Average wages increased by 5.6% last year

Krista Vaikmets, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that wage growth slowed down in 2025. “Last year, wages and salaries did not grow as fast as in previous years, but monthly gross wages still increased in all counties. The biggest increase was registered in Valga, Põlva and Rapla counties where gross wages were up by more than 6.5% last year,” she said.

Vaikmets added that, in 2025, the average monthly gross wages and salaries were the highest in Harju county (2,336 euros), rising by 5.3% year on year, and in Tartu county (2,112 euros), growing by 5.9% year on year. “Looking at Harju county, the average wages were the highest in Tallinn – 2,451 euros. The average wages were somewhat lower in the rest of Harju county outside of Tallinn – 1,957 euros,” said Vaikmets.

Average wages were again the highest in information and communication

In 2025, the highest average monthly gross wages and salaries were seen in information and communication (3,651 euros). This was followed by financial and insurance activities (3,338 euros) and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (2,948 euros).

Last year, the lowest average wages and salaries were registered in accommodation and food service activities (1,333 euros) and other service activities (1,379 euros). “Nevertheless, the wages in these activities did increase slightly – by 5% and 5.4%, respectively. The greatest increase in average wages was seen in the energy sector, with average wages rising by 9.3% in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply. Average wages grew by 7.4% in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities,” said Vaikmets. She added that wages also increased in such large sectors as manufacturing (7%) and trade (4.9%). The wage growth across sectors has been around 5%.

There were 592,126 employees in 2025, down by 1% from the year before. Last year, the largest number of employees – 100,617 – worked in manufacturing, representing 17% of all employees. Manufacturing was followed by wholesale and retail trade (incl. repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles) with nearly 87,600 employees, education with almost 65,000 employees, and human health and social work activities with close to 49,000 employees.

The median of gross wages (salaries) is the wage level at which half of the employees earn less than that level and half earn more than that level. The median wages were 1,724 euros in 2025, which is almost 6% higher than the year before. “Median wages have followed a similar trend as average gross wages, both by economic activity and regionally by county,” said Vaikmets.

In the fourth quarter of last year, the average wages were 2,155 euros

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the average monthly gross wages and salaries were 2,155 euros, which is 4.5% higher than in the same quarter of 2024. “The activities with the highest wages in the fourth quarter were the same as in 2025 as a whole: information and communication, financial and insurance activities, and electricity supply. The wages of employees in these activities were over 3,000 euros, which is significantly higher than the average,” Vaikmets said.

Regionally, the highest average monthly wages in the fourth quarter of 2025 were recorded in Tallinn (2,506 euros), and the lowest average wages in Valga county (1,615 euros).

“Based on where jobs are located, we can say that 55% of jobs are currently in Tallinn and Harju county, and 14% of jobs are in Tarty county,” she said, adding that the situation has been largely unchanged since 2021. “The concentration of jobs in Tallinn and Harju county has been going on for a long time. A more recent trend is the decline in the number of employees in Ida-Viru county in the last few years,” she explained.

Average monthly gross wages and salaries are calculated as the ratio between payment and labour contribution. Payment means any monetary consideration paid to an employee, including wages, bonuses, holiday pay and other compensation, as well as interest on arrears, for example. The median of gross wages (salaries) is the wage level at which half of the employees earn less than that level and half earn more than that level.

Since the first quarter of 2023, Statistics Estonia uses data from the employment register of the Tax and Customs Board and the income and social tax declarations to publish the average wages and salaries. People working under employment contracts, the Civil Service Act*, and service contracts are included.

*Excluding employees in the areas of governance of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior.

Starting from the third quarter of 2025, Statistics Estonia also publishes data on average wages and salaries in municipalities. The data are based on the location of the place of work, not the location of the place of residence of the employee. See the annual data and quarterly data in the statistical database.

Data as at 5 March 2026 are published. The indicator values may change if there are any revisions made in the data sources after this date.

More detailed data have been published in the wages and salaries and labour costs section on our website.

When using Statistics Estonia’s data and graphs, please indicate the source.

For further information:

Susann Kivi
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 5696 6484
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)

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