Cyprus Average Pay Reaches €2,548 (About $2,850) a Month, Yet 1 in 3 Workers Earn Under €1,500 (About $1,680)

Average gross monthly earnings in Cyprus were €2,548 (about $2,850) in the second quarter of 2026, up 3.0% from €2,475 (about $2,770) a year earlier, in provisional figures published on 26 October by the Statistical Service of Cyprus (Cystat). Yet 33.6% of employees earned less than €1,500 (about $1,680) a month, roughly one worker in three, while just 5.6% earned €6,000 (about $6,710) or more. The headline is a mean, so a relatively small group of high earners can pull it upwards, and it does not necessarily reflect what a typical employee takes home. For Metaintro readers working in Cyprus or weighing an offer there, the useful detail sits below the average, in the pay bands, the gap between men and women, the split between Cypriot and non-Cypriot staff, and what the statutory minimum guarantees.

What Exactly Does the Cystat Pay Figure Measure?

Average gross monthly earnings are calculated by dividing total gross earnings by the total number of employees who received remuneration, using the records of the Social Insurance Services. Gross means pay before income tax and deductions for compulsory schemes such as the Social Insurance Fund and the General Healthcare Scheme, so take-home pay is lower than these figures.

The figure covers more than a basic salary. It includes the cost of living allowance, earnings for overtime, the Holiday Fund and payments in arrears, along with allowances paid both regularly and irregularly, such as a 13th salary, a 14th salary and bonuses. A monthly salary in a job offer without those extras is therefore not directly comparable with the average.

Coverage is wide but not complete. All sectors are counted except activities of households as employers and activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies. People whose pay shows no regular work in the period, such as those who only received arrears or worked a limited number of hours, are left out, and the minimum pay needed to be counted is revised every year in line with the Minimum Wage Law.

The numbers can still change, since all data from the first quarter of 2026 onwards are provisional.

Did Pay in Cyprus Fall Between the First and Second Quarters?

No, once seasonal patterns are taken out. The seasonally adjusted average was €2,663 (about $2,980), up 0.6% compared with the first quarter of 2026, when it stood at €2,648 (about $2,960). The unadjusted figure sits below the first quarter's €2,604 (about $2,910), a gap that reflects the effect of seasonal patterns on earnings, making the adjusted figure more suitable for quarter-on-quarter comparisons.

Comparing one quarter with the next requires seasonally adjusted data because the seasonal component is different between two consecutive quarters, while a comparison with the same quarter of the previous year needs no adjustment, since the seasonal component is the same for the two periods.

Bonus timing is one reason the unadjusted series swings. In the first quarter of 2026, the unadjusted average had declined from €2,932 (about $3,280) in the fourth quarter of 2025 because that period typically includes additional payments such as year-end bonuses.

The first quarter has also been revised. When it was first published in July, the unadjusted first-quarter average was €2,601 (about $2,910), up 3.7% on a year earlier, and the latest Cystat table revises that quarter upwards.

Is Pay Growth in Cyprus Speeding Up or Slowing Down?

Annual growth has eased. The second-quarter rise compares with 4.0% in the first quarter of 2026 and 4.2% in the second quarter of 2025, each measured against the same quarter a year earlier. On the seasonally adjusted measure, quarter-on-quarter growth was 0.8% in the first quarter of 2026, above the latest quarterly gain.

Growth for 2025 as a whole was faster. Average gross monthly earnings for 2025 were €2,591 (about $2,900), up 4.3% on 2024, in Cystat's final annual data.

Where Do Most Employees in Cyprus Sit on the Pay Scale?

The middle band is the biggest. In the second quarter, 41.4% of employees earned between €1,500 (about $1,680) and €2,999 (about $3,350) a month. Above that, 13.1% of employees earned between €3,000 (about $3,360) and €4,499 (about $5,030), while 6.3% earned between €4,500 (about $5,030) and €5,999 (about $6,710).

The bottom of the scale barely moved over the quarter. In the first quarter, 33.9% of employees earned less than €1,500 a month, and 5.7% earned €6,000 (about $6,710) or more, so the one-in-three pattern held in both quarters of 2026 published so far.

In 2025 the single largest group, 13% of the total, earned between €1,000 and €1,249 a month (about $1,120 to $1,400), followed by €1,500 to €1,749 at 11.4% and €1,250 to €1,499 at 11.2% (about $1,680 to $1,960 and about $1,400 to $1,680).

The figures do not provide a median wage, so it is not possible to establish from this release exactly how much the typical employee earned, according to the Cyprus Mail wages report.

Why Is the Average So Much Higher Than a Typical Wage?

A median splits employees into two equal halves, with one half earning more and the other less, and it would provide a more representative indication of the earnings of a typical worker. The latest median comes from the 2025 annual earnings release.

Median gross monthly earnings were €1,953 (about $2,180) in 2025, up 3.8% from €1,881 (about $2,100) in 2024. That year the gap between the average and the median reached €638 (about $710) a month, with the average salary 32.7% higher than the median, up from €602 (about $670), or 32%, in 2024. A widening gap means the average grew faster than the median, a sign of the greater influence of higher-paid employees on the overall figure.

Nearly half the workforce sits well under the average. Statistical Service figures cited by Sigmalive English show that 47% of employees receive monthly gross earnings of up to €1,749 (about $1,960), equivalent to approximately €1,550 (about $1,730) after deductions. Economist Michalis Florentiades raised that figure on a Sigma programme, noting that such earnings leave limited room for other essential expenses, particularly in cities where housing costs are high.

A wider gap between average and median pay is associated with inequality in the earnings distribution, according to the OECD.

How Big Is the Pay Gap Between Men and Women in Cyprus?

Men averaged €2,708 (about $3,030) a month in the second quarter, against €2,345 (about $2,620) for women. The difference was €363 (about $406) a month, meaning the average for women was around 13.4% lower than that for men.

The gap narrowed from a year earlier. Women's average earnings increased by 4.1%, against 2.1% for men, with male earnings up from €2,653 (about $2,970) and female earnings up from €2,252 (about $2,520) in the second quarter of 2025.

Women are more likely to be on low pay. Some 37.2% of female employees earned below €1,500 (about $1,680) a month, compared with 30.8% of male employees. At the top, 7.1% of male employees earned €6,000 (about $6,710) or more a month, almost twice the 3.7% recorded among women.

How Do Non-Cypriot Workers Fare on Pay in Cyprus?

Non-Cypriot employees are more heavily represented at both ends of the scale. 46.3% of non-Cypriot employees earned less than €1,500 (about $1,680) a month, compared with 27% of Cypriot workers. At the other end, 8.1% of non-Cypriots earned €6,000 (about $6,710) or more a month, compared with 4.3% of Cypriot employees.

Among Cypriot employees, the most common band was €1,500 to €2,999 (about $1,680 to $3,350), at 45.5%. The low-pay share is highest for non-Cypriot women, with 49.9% of non-Cypriot women earning below €1,500, compared with 31.9% of Cypriot women, while 44.1% of non-Cypriot men earned less than €1,500, compared with 22.4% of Cypriot men.

Two of the best-paid sectors show the high end. In information and communication, non-Cypriot employees earned an average of €5,442 (about $6,090) a month, compared with €3,404 (about $3,810) for Cypriot employees, and in financial and insurance activities non-Cypriot employees received an average monthly salary of €6,649 (about $7,440), compared with €4,383 (about $4,900) for Cypriots, in 2025 data.

In these statistics, the Cypriot group includes the communities Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, as recorded by the Social Insurance Services, and the non-Cypriot group covers all other employees.

Which Sectors Pay the Most and the Least in Cyprus?

In 2025, average gross monthly earnings ranged from €956 (about $1,070) in agriculture, forestry and fishing to €5,038 (about $5,640) in financial and insurance activities. Information and communication, which includes IT and telecoms, was second with average monthly earnings of €4,540 (about $5,080).

Hospitality, retail and construction sit near the bottom. Accommodation and food service activities averaged €1,649 (about $1,840), wholesale and retail trade €1,850 (about $2,070) and construction €1,897 (about $2,120). Manufacturing averaged €1,939 (about $2,170), human health and social work €2,197 (about $2,460) and education €2,422 (about $2,710), while public administration and defence averaged €3,394 (about $3,800).

Several of the best-paid sectors also grew fastest. Pay rose 7.7% in Information and Communication and 7.0% in Financial and Insurance Activities, and by 10.3% in mining and quarrying, a sector that employs a small number of people, making the estimate more sensitive to individual data. Several lower-paid sectors moved more slowly, with agriculture, forestry and fishing up 1.5%, wholesale and retail trade up 3.9% and manufacturing up 3.7%.

What Is the Minimum Wage in Cyprus Now?

Since the start of the year, the statutory minimum monthly wage for full-time work has risen from €1,000 (about $1,120) to €1,088 (about $1,220) gross. Employees who have not completed six months of continuous employment with the same employer are entitled to €979 (about $1,100) gross, up from €900 (about $1,010). For part-time staff the minimum applies on a pro rata basis, calculated by reference to working hours.

The new rates apply until December 31, 2027, and the increase is expected to benefit around 50,000 workers. The rise followed a decision by the Council of Ministers, and Labour Minister Marinos Moushouttas said the adjustment took into account inflation data for 2024 at 1.8% and the forecast for 2025 at 0.2%, with the cost of living allowance included at a rate of approximately 2%, based on government calculations.

Upon completion of the six-month qualifying period, entitlement to the full statutory minimum wage arises automatically, without the need for any further employer action, according to the Harris Kyriakides minimum wage note.

The decree is part of Cyprus's work to align its national framework with Directive (EU) 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages, and the government has indicated that talks on the possible introduction of an hourly minimum wage will continue in the technical committee of employers, unions and the labour ministry.

Is Pay in Cyprus Keeping Up With Prices?

In June, the last month of the second quarter, consumer prices were 3.1% higher than a year earlier, the highest rate since October 2023, in data from the statistics office. The biggest annual rises were in transport (8.3%), housing, water supply, electricity, gas and other fuels (5.6%), recreation, sport and culture (5.3%), and food and non-alcoholic beverages (5.1%), while clothing and footwear fell 7.7%. Rents were among the individual items adding most to annual inflation, after recreational and catering services.

That left annual pay growth in the second quarter just below June's inflation rate. The latest reading is inflation of 3.7% in September 2026, with the largest annual increases by economic category in petroleum products (25.8%) and electricity and water (11.2%). Over January to September 2026, the index was 2.3% higher than in the same period of 2025.

Over the longer run, purchasing power in Cyprus has lagged behind the EU. Real disposable income per capita in Cyprus was 7.8% higher in 2024 than in 2008, compared with an increase of 14.4% across the EU, in figures from the Cyprus Fiscal Council's interim report. Inequality has also risen, with the island's Gini coefficient up from 29 in 2021 to 31.2 in 2025, above the EU average of 29.2.

What This Means for Job Seekers in Cyprus, and What Should You Do Next?

The average is a poor yardstick for most offers, and the 2025 median is a closer guide to typical pay. Here is how we would use the data.

• Benchmark against the median and your sector. Compare an offer with the average for its sector, not the national mean, since hospitality and retail sit well below it. If a colleague in the same role is paid more, use how to address pay inequity when a coworker earns more than you before you raise it.
• Count the extras. The official average includes a 13th salary, a 14th salary and bonuses, so ask how many salaries a year an offer pays before comparing it.
• Check your minimum. If you work full time and have been with the same employer for six months, your gross monthly pay should not fall below the statutory minimum, which binds all employers within the decree's scope.
• Follow the fast-growing fields. Information and communication and finance pay the most, and their pay rose faster than all other sectors except mining in the 2025 data.
• Consider building your own. If starting a business appeals more than a salary, look at the Cyprus start-up grants with a focus on young people and women.

Lacey Kaelani, Metaintro's CEO, puts it this way: The average tells you where the money goes, the median tells you where most people are, so negotiate from the second number.

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People Also Asked

Q: What is the average monthly salary in Cyprus?

A: Average gross monthly earnings were €2,548 (about $2,850) in the second quarter of 2026, in provisional figures, including extras such as bonuses and any 13th salary.

Q: What is the median salary in Cyprus?

A: The latest median gross monthly earnings were €1,953 (about $2,180) for 2025, well below the average for the same year.

Q: What is the minimum wage in Cyprus?

A: It is €1,088 (about $1,220) gross a month for full-time work after six months of continuous service, and €979 (about $1,100) before that.

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