PRESS RELEASE
from The Stepstone Group
What Germany earns in 2026: Stepstone publishes new Salary Report based on 1.3 million data points
EQS-Media / 07.01.2026 / 08:07 CET/CEST
Press release
What Germany earns in 2026: Stepstone publishes new Salary Report based on 1.3 million data points
“The new EU directive makes greater transparency mandatory,” says Sven Maaßen, Senior Manager Compensation at Stepstone. “Employees need guidance, companies need reliable data. With our analysis, we provide a foundation for making salaries clearer and fairer in the future.”
Germany at a glance: what employees currently earn and how satisfied they are
Across Germany, the gross median salary is €53,900. There are significant regional differences. Many western and southern federal states are above the national median, while eastern states tend to show lower median values. In western Germany, the gross median salary is €56,250, while in eastern Germany (excluding Berlin) it is €48,750.
This divide is also evident in Germany’s major cities. In Munich, the gross median salary is €64,750, in Frankfurt am Main €64,000 and in Hamburg €60,000. In eastern German cities, median values are lower, for example €51,000 in Dresden, €51,250 in Leipzig and €48,500 in Chemnitz.
Despite these structural differences, salary satisfaction has been rising continuously for three years. In 2025, 36 percent of employees report being satisfied or very satisfied with their income, up from 34 percent in 2024 and 32 percent in 2023.
Industries and company size: how much incomes vary
Salaries differ significantly by industry. Sectors with the highest median salaries include:
Gender pay gap: income differences between men and women
According to the Stepstone data set, the unadjusted gender pay gap is 9.7 percent. Women earn a gross median salary of €50,500, while men earn €55,900. The unadjusted gender pay gap compares the incomes of all women and men, regardless of industry, role or position. When these structural differences are taken into account, the adjusted gender pay gap is 4.8 percent. This figure illustrates the remaining pay difference between women and men in comparable roles with similar qualifications and working conditions.
What shapes salary levels: qualification, experience and responsibility
Which factors most strongly influence pay, and what contributes to achieving a higher income? The Stepstone Salary Report shows that education level, professional experience and managerial responsibility play decisive roles.
About the Stepstone Salary Report 2026
The Stepstone Salary Report 2026 is based on one of the largest salary databases in Germany, with salary information by location and region, occupational group, industry, professional experience and more. The report is representative of the working population at federal and state level according to age, gender, university degree and economic sector. Salary figures are not directly comparable with those from previous years due to changes in methodology and sample composition.
Data basis and methodology
For the Salary Report 2026, 1,326,157 compensation data points collected between January 2022 and November 2025 were analyzed. All figures are stated in euros, rounded for readability and, unless otherwise indicated, reflect the median salary level for 2025. Only full-time employees with a standardized 40-hour working week were included, including bonuses, commissions and premiums.
Of the evaluated data sets, 61 percent are from men and 34 percent from women. The share of employees with managerial responsibility is 27 percent. All data were reviewed by compensation consultants and subsequently weighted.
To improve comparability and representativeness, the Classification of Occupations (KldB), which is also used in official labor market statistics, is applied from the 2026 Salary Report onwards. This standardized occupational classification allows closer calibration with official data and increases the robustness of the analyses.
The data for the report comes from the Stepstone Salary Planner on Stepstone.de, where employees enter their salary information. The results are representative of the working population at federal and state level according to age, gender, university degree, company size and economic sector.
What is the median salary and how does it differ from the average salary?
The average salary is calculated by adding all values and dividing by the number of data sets. This figure can be distorted by extremely high or low values. The median provides a clearer picture. It is the value exactly in the middle of all observations, meaning that exactly half of salaries are lower and half are higher than the median salary.
Gender pay gap
The stated gender pay gap refers to the unadjusted pay gap, in which many salary-relevant parameters such as professional experience and educational background are mixed. It compares male and female employees in their entirety and represents the difference in annual income between men and women relative to men’s income.
However, a large share of pay differences between men and women can be explained by other influencing factors such as age, industry, occupational group, education, professional experience, company size, federal state, city and managerial responsibility. When these factors are taken into account in a statistical model, the adjusted gender pay gap emerges. It can be interpreted as the pay difference between two individuals who are identical in all considered characteristics except gender.
About the Stepstone Salary Survey 2026
To capture attitudes and experiences related to pay, Stepstone surveyed a total of 297 recruiters and 3,070 candidates in Germany between November 14 and 18, 2025. The focus was on questions regarding salary satisfaction, transparency, perceived pay structures and companies’ preparedness for the upcoming EU Pay Transparency Directive. The sample was weighted according to the microcensus and is representative of the German working population by age, gender and education.
About the Stepstone Salary Planner
In addition to the annual Stepstone Salary Report, the job platform Stepstone offers further services related to pay. These include the Stepstone Salary Planner, for which job experts and market researchers have developed an algorithm that delivers a highly accurate forecast of individual salary levels based on key salary drivers such as industry, role and experience. Further information:www.stepstone.de/gehaltsplaner
About The Stepstone Group
The Stepstone Group is a leading global digital recruitment platform that connects companies with the right talent and helps people find the right job. AI-driven job marketplaces and programmatic-powered marketing solutionsconnect about 140 million job applications with about 130,000 employers every year. The Stepstone Group operates in more than 10 countries - including Stepstone in Germany, Appcast in the USA and Totaljobs in the UK. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany and employs about 3,000 people worldwide. For more information: www.thestepstonegroup.com/english
Contact
The Stepstone Group Press
press@stepstone.com
What Germany earns in 2026: Stepstone publishes new Salary Report based on 1.3 million data points
- Salary transparency moves into focus: the EU Salary Transparency Directive becomes a decisive factor for companies in 2026
- New depth of data: 27 analyzed occupational groups enable detailed insights into pay structures
- Median salary in Germany stands at €53,900, with salary satisfaction steadily rising in recent years
“The new EU directive makes greater transparency mandatory,” says Sven Maaßen, Senior Manager Compensation at Stepstone. “Employees need guidance, companies need reliable data. With our analysis, we provide a foundation for making salaries clearer and fairer in the future.”
Germany at a glance: what employees currently earn and how satisfied they are
Across Germany, the gross median salary is €53,900. There are significant regional differences. Many western and southern federal states are above the national median, while eastern states tend to show lower median values. In western Germany, the gross median salary is €56,250, while in eastern Germany (excluding Berlin) it is €48,750.
This divide is also evident in Germany’s major cities. In Munich, the gross median salary is €64,750, in Frankfurt am Main €64,000 and in Hamburg €60,000. In eastern German cities, median values are lower, for example €51,000 in Dresden, €51,250 in Leipzig and €48,500 in Chemnitz.
Despite these structural differences, salary satisfaction has been rising continuously for three years. In 2025, 36 percent of employees report being satisfied or very satisfied with their income, up from 34 percent in 2024 and 32 percent in 2023.
Industries and company size: how much incomes vary
Salaries differ significantly by industry. Sectors with the highest median salaries include:
- Banking: €70,250
- Aerospace: €68,000
- Insurance: €66,500
- Pharmaceutical industry: €66,250
- Science and research: €66,250
- Hotels, hospitality and catering: €45,500
- Agriculture, forestry and fisheries, horticulture: €47,250
- Leisure, tourism, culture and sports: €49,750
- Skilled trades: €49,750
- Transport and logistics: €50,000
Gender pay gap: income differences between men and women
According to the Stepstone data set, the unadjusted gender pay gap is 9.7 percent. Women earn a gross median salary of €50,500, while men earn €55,900. The unadjusted gender pay gap compares the incomes of all women and men, regardless of industry, role or position. When these structural differences are taken into account, the adjusted gender pay gap is 4.8 percent. This figure illustrates the remaining pay difference between women and men in comparable roles with similar qualifications and working conditions.
What shapes salary levels: qualification, experience and responsibility
Which factors most strongly influence pay, and what contributes to achieving a higher income? The Stepstone Salary Report shows that education level, professional experience and managerial responsibility play decisive roles.
- Education: Employees with a university degree earn a median salary of €68,250, while those without an academic degree earn €51,200.
- Professional experience: Career starters with less than one year of experience earn €46,250. Employees with more than six years of experience earn €55,500, and those with more than 25 years earn a median of €60,000.
- Managerial responsibility: Employees with staff responsibility earn a median salary of €62,000, compared with €51,300 for those without such responsibility.
- The Stepstone Salary Report 2026 is available for download, along with further insights and analyses for employers, managers and recruiters: www.stepstone.de/gehaltsreport
- Information and analyses for employees and job seekers: www.stepstone.de/magazin/gehaltsvergleich
- Further information on pay transparency: www.stepstone.de/e-recruiting/hr-wissen/gehalt/entgelttransparenzgesetz/
About the Stepstone Salary Report 2026
The Stepstone Salary Report 2026 is based on one of the largest salary databases in Germany, with salary information by location and region, occupational group, industry, professional experience and more. The report is representative of the working population at federal and state level according to age, gender, university degree and economic sector. Salary figures are not directly comparable with those from previous years due to changes in methodology and sample composition.
Data basis and methodology
For the Salary Report 2026, 1,326,157 compensation data points collected between January 2022 and November 2025 were analyzed. All figures are stated in euros, rounded for readability and, unless otherwise indicated, reflect the median salary level for 2025. Only full-time employees with a standardized 40-hour working week were included, including bonuses, commissions and premiums.
Of the evaluated data sets, 61 percent are from men and 34 percent from women. The share of employees with managerial responsibility is 27 percent. All data were reviewed by compensation consultants and subsequently weighted.
To improve comparability and representativeness, the Classification of Occupations (KldB), which is also used in official labor market statistics, is applied from the 2026 Salary Report onwards. This standardized occupational classification allows closer calibration with official data and increases the robustness of the analyses.
The data for the report comes from the Stepstone Salary Planner on Stepstone.de, where employees enter their salary information. The results are representative of the working population at federal and state level according to age, gender, university degree, company size and economic sector.
What is the median salary and how does it differ from the average salary?
The average salary is calculated by adding all values and dividing by the number of data sets. This figure can be distorted by extremely high or low values. The median provides a clearer picture. It is the value exactly in the middle of all observations, meaning that exactly half of salaries are lower and half are higher than the median salary.
Gender pay gap
The stated gender pay gap refers to the unadjusted pay gap, in which many salary-relevant parameters such as professional experience and educational background are mixed. It compares male and female employees in their entirety and represents the difference in annual income between men and women relative to men’s income.
However, a large share of pay differences between men and women can be explained by other influencing factors such as age, industry, occupational group, education, professional experience, company size, federal state, city and managerial responsibility. When these factors are taken into account in a statistical model, the adjusted gender pay gap emerges. It can be interpreted as the pay difference between two individuals who are identical in all considered characteristics except gender.
About the Stepstone Salary Survey 2026
To capture attitudes and experiences related to pay, Stepstone surveyed a total of 297 recruiters and 3,070 candidates in Germany between November 14 and 18, 2025. The focus was on questions regarding salary satisfaction, transparency, perceived pay structures and companies’ preparedness for the upcoming EU Pay Transparency Directive. The sample was weighted according to the microcensus and is representative of the German working population by age, gender and education.
About the Stepstone Salary Planner
In addition to the annual Stepstone Salary Report, the job platform Stepstone offers further services related to pay. These include the Stepstone Salary Planner, for which job experts and market researchers have developed an algorithm that delivers a highly accurate forecast of individual salary levels based on key salary drivers such as industry, role and experience. Further information:www.stepstone.de/gehaltsplaner
About The Stepstone Group
The Stepstone Group is a leading global digital recruitment platform that connects companies with the right talent and helps people find the right job. AI-driven job marketplaces and programmatic-powered marketing solutionsconnect about 140 million job applications with about 130,000 employers every year. The Stepstone Group operates in more than 10 countries - including Stepstone in Germany, Appcast in the USA and Totaljobs in the UK. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany and employs about 3,000 people worldwide. For more information: www.thestepstonegroup.com/english
Contact
The Stepstone Group Press
press@stepstone.com
End of Media Release
Issuer: The Stepstone Group
Key word(s): Services
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| Company: | The Stepstone Group |
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| EQS News ID: | 2255446 |
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2255446 07.01.2026 CET/CEST