What Is the Minimum and Average Salary in Iceland? [Answered 2023]

Iceland might be cold year-long, but it sure gets warm when you realize that salaries here are among the best in Europe.

And if you’re wondering what is the minimum salary in Iceland this year, as well as what is the average wage in the country in 2023, you’re at the right place!

This is exactly what we are going to discuss in this article. Because I know that the answers to these two questions are essential keys to unlocking Iceland as a potential country to relocate to.

After all, the minimum and average wage you may earn will offer you a clue upon the living standards and general cost of living, so it’s good to know if you can afford.

If you don’t want to read through the entire article to get the big picture and all the details, let’s sum up everything below!

The minimum salary in Iceland in 2023 is 1,350 Euros, and the average salary in Iceland in 2023 is around 2,900 Euros.

Besides the minimum salary you can get in Iceland, which will offer you the security of getting a livable monthly income, there are other factors that you should consider, as well such the health system, life expectancy and more – all of them being top notch.

Plus, you won’t have to expect to be paid minimum wage in most cases, which increases your quality of life even further.

We will go through all these aspects as well later on – so I recommend you keep reading until the end of the article. For now, anyway, let’s focus on the income.

Here’s the minimum and average salary in Iceland in 2023, and all you’ve got to know about the gross and net incomes in the country!

What is the minimum salary in Iceland in 2023?

In Iceland, law makers haven’t regulated a country-wide minimum salary but in practice you should expect to get at around 200,000 ISK per month (around 1,350 Euros). This is the NET salary, making Iceland one of the best countries in Europe in terms of minimum income.

However, one of the largest workers’ unions in Iceland, for example, has established a minimum salary of 351,000 ISK per month with full-time program – this means somewhere around €2,250.

While this is definitely not applied to the entire country, it paints a clear picture of the fact that worker unions do their best (and usually manage) to get some really solid rates for all employees here.

Even though there isn’t any government regulated minimum wage, these rates are usually negotiated to be at least enough for a person to live a decent – although not luxurious – lifestyle.

What is the average salary in Iceland in 2023?

The net average salary in Iceland is around 450,000 ISK monthly, which is roughly 2,900 Euros per month. The average salary has seen an important increase during the past year to keep up pace with the growing inflation.

It is worth mentioning here that Iceland remains one of the wealthiest and best-paying countries in Europe, with some of the highest salaries you can get, despite the health crisis that has obviously severely impacted the average monthly salaries for full-time workers since its inception in 2020, as well as all the events that followed.

For example, the latest records on Eurostat and TradingEconomics show an average monthly gross salary of around 770,000 ISK, somewhere around €5,000. We’re talking about the gross salary here – taxes would be in this case close to 50%, bringing the NET wages to the aforementioned numbers.

In fact, statistics show a severe decrease of the wage growth percent during the last three years, but improvements can already be remarked from the beginning of 2021, and continuing on a slight upwards trend throughout 2022 and 2023 so far.

All in all, the average salary in Iceland is today higher than it ever was, proving that living here is indeed a good idea (as long as you don’t mind the cold weather).

After all, a net income of 450,000 ISK, or €2,900 per month, has great purchase power in Iceland and also an amazing competitiveness on the European labor market, where the overall average wage (for the European Union) is somewhere around 1,925 Euros per month, which places Iceland amongst the wealthiest and best paying countries in Europe. (Source: Nomad Not Mad)

Conclusion

If you decide to move to Iceland, whether it’s for the work opportunities, life standards or the beautiful women, you may be taking one of the best decisions, economically and socially speaking.

Iceland’s attractivity is easily remarkable from multiple perspectives, starting with the development of the society, civic spirit, environmental conditions and life satisfaction to the economic sectors and incomes.

So let’s take a quick review of all these aspects!

With a minimum monthly income that, even without being legally regulated, can go up to 350,000 ISK per month, and with an average salary of around 450,000 ISK per month, the country is one of the wealthiest Europe, and ranks above average in most dimensions, compared to other countries form Europe, from safety, health, environment, to community, jobs, life expectancy & satisfaction.

It also ranks the highest from all European countries in the same statistics for the public sphere, with the highest levels of sense of community, and for environment.

Consequently, one of the less populated countries in Europe, and one of the wealthiest, Iceland presents great attractivity for foreigners who aim for new work opportunities, rewarding jobs and a well-paid professional activity, especially due to its high employment rate and high minimum and average salaries.

If you’ve got any more up-to-date info regarding the minimum and average salary in Iceland in 2023, feel free to let us all know in the comments section below so we can all get a better picture of how professional life and living standards look like in Iceland.

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