According to the latest release published on January 14, 2026 by the City Office for Economy, Environmental Sustainability and Strategic Planning, Department for Statistical and Analytical Affairs, the economic picture of the capital city in October 2025 shows a stable trend of income growth.

Average monthly paid net salary per employee in legal entities in the City of Zagreb for that month amounted to 1,668 euros. This amount represents an increase of 1.2% compared to September of the same year, while compared to the same period of the previous year, 2024, a significant jump of 9.2% was recorded. When observing the gross amount, which also includes taxes and contributions that the state takes from the worker's total earned amount, the Zagreb average in October stood at 2,372 euros. This is a growth of 0.8% on a monthly basis and 8.9% on an annual basis.

A large gap between the highest-paid and lowest-paid sectors

Although the average amounts sound encouraging, a more detailed insight into different economic sectors reveals large differences in the incomes of Zagreb residents. At the very top of the ranking are employees in the crude oil and natural gas extraction sector, where the average net salary in October reached a high 2,352 euros, while their gross average amounted to 3,509 euros.

On the other side of the spectrum are activities in which incomes are considerably more modest. The lowest net salary was recorded in clothing manufacturing and amounted to only 977 euros.

For gross amounts, the lowest average of 1,291 euros was paid to workers in the manufacture of leather and related products.

These data indicate that the difference between the highest-paid and lowest-paid sectors in Zagreb amounts to more than 1,300 euros net per month.

What does the median salary tell us?

In order to get a more realistic picture of how much most citizens actually earn, experts usually use the concept of the median salary. The median is the amount that divides all employees into two equal groups so that exactly half of employees receive less than that amount, and the other half more. In October 2025 the median net salary in Zagreb amounted to 1,474 euros, while its gross equivalent was 2,066 euros. This means that despite the high average of 1,668 euros, as many as 50% of Zagreb residents earn less than 1,474 euros net.

Additional depth to the statistical average is provided by data on quartiles and deciles, terms that actually serve to show us the stratification of society more clearly. To understand this in layman's terms, we can imagine that all employees in Zagreb stood in one long line arranged exactly by the amount of their salary, from the smallest to the largest. Quartiles divide that line into four equal parts, so the first or lower quartile reveals that a quarter of those with the lowest incomes earn up to 1,073 euros net. On the other hand, the third or upper quartile shows the threshold of 1,969 euros, which means that three quarters of workers receive less than that amount, while only every fourth person in the city has a salary higher than that.

An even more detailed insight is provided by deciles, which divide that same line of employees into ten equal groups. Thus, the first decile lays bare the reality of the 10% lowest-paid workers who survive monthly on a net amount of 866 euros or less. At the opposite end of the ranking is the ninth decile, which serves as an entry ticket into the circle of the best-paid, and it shows that only ten out of every hundred employees in the metropolis receive a net salary higher than 2,626 euros. Data for the elite at the very top, namely the tenth decile and the fourth quartile, remain hidden from the public because in official documents they are marked with the letter Z. This sign in statistics means that the data are protected for confidentiality reasons, which is a common practice used to prevent someone's exact identity or business secret from being revealed due to the very small number of people in a certain category.

Hourly wage and long-term quarterly averages

When monthly work is broken down into hours, statistics show that the average price of labor per hour in October amounted to 8.97 euros net, or 12.76 euros gross. These calculations are based on the number of paid hours, which include regular work and overtime, but also paid non-worked hours such as annual leave and holidays.

For a more stable insight into trends, statisticians often observe quarterly periods. In the period from August to October 2025, the average monthly net salary in Zagreb amounted to 1,647 euros. This is an increase of 8.5% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The same percentage growth of 8.5% was also recorded for gross salaries for that period, whose quarterly average was 2,350 euros. These data confirm that strong salary growth in the capital was not just a temporary jump in October, but has been sustained over a longer period.

Statisticians often turn to quarterly averages in order to get a cleaner and more stable picture of income trends because one isolated month can be misleading due to one-off bonuses or specific annual payments. Data for the period from August to October 2025 show that the average monthly net salary in Zagreb amounted to 1,647 euros. If we compare this with the same period a year earlier, when that average amounted to 1,518 euros, we can see that the wallets of Zagreb residents became 'heavier' by exactly 129 euros per month on average. That increase of 8.5% is also reflected in gross amounts, where the average jumped from last year's 2,166 euros to the current 2,350 euros. This is a concrete increase of 184 euros that employers on average allocate more per employee than in the same period of 2024.

These figures clearly confirm that the strong rise in incomes in the capital was not merely a temporary autumn flash, but a stable and continuous trend that held firmly throughout the entire observed quarter.

Methodology and origin of the data

All presented data are the result of processing reports on income and taxes, better known as JOPPD forms, which salary payers submit to the competent authorities. The statistical coverage includes all employees in legal entities, regardless of the form of ownership or working hours, provided that they work in the area of the City of Zagreb. It is important to emphasize that these data do not include tradespeople, liberal professions, or farmers. Also, it should be recalled that since the beginning of 2024, the surtax on income tax has been abolished, which is reflected in the structure of the gross salary, which today includes the net payment, pension insurance, and income tax.

In conclusion, although the Zagreb average of 1,668 euros net appears to be a strong indicator of rising living standards, median and decile data remind us of the fact that a significant number of citizens still earn considerably less than that amount. Continuous annual growth of over 9% certainly eases inflationary pressure, but large differences between industrial sectors suggest that economic prosperity is not distributed equally among all employed residents of the metropolis.