How much do we earn in Italy? On average, about 32 thousand euros gross per yearwith an average monthly net salary that arrives in the paycheck between 1700 and 1850 euros. Whoever studies more, the more he earns: salaries grow with the level of education (on average a graduate earns 38.8% more than one non -graduate). To influence the RAL is the territory, with sensitive differences in wages between North, Center, South and Islands. Another factor is that of the genre, with a Gender Pay Gap average of 5.6%, which grows up to 30% among the managers. To influence salaries, again, there are the age, and therefore the experience of the worker and the dimensions of the companies, understood as number of employees: in larger companies you earn more. But let’s see the data in detail.
General data on RAL in Italy
First of all, what is the Ral? It is an acronym that stands for “Gross annual salary“And corresponds to the total amount that an employee receives in one year, gross of tax and contributory deductions, intended for INPS and Irpef, removing which the value of net salarythat is, the one that ends up in our pockets. The RAL is obtained by adding all the monthly gross salaries, including any thirteenth and fourteenth and other elements included in the contract agreed with the employer, such as the hours of extraordinary flat -rate work, while the sum remain excluded from this sum the TFR (severance pay, compulsory sum set aside every year by the employer who is returned to the worker when he leaves the company) and any meal vouchers, bonuses and prizes.
According to the data of theLast ISTAT report “The structure of wages in Italy”published in 2025 and reported to the year 2022, the RAL National Media is 31,856 euroswith an average for managers (who represent 1.1% of the total workers) of 106,606 euros, of 56,746 euros for the paintings (corresponding to 4.4% of workers), of 33,358 euros for employees (39.2% of workers) and finally of 27,266 euros for workers (55.2%). Over the years, salary growth has been more consistent for those who perceive a lower remuneration: the pay growth of the workers has been more sustained than that of employees and paintings.
How much do you earn in the different regions? The gap between North, South and Islands
Wages vary according to the region, with the North Italy which generally offers higher salaries Compared to the South. Second The data of the Job Pricing Observatoryreported in the JP Salary Outlook 2024, northern Italy has higher average salaries, with a difference in RAL of 3,550 euros compared to the south and islands.
In particular, it Medium gross salary in the North is 32,913al Center of 31,956 euros and in South and islands of 29,375 euros. Taking into account the RGA – i.e. the annual global salary which also includes any variable component perceived by the worker, including the bonuses that are not calculated in the RAL – the gap between north and south rises to over 4,300 euros. Between the north and the center, however, the differential is equal to about 1,000 euros in RAL and stands at around 1,100 euros in RGA.
The regions where the highest salaries are paid are Lombardy (with Milan head), with an average RAL of 33,635 euros, the Lazio (33.242) and the Trentino-Alto Adige (33.532), while Calabria, Sicily and Basilicata They are those with minor salaries, in particular the latter, where the medium gross salary is 27,232 euros. The average net salary, which arrives in the paycheck to the worker, in Lombardy is therefore around 1500 euros, against a salary of 1215 euros in Basilicata.
In the table below, the differences between medium rals for framing between North and South and islands, which mainly weigh paintings and employees:
The most paid works and the regions where you earn more
What professions do the best earnings guarantee? According to data from the Job Pricing Observatory, The most profitable sectors are the financial serviceswith an average RAL of 45,461 euros, that of “utility“, That is, companies that provide essential services such as electricity, gas, water, and telecommunications, with 34,861 euros of gross salary, the process industry (33,710 euros) and that manufacturing (33,349 euros). To follow there are the sectors Services, trade, building and agriculture.
The most paid professions are concentrated in the sectors where it prevails A high specializationwhile the works with lower wages in the sectors where scientific skills are limited or not very relevant. Who works in Financial banks and services It is thus positioned in first place, with an average RAL of 46,354 euros; Then there are the workers of the sectors engineering (40,372 euros), pharmaceutical and biotechnology (39,640 euros) e telecommunications (38,950 euros). At the opposite extreme there are i Personal services (24,916 euros), theagriculture (25,114 euros) and the hotel and catering sector (25,855 euros).
The most paid professionals are in general i notarieswith an average salary that depending on seniority and duties part 60 thousand and also reaches 200 thousand euros a year. In second position the Architecture Manager (average salary of 168 thousand euros) and data analysts (150 thousand euros), doctors (between 70 and 110 thousand euros), Marketing directors (93 thousand euros), financial consultants (Junior earn 30 thousand euros, while the most experts also reach 130 thousand). To follow, again, i pharmacists (the owners also reach 60 thousand), i plane pilots (around 70 thousand), the architects they engineers (between 38 and 80 thousand euros). You know how much a mayor? It depends on the Municipality: in small ones, with less than 3 thousand inhabitants, about 2 thousand euros gross monthly, but in the metropolitan cities almost 14 thousand euros.
The gaps between wages: the gender pay gap
In the different reports, inequalities in very strong wages still emerge, linked to different factors, from gender to age, from qualifications to the type of contract.
Let’s start with the so -called Gender Pay Gapthe remuneration differential between men and women, so men gain more than their colleagues for the same roles and timetables. The data of the 2024 report of the INPSthe National Institute of Social Security, speak of an average time income of women of 20 points lower than that of equal male role role, in particular of a 20% difference in manufacturing activities, 23.7% in the field of trade, of 16.3% in accommodation and catering services, while the wider gap is perceived in the context of financial, insurance activities and in business services, where the average salary of women is also 32.1% lower than 32.1%. to that of men equal grade.
As pointed out in the 2024 INPS 2024 report, The remuneration difference between males and females it is reduced to a minimum in uses a part time – where the remuneration is often already low – while it increases in full time jobs, without significant differences between public and private. However, it should be specified that the greatest use of part time contracts for women at least partially affects the total annual remuneration gap-also according to the world report of the Iol on wages 2024-25. It will perhaps be surprised to find out that Italy, in this report, is one of the high -income countries with less wage inequalities, with a calculated rate of 9.3 percent, one of the lowest of the countries of the European Union, against Estonia and the Netherlands are among the group’s countries with the highest wage inequalities – together, in the world, to the United States.
According to the Iol report, more than three quarters of the world population of employees is exposed to considerable wage inequalities, which increase in low -income countries and drop in high income: with less than 1% of employees classified as recipients of low wages, ours is one of the countries with less wage inequalities!
The gap to the level of education, age and size of the company
According to data from the Job Pricing Observatory, on average A graduate earns 38.8% more Of an non -graduate: the average RAL of graduates for 2024 is 41,716 euros compared to the 30,063 euros of non -graduates. A difference that depends mainly, greater possibility for graduates to access more relevant corporate positions, with better contractual levels and, consequently, higher salaries.
Also according to Istat data, The average annual remuneration grows proportional to qualifications of the worker, in all sectors and both for men and women – even if it grows more for men. Those who have a secondary secondary education title (diploma) perceive 18.5% more remuneration than those who only have the average license. Those who have a level of tertiary education (degree, master and beyond) reaches 58.8% more.
Not only the level of education, but also The age of the worker influences wages: Over 50 workers earn 65.5% more than workers between 14 and 29 years old – for women the difference is 38.6%. The difference is also evident in the hourly salary, on average 16.4 euros: the under 30s have an hourly salary of 11.9 euros, for 24.7% less than the workers’ range between 30 and 49 years (15.8 euros) and for 36.4% to that of the over 50 employees (18.7 euros).
Last, but not least, to influence the average hourly wages is also the size of the company: lower those in companies between 10 and 49 employees – with 12.8 euros/hour for the smallest – and are greater in companies with at least 1000 employees, which reach up to pay up to 19.2 euros per hour.
