Swiss Family Incomes Are The Highest In Europe, Bulgaria The Lowest…

It really isn’t about how much you make (income) any more, it’s about how much you get to keep (incomes vs. taxes).

And taxes aren’t exactly beloved, even on the continent with the highest marginal tax rates.

So who’s really getting to keep the most of what they earn? We take a look in Europe specifically.

This visualization, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, ranks gross and net earnings for dual-income European families with two dependents, and quantifies the impact of taxes and social contributions made in 2024.

The data for this visualization comes from Eurostat, accessed via Euronews. It is not adjusted for inflation or local costs. Net income includes tax returns and family allowances.

Ranked: Countries With the Highest Income in Europe

Swiss dual-income families earned the highest gross income in Europe—over €208,000 in 2024.

Remarkably, they took home 86% of it, one of the highest net retention rates in the continent. This results in a net income of €178,553, far surpassing most other European peers.

Country	Family Gross Income (€)	Family Net Income (€)	Taxes & Social Security (€)	% of Pay Taken Home
Switzerland	€208,755	€178,553	€30,202	86
Iceland	€158,208	€116,411	€41,797	74
Luxembourg	€148,591	€110,438	€38,153	74
Denmark	€136,506	€91,712	€44,794	67
Netherlands	€131,563	€101,465	€30,098	77
Norway	€131,350	€97,580	€33,770	74
Ireland	€128,317	€95,776	€32,541	75
Germany	€126,575	€86,372	€40,203	68
Austria	€123,398	€93,722	€29,676	76
Belgium	€121,682	€80,070	€41,612	66
Finland	€105,786	€76,150	€29,636	72
Sweden	€93,996	€75,076	€18,920	80
France	€89,937	€68,228	€21,709	76
EU	€86,293	€63,523	€22,770	74
Italy	€71,232	€54,472	€16,760	76
Spain	€63,397	€50,060	€13,337	79
Malta	€61,072	€48,048	€13,024	79
Cyprus	€57,397	€49,273	€8,124	86
Slovenia	€55,511	€38,209	€17,302	69
Greece	€55,435	€41,142	€14,293	74
Lithuania	€51,515	€34,128	€17,387	66
Estonia	€47,861	€39,965	€7,896	84
Portugal	€45,176	€35,394	€9,782	78
Poland	€44,786	€39,120	€5,666	87
Czechia	€43,769	€36,076	€7,693	82
Hungary	€41,754	€29,788	€11,966	71
Latvia	€40,351	€31,500	€8,851	78
Romania	€40,116	€26,766	€13,350	67
Croatia	€40,000	€29,523	€10,477	74
Slovakia	€37,057	€32,940	€4,117	89
Türkiye	€31,942	€22,880	€9,062	72
Bulgaria	€28,542	€23,375	€5,167	82

While income taxes are relatively high, Swiss families must also make mandatory contributions to healthcare and pensions, which significantly reduces their overall taxable income.

Child support is also impressive: with monthly payments per child, daycare subsides, and tax deductions for childcare costs.

All of this substantially increases their net income (or their take-home pay).

Similarly, the Netherlands is fifth by gross income at €131,563, and they retain 77% of it after deductions.

For reference, Dutch families took home over €101,000, putting them ahead of bigger economies like Germany, France, and Italy.

Looking at Eastern Europe’s Taxes

Countries like Romania and Lithuania show stark contrasts from Western Europe.

Romanian families earned just over €40,000 but took home only €26,766, or just 67% of gross pay.

Lithuania fares similarly, with families losing about one-third of earnings to taxes.

Interestingly, both countries have a flat personal income tax rate. Why does that matter?

This IMF analysis on tax redistribution helps explain. In countries like Romania or Lithuania, tax and transfer systems aren’t doing enough to redistribute wealth and reduce poverty.

Sometimes they even make it worse because the poor pay taxes (especially flat or indirect ones) that outweigh the help they get from the state.

This shows how less progressive tax systems and weak social benefits can actually increase the financial pressure on low-income families—especially in Eastern Europe.

What this graphic doesn’t cover is how living costs differ. Check out The Average Income for A European Family, Adjusted for Living Costs on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.