The median monthly wage in Estonia was €1,628 in 2024, having grown by 8.5 per cent compared with 2023 when it stood at €1,501.
The average monthly gross wage in 2024 stood at €1,981, which is 8.1% higher than in 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the average monthly gross wages and salaries were €2,062, which is 8.3% higher than in the same quarter of 2023.
Median of gross wages is the wage level at which half of the employees earn less than that level and half earn more than that level. Both average and median wages have been rising in recent years, but wage growth slowed in 2024.
The average monthly gross wages in 2024 were the highest in Tallinn (€2,325) and in Harju (€2,218) and Tartu (€1,995) counties.
“Compared with 2023, the biggest increase in wages and salaries was seen in Hiiu (9.9%) and Ida-Viru (9.7%) counties. Wages and salaries rose by more than 6.5% in all Estonian counties,” Sigrid Saagpakk, an analyst at Statistics Estonia, the country’s official statistic agency, said.
People in accommodation earn the least
The highest average wages and salaries in 2024 were found in information and communication, at €3,484. “This was followed by financial and insurance activities (€3,127) and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (€2,697),” Saagpakk noted.
The lowest average wages and salaries last year were observed in accommodation and food service activities (€1,264). The highest wage increases were recorded in human health and social work activities (11.9%) and in other service activities (9.8%).
In 2024, the largest number of employees – 101,400 people, accounting for 17% of all employed people – was recorded in manufacturing. This was followed by wholesale and retail trade (incl repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles) with nearly 90,000 employees, education with almost 65,000, and human health and social work activities with close to 48,000 employees.
The average monthly gross wages in the fourth quarter of 2024 were €2,062, which is 8.3% higher than in the same quarter of 2023. The median wages in the final quarter of last year were €1,699.
