjusts annually.

So, what is the minimum wage, and which sector offers the highest average salary? Are you paid enough, or is it time to contact your union representative?

Continue reading for more on the topic, including the following:

What is the minimum wage in Spain in 2025?

Legally, all workers in Spain are entitled to the minimum wage (Salario Mínimo Interprofesional – SMI), regardless of their age, gender, or employment contract.

The country first introduced the minimum wage under General Francisco Franco’s regime in 1963. Nowadays, the Council of Ministers (Consejo de Ministros) reviews the salary level each year based on various factors, including national productivity and employment rates.

In 2025, the minimum wage in Spain for a full-time job is as follows:

Paid out	Minimum wage
Yearly	€16,576
12-monthly	€1,381
14-monthly	€1,184
Hourly	€8.87

Comparatively, Spain sits comfortably in the mid-range of minimum wages in the European Union (EU), similar to Slovenia. Luxembourg pays workers nearly double, and employees in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Germany earn almost a third more. Meanwhile, workers in Albania, Montenegro, and Serbia are paid up to two-thirds less than Spanish employees.

What counts toward the minimum wage?

In Spain, the statutory minimum wage applies only to monetary payments (in Spanish). In-kind benefits cannot reduce a salary below the minimum. Similarly, overtime payments, profit shares, and end-of-the-year bonuses do not count toward the minimum salary.

Exclusions to the minimum wage

It is very common for Spanish industries to have a collective bargaining agreement (convenio colectivo de trabajo – CCT) in place. These agreements are negotiated between employers and labor unions, and cover employment issues like wages and workers’ rights. In 2018, around 80.10% of all employment in Spain was subject to a CCT.

When your work falls under a collective agreement, you could benefit from a higher minimum salary. That’s because a person’s gross income cannot be below the minimum wage; if you’re paid less, your contract will be nullified.

You can check your employment contract to see if a collective labor agreement applies.

Apprentices, interns, and trainees

Students who receive on-the-job training must receive some form of payment for their work. This compensation should match the statutory minimum wage of regular employees in Spain (but in proportion). As such, the amount can vary depending on the training program, the industry, and the applicable CCT.

Under Spanish labor laws, student work hours may not exceed 65% during the first year and 85% during their second year. If there isn’t a collective labor agreement in place, their salaries may not be lower than 60% in the first year and 75% in the second year.

Salaries must always be proportional to the hours that the student works.

What is the average salary in Spain?

Despite the minimum wage, workers generally earn a higher monthly salary. According to official government data, the average salary in Spain was roughly €26,900 in 2022. Meanwhile, in 2023, Statista set the average gross income at €30,655 per year (i.e., €2,555 per month).

Of course, salaries differ greatly depending on the job, but also experience, location, and education level. Sometimes wages also include benefits, like housing and transport.

Average salary by sector in Spain

As is usual, gross wages also vary greatly by sector. This is because certain industries require more skills, experience, and education and therefore offer better pay. According to Talent (2025), the median salary across some of the main job sectors in Spain are:

Job sector	Average monthly salary
Banking and finance	€2,087
Childcare and education	€2,430
Construction and maintenance	€1,834
Engineering	€2,726
Healthcare and social services	€2,506
Hospitality and travel	€1,690
Information technology	€2,371
Journalism and translation services	€1,750
Retail and customer service	€1,660
Transportation and manufacturing	€1,760

Many minimum-wage workers work in the Spanish service sector. According to official government data, people working in accommodation and food services earned roughly €14,809 per year (2021).

Average salary by city in Spain

As with most countries, location matters to your expected income as well. Usually, the more populated the area, the higher the average salary. In Spain, wages are higher in the north and center and more modest in the south.

According to Statista (2023), the highest average salary across the regions can be found in:

Autonomous community	Average gross income
Basque Country	€18,189
Madrid	€16,817
Navarra	€16,599
Catalonia	€15,830
Asturias	€15,432
Aragon	€14,810
La Rioja	€14,184
Cantabria	€14,162
Balearic Islands	€14,139
Castile y Leon	€14,124

Workers earn the least in Murcia and Extremadura, where the average annual salary is €11,314 and €11,363, respectively.

What are the highest-paying jobs in Spain?

Unfortunately, there’s no real fast way to earn lots of money. Some of Spain’s most lucrative job opportunities require specialized qualifications, skills, and experience.

Highest-paying fields and jobs include healthcare (e.g., surgeons), law (e.g., judges), and management (e.g., CEO, CFO, and CTO), with salaries ranging from €71,000 to €171,000 per year.

Salary checker in Spain

There are numerous online platforms to see what your profession will likely pay in Spain. Here are a couple of salary checkers to help you:

• Glassdoor
• Paylab

Alternatively, you can use this salary calculator to see if your gross salary complies with Spanish law.

The gender pay gap in Spain

In 2021, Spain still had a gobsmacking gender pay gap of 18.4%. That same year, the country introduced labor reforms to address the disparity, and indeed, the situation has improved. Women now earn 6.7% less than men, according to the WEF 2024 Global Gender Gap Report.

The gap is disproportionately higher in the private sector than in the public sector. In 2022, Eurostat reported a 12.8% difference for private companies and 8.2% for public entities.

One reason for the gender wage gap is women’s overrepresentation in underpaid social sectors, such as education, healthcare, retail sales, and customer service. Spain also lacks female representation in senior, managerial, and decision-making roles; only 17.6% of companies have a female top manager, and just 35.7% of management staff are female (WEF, 2024).

Business school Estade notes that Spanish women also still battle the gender stereotypes. Women and girls are often underestimated and believed to have ‘different abilities’. As such, they often face stigma and unconscious biases in hiring and promotion practices.

The government has introduced many measures and labor reforms to tackle gender inequality in the workplace. For example, businesses with 50 or more workers must create and implement an equality plan. Similarly, large listed companies must have at least 40% of either gender on their boards of directors by mid-2026.

Salaries and wages for expats in Spain

Labor law doesn’t differentiate between Spanish citizens and foreign nationals. Employers must legally pay you the minimum income as set by the government or collective bargaining agreement.

There may be a different set of rules for non-taxpaying residents who are employed by an international company in Spain.

What to do if you’re paid below the minimum wage?

Depending on the situation, there are several courses of action to fix a low salary. For example, if you earn less than the minimum wage in Spain, you can file a complaint with the Labor and Social Security Inspection (LSSI – Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social). They will assess your case, and fine or prosecute your employer if found negligent.

You can also seek advice from your trade union representative. The Spanish Constitution guarantees the right to strike, though only unions can officially call strikes affecting an entire sector.

However, if your wages are lower than those of your colleagues or industry peers, you should contact your HR department or union rep to see if something can be done. You can also take the matter to the Arbitration Office (Instituto de Mediación, Arbitraje y Conciliación) if you find you are paid less due to discrimination.

After that, you can escalate the wage dispute to the Labor Court (Magistratura de Trabajo). If your case is successful, your employer will have to remedy the situation. If the judge rules against you, you can take the case to the High Court of Justice (Tribunal Superior de Justicia) and, eventually, the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo). Some labor cases can also be presented to the Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional).

Useful resources

• EURES Labor market in Spain – information from the EU job mobility portal 
• Spain Ministry of Labor – official government website for the labor authorities in Spain
• SalaryafterTax – online calculator to see what you earn after tax