Estonia’s median gross monthly salary reached €1,722 in the third quarter of 2025, with the average rising to €2,075, according to official figures.
The median monthly gross salary – the midpoint at which half of employees earn less and half more – continued to vary sharply across the country. Harju County posted the highest median at €1,925, followed by Tartu County at €1,768, while the lowest levels were recorded in Valga (€1,354) and Võru (€1,358) counties.
Average monthly gross wages stood at €2,075 in the third quarter of 2025, a 5.9 per cent rise on the year. Statistics Estonia noted, however, that annual wage growth has begun to slow.
Wage growth has begun to lose momentum
“In the third quarter of this year, the percentage change in wages and salaries remained at the same level as in the previous quarter. However, in the third quarter of 2024, wage growth was 8.1%, which means that the year-on-year growth in wages and salaries slowed down,” Sigrid Saagpakk, an analyst at Statistics Estonia, said in a statement.
She noted that second-quarter earnings are usually inflated by bonuses such as holiday pay, which typically leaves third-quarter averages looking slightly lower.
In the third quarter, average monthly gross wages were highest in Harju County at €2,324, followed by Tartu County at €2,060. Wage growth reached 5.6 per cent in Harju County and 5 per cent in Tartu County.
ICT and finance remain the top earners
“Compared with the third quarter of last year, the strongest wage growth was recorded in Võru County at 8.1 per cent, followed by Põlva County at 7.8 per cent. The smallest increase was in Hiiu County, where wages rose by just 3.6 per cent,” Saagpakk said.
Average monthly gross wages in the third quarter were lowest in Valga County at €1,549, with Lääne (€1,588) and Võru (€1,596) counties also remaining below the €1,600 mark.
“As in previous years, information and communication led the earnings table in the third quarter, with average gross wages of €3,646,” Saagpakk noted. “Financial and insurance activities followed at €3,288, while electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply reached €2,929.”
The lowest-paid sectors mirrored last year’s pattern: accommodation and food service activities at €1,366, other service activities at €1,381, and real-estate activities at €1,453.
Most people work in manufacturing
“The sharpest rise in wages compared with the third quarter of 2024 was recorded in electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply, where earnings jumped by 15.3 per cent,” Saagpakk said, noting that the shift was driven largely by enterprises moving between sectors.
Average wages increased by 7.7 per cent in manufacturing and by 7.2 per cent in financial and insurance activities, with construction close behind at 7 per cent.
The smallest annual gains were in human health and social work, where wages rose by just 3.5 per cent. Information and communication, as well as public administration and defence and compulsory social security, both reported modest growth of 4 per cent.
Manufacturing remained Estonia’s largest employer, with 101,605 people working in the sector in the third quarter. Wholesale and retail trade, along with repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, followed with 88,964 employees, while education ranked third with 65,919 workers.
