The average salary in Hungary is 493,000 HUF (Hungarian Forint) per month, which is roughly equal to USD 1435 per month (according to the April 2023 exchange rates).
For reference, the average salary in the United States is USD 7,900 per month, which is significantly more than Hungarian salaries.
Among many other things, the average salary is a good indicator of the country’s economy and outsourcing potential. It also offers insights into the several socio-economic factors that can affect your business and company workflows.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the average salary statistics in Hungary, including the average salary range, median salary, and minimum wage. We’ll also explore 6 reasons why outsourcing to Hungary is a good idea.
Table of Contents
Let’s get started!
What is the average salary in Hungary?
According to Salary Explorer, most Hungarian employees tend to earn an average gross salary of 5,920,000 HUF (approx USD 17,232) per year. However, these figures do not include the income tax deductions and bonuses, and therefore do not reflect the real earnings of the individual.
The actual average salary of individuals also greatly varies depending on their experience, profession, location, and the Hungarian economy and job market.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the average salary range, median salary, and minimum wage of Hungarian employees.
1. Average salary range
On average, Hungarian employees can earn anywhere from 1,500,000 HUF to 26,400,000 HUF per year as a full time employee.
That brings the average monthly salary to around 125,000 HUF (lowest average) to 2,200,000 HUF (highest average).
Note: These figures indicate the average maximum and minimum salary in Hungary. The actual salary of a Hungarian employee can be a lot higher or lower than the figures mentioned.
2. Median salary
The median salary represents the middle value in a list of average salaries. It is calculated by arranging the list of Hungarian salaries in ascending order and picking the salary that falls at the center of the list.
Hungary’s median salary is calculated to be 451,000 HUF (USD 1,313) per month. What this means is that half of the Hungarian employees earn more than this figure, while the other half earns less.
3. Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest payable amount an organization can legally pay to a worker to avail of their services. In Hungary, the government mandated minimum wage is 232,000 HUF (USD 675) per month as of 2023.
This indicates a substantial wage growth from the previous minimum wages of 176,247 HUF (USD 513) per month in the third quarter of 2021. In fact, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office reported 10.1% wage hikes in the annual salary of individuals between November 2021 and February 2022.
In terms of an hourly wage, employees are paid 1,339 HUF (USD 3.90) per hour. For skilled workers, the minimum gross wage is 1,709 HUF (USD 4.97) per hour.
Note: These average earnings reflect the salaries of Hungarian employees. It does not take into account the salaries of foreign nationals and expats.
So how does the average salary vary depending on different factors?
4 factors affecting the average salary in Hungary
The net average salary of individuals varies depending on several socio-economic factors. Let’s take a look at some of them:
1. Experience
The experience level of individuals plays a key role in determining the salary of individuals. Naturally, more years of experience result in a higher salary but the hike percentage decreases over time.
Here’s how Hungarian employees’ salaries vary depending on their experience:
- Generally, employees with about two to five years of experience earn 32% more than freshers and juniors across all industries.
- Professionals with more than five years of work experience tend to earn 36% more on average than their juniors.
- Once someone completes over 10 years of experience, their salary grows by another 21% on average.
- Finally, people with over 15 years of experience earn an additional 14% more than their peers.
Source: Salary Explorer
2. Education
Like any other country, the more educated a Hungarian employee is, the more they earn.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of employees’ qualifications and their salary range:
- It is seen that individuals with a certificate or diploma earn approximately 17% more than those who’ve only completed high school.
- Employees with a bachelor’s degree generally earn 24% more than those with lower qualifications.
- Similarly, professionals with a master’s degree earn about 29% more salary than their peers.
- Ph.D. professionals earn around 23% more than those with a master’s degree.
Source: Salary Explorer
3. Profession
It goes without saying that different professions and jobs are paid differently depending on the skills required. But how much of a difference does it make?
Let’s find out:
| Profession (Job Title) | Average Yearly Salary (in HUF) |
| Cardiovascular Specialist | 22,200,000 |
| Assistant Bank Manager | 9,410,000 |
| Business Development Manager | 8,400,000 |
| Commercial Real Estate Manager | 6,700,000 |
| Civil Engineer | 5,290,000 |
| Customer Service Advisor | 4,580,000 |
| Accountant | 3,690,000 |
| Graphic Designer | 3,680,000 |
| Administrative Assistant | 3,010,000 |
| Bartender | 2,150,000 |
| Factory Worker | 1,630,000 |
Source: Salary Explorer
4. City
Geographical location also plays an important role in determining employees’ salary ranges. In this case, different cities offer varying salaries depending on their job market, industry demand, and resources.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of how the average salary varies based on location:
| City | Average Yearly Salary (in HUF) |
| Gyor | 12,415,986 |
| Miskolc | 11,255,906 |
| Budapest | 10,911,018 |
| Szeged | 8,089,203 |
| Debrecen | 7,587,547 |
| Pécs | 6,396,114 |
Source: Average Salary Survey
Next, let’s understand Hungarian employees’ bonus and incentives distribution.
Average annual increment and bonuses in Hungary
Hungarian employees benefit from a positive work environment and increment patterns. On average, employees in Hungary receive a 9% increment every 17 months.
Compared to the world average of 3% every 16 months, that’s a substantially higher percentage.
In fact, of those surveyed in 2021 by Salary Explorer over 54% of Hungarian employees admitted to having received at least one form of monetary bonus in the previous year.
In terms of profession and job profile, individuals who contributed directly to the company’s revenue (revenue generators) earned more and higher bonuses. It was also observed that senior executives bagged more bonuses than their peers.
Salary increments also vary depending on the industry and job demand. Here’s a general walkthrough of how much increment each industry gets on average:
| Industry | Average Annual Increment Rate |
| Banking | 8% |
| Energy | 7% |
| Information Technology | 6% |
| Healthcare | 5% |
| Travel | 4% |
| Construction | 3% |
| Education | 2% |
Source: Salary Explorer
Note: The statistics provided above are averages of numbers and should be only taken as general guidelines. The actual salaries and increments will vary from person to person.
Next, let’s explore Hungary’s outsourcing potential.
6 key reasons to consider outsourcing to Hungary
Considering the average salary distribution, Hungary may seem like an expensive place to outsource when compared to Asia. But it has so much more to offer when it comes to your business needs.
Here are six key reasons why outsourcing to this eastern European country is a great idea for your company:
1. Cost-effective environment
Compared to most of western Europe, Hungary has far lower living costs (including rent, travel, bills, etc ). As a result, it has lower wages and salaries and is ideal for outsourcing.
Hungary is 35.5% more economical when compared to the US. To be specific, the minimum average wage in Hungary is 1,150 HUF (USD 3.43). This is a lot lower than the average US minimum wage of USD 7.25.
Hungary also ranked high in the quality of life index in 2021, scoring almost 135 points out of 160. And as we know, people tend to be more productive when they’re happier and more satisfied with their lives.
2. Compatible time zones
Hungary is situated in the GMT+2 time zone. It’s a few hours away from most of central and eastern Europe and the United Kingdom. Even the USA and Canada are about 6 hours behind Hungarian time, which is an acceptable time zone for an employer to communicate with employees.
3. Highly skilled workforce
Hungary has one of the most in-demand talent pools in all of Europe.
For starters, Hungary has a literacy rate of 99.3% as of 2022. The overall employment growth also went up by 2% as of December 2021.
Also, you can rest assured that language won’t be a problem when you outsource to Hungary. English is Hungary’s second-most-popular language, with the country ranking 17th on the EF English Proficiency Index in 2021.
OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) 2018 data indicates that adults in Hungary exhibit brilliant numeracy and problem-solving skills. The average numeracy scores of Hungarian employees are 272 points, well above the OECD average of 262 points.
4. Access to a global market
Hungary is an EU member nation. It shares its borders with seven states, including Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Croatia, Austria, and Slovenia.
In addition to the European Union, it’s also a part of several global organizations, including NATO, United Nations, OECD, Visegrád Group, WTO, and the World Bank.
So, companies outsourcing to this country get access to all of central Europe and its diverse markets.
To top it off, Hungary ranked 52nd on the Ease Of Doing Business (EODB) scale in 2020. It also ranked 87th for starting a new business and 66th in resolving insolvency out of 190 countries in total.
Taking these points into account, IT services, telecommunications, human resources, and manufacturing are some of Hungary’s top outsourced industries.
5. Impeccable infrastructure and technological developments
In the past few years, Hungary has seen massive growth in its IT industry and technology developments. Budapest remains the IT hub of the country, followed by Debrecen, Pécs, Szeged, and Miskolc.
In fact, the European Union allocated EUR 52.8 Billion (USD 61.1 Billion) of its central budget to the Hungarian government for investment in infrastructure, telecommunication, and energy projects.
The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector in Hungary generated a gross value added (GVA) of HUF 6,000 Billion (approx USD 17 Billion) in 2020, making up 20% of the overall Hungarian GVA.
6. Fast-growing economy
According to the World Bank reports, Hungary is expected to have annual GDP per capita growth of 4.3% by 2023, compared to 3% growth in the rest of Europe and central Asia. As a result, it is considered to be a high-income country.
The inflation rate in Hungary reached 7.9% in January 2022, much lower than that of countries like Lithuania (12.3%), Estonia (11%), Czech Republic (8.8%), and Belgium (8.5%). This reflects how the Hungarian economy is rather stable and a favorable choice for businesses looking to outsource their workflows.
Closing thoughts
The lower average salary range and favorable location makes Hungary an ideal candidate for outsourcing company services.
The country has a highly skilled workforce, great business growth opportunities, and offers easy access to most of the EU nations.
So if you’re planning to outsource to Hungary, make sure you utilize all the information provided in this article to research, plan, and execute your course of action.