If you are planning to move to Norway, one of the first questions you might ask is what is the minimum salary in the country, as well as the average wage. This gives you an indicator of how good your life might be once you’re here.
Norway presents great attractivity to people aiming to work and live in the country, despite the fact that the state is not a member of the European Union.
However, it is still associated with the EU through the EEA (European Economic Area) agreement, which provides access to the EU single market.
In terms of average salaries, Norway is always found up there in the top positions, close to their neighbors Sweden or Denmark and other high standard of living countries in the EU.
Sure, the salaries to come hand in hand with a higher cost of living, but in the end they even out well and even on minimum wages in Norway, you could still live a decent life – but even better if you manage to get closer to the average.
With all these in mind, let’s just check out what these values are – let’s see what are the average wages in Norway in 2023, as well as the minimum salary in the country!
What is the minimum wage in Norway in 2023?
While there is no law-regulated minimum salary, looking at various data and numbers from across the country, we can say that the gross minimum monthly wage in Norway would be around 28,000 NOK (2,600 Euros or $2,800). This translates to around 1,700 Euros net (in hand money).
These values have grown a bit through 2022 and 2023 so far to keep up with the rising inflation that is affecting the country, as well as others in the world.
Norway follows the same trend that we can also check for other Scandinavian states, where they typically don’t have a minimum wage established by law.
Salaries, in such countries, are negotiated and agreed, determined by workers’ unions in most economic fields but even the minimum pay you could get would allow you a decent lifestyle.
Furthermore, the minimum wage that one can get paid in Norway depends not only on their level of education, experience, skills or implication, but also on the city where they’re going to work.
As a reference point, Oslo, for example, offers a very high quality of living and plenty of work opportunities for competent, skilled professionals with high levels of education seeking professional growth.
Therefore, the minimum salary that can be earned in Oslo and other bigger cities in Norway is far higher than the minimum wage that can be earned in poorer regions such as Hedmark or Oppland.
All in all, the minimum net salary in 2023, throughout the country, hovers around 1,600 Euros per month, which is a pretty good amount all things considered.
What is the average salary in Norway in 2023?
Currently, the gross average wages in Norway are somewhere around 54,000 NOK per month (€5,000 or $5,385), higher than they were in the last quarter of 2022 for example. The Net average salary in Norway is around $3,950 or 3,600 Eur this year.
Salaries have grown steadily over the past few years, despite the fact that these years were pretty strange and challenging. However, the increase in average salaries people in Norway earn haven’t been huge.
The unemployment percent also rose significantly from less than 4% in January 2020 to 5.4% by the end of the year. And it is currently hovering around 5%, but 2023 could be a difficult year for companies and more layoffs could follow.
As for the average wage, we can see a constant fluctuation of rates since January 2020 up to today. But shortly, at the present moment, the average wage in Norway is estimated to 54,000 NOK/month, which is some 20% higher than two years ago.
Have in mind that the base rate of the income tax in Norway is around 22%, plus other social contributions, so the take home salary is a bit lower.
You should still consider the fact that not only are the average salaries very high in Norway, but the cost of living as well. The country is generally expensive. The same way it’s considered amongst the wealthiest in Europe, it is also amongst the most expensive.
Food, transportation, accommodation, rent and many other expenses are quite high in Norway, especially when comparing to other countries.
We can also observe that there is a large gap between the poorest and the richest population: the top 20% top richest population earns around four times the average wage that the bottom 20% earns.
These wages are, anyway, strongly influenced by the good education, experience and skills.
Norway presents a really competitive labor market, as 82% of the population has completed upper secondary education, whereas other competent professionals from several other countries also relocate here for more career opportunities and professional growth.
Conclusion
While you should keep in mind the high cost of living in Norway, it remains a true fact that the country is amongst the wealthiest ones in Europe, with very high salaries and with its economy only slightly affected by the international crisis.
Even though there is no minimum wage regulated legally in Norway, salaries are fairly negotiated depending to the most pertinent factors such as level of education, skills, experience in the industry and other rates practiced in the domain, in order to provide each employee an appropriate salary and decent standards of life.
To these remuneration benefits, we can also add the great public service, civic participation, life expectancy, high level of education and the fact that the country is a really safe one overall. Not to mention that the Norwegian culture is really impressive too.
All the other dimensions analyzed are above average, placing Norway amongst the best choices.
The average wage in Norway is also quite high in comparison to other countries from Europe, which is strongly encouraging competent professionals from all industries to relocate here and grow beautiful and rewarding careers.
Lastly, the same rate is a great way to get a better idea about how life and work are in Norway.
So, if you have any other useful information regarding the labor market, salaries or working systems in Norway in 2023, feel free to share them with us so we can all get a better and more authentic picture of how a career in Norway looks like.
Leave your observations in the comment section – I’m looking forward towards reading them all!
