Spain's low wages: why Europe's rich neighbours see poverty

The gap between Spanish wages and those of the wealthy countries around it explains the sense of poverty many travellers notice when they return. Spain has a GDP per capita below the eurozone average and a labour market with more temporary contracts and lower pay.

## A country that measures itself against its northern neighbours

Anyone travelling from a wealthy country in central or northern Europe to Spain notices the contrast. There, an unskilled worker can earn around **4,000 euros net a month** and live in cities whose cost of living resembles that of a Spanish provincial capital. Here, that same profile often earns less than half as much. The result is an impression of widespread impoverishment that does not always match the statistical reality, but has a material basis.

Spain ended 2024 with a GDP per capita of around **88% of the eurozone average**, according to Eurostat. It is an economy that is growing, but one weighed down by a structural problem of productivity and sector composition. Construction, tourism and low value-added services carry a lot of weight. Industry and technology, much less.

## Low wages, expensive housing

The average gross salary in Spain is around **2,200 euros a month** over 14 payments, according to the Wage Structure Survey by the INE (Spain's national statistics institute). The most common salary, however, sits close to **1,500 euros**. In other words: half of all workers earn less than that figure. In countries like Germany, the Netherlands or Denmark, the minimum wage exceeds **1,800 euros gross** over 14 payments, and in some cases **2,000**.

The problem is made worse because housing costs in Spain have risen far above wages. Rents in Madrid or Barcelona have grown by more than **50% since 2015**, while salaries have risen at a much slower pace. That leaves many young people unable to save or move out of their parents' home. The average age of leaving home in Spain is over **30**, one of the highest in Europe.

## Youth, education and expectations

Educational attainment is also a drag. Spain has an early school dropout rate of around **13%**, according to Eurostat, well above the European average of **9.5%**. Vocational training and technical degrees do not meet the demand for skilled profiles in sectors such as industry or technology. Many young people with higher education accept jobs below their qualification level.

The sense of having no future among young people is not just an impression. Youth unemployment in Spain stands at close to **25%**, according to the EPA (the Spanish labour force survey). It is the highest in the European Union after Greece. That pushes many to emigrate or accept precarious conditions. Mental health and substance use are real problems that CIS surveys frequently record among people under 30.

## Immigration and the perception of poverty

The arrival of immigrants in vulnerable situations adds a layer of complexity. Spain received **more than 1.2 million people** of foreign origin between 2020 and 2024, according to the INE. Many arrive in precarious conditions and are concentrated in low-paid sectors. This can intensify the perception of poverty in certain neighbourhoods, although economic evidence shows that immigration usually has a net positive effect on public finances and growth.

Comparison with Europe's wealthy countries is inevitable. But Spain is not a poor country: it is a country with a very unequal income distribution and a labour market that punishes the young and the least skilled. The sense of decline has concrete roots. It is not just a traveller's impression.