What Are the Top-Paying Industries in Austria?
These are the top-paid jobs in Austria as of 2025. Banking, IT and Internet, and Pharmaceuticals top the list.
With salary structures often unclear within Austrian companies, the 2025 Salary Report from job portal Stepstone highlights which industries offer the highest wages – and which pay less.
Based on an analysis of over 50,000 salaries, the report found that the median gross annual income in Austria is €55,000. This means that half of workers earn more, while the other half earn less. The top 25% of earners make €71,000 or more, while the bottom 25% earn €43,500 or less.
Top-Paying Industries in Austria
- Banking: €71,750
- IT and Internet: €69,000
- Pharmaceuticals: €68,500
- Chemical and Petroleum Processing: €68,000
- Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing: €66,750
- Energy and Water Supply/Disposal: €65,250
- Automotive Manufacturing and Supply: €64,750
- Insurance: €64,500
- Aerospace: €63,750
- Financial Services: €63,250
Lowest-Paying Industries in Austria
- Hospitality, Catering and Tourism: €43,000
- Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries: €47,000
- Leisure, Tourism, Culture and Sport: €50,000
- Mining: €50,500
- Transport and Logistics: €50,750
- Staffing Services: €50,750
- Trades: €51,250
- Wood and Furniture Manufacturing: €51,250
- Advertising, Marketing and PR: €52,000
- Wholesale and Retail Trade: €53,000
Significant Salary Disparities Within Sectors
Even within individual sectors, salary gaps can be considerable. For example, in retail, while sales staff earn a median of €38,000, those working in e-commerce earn €50,000. In the hospitality industry, service staff typically earn €32,000, while food and beverage managers earn around €55,250.
These disparities are also evident in higher-paying industries such as IT. Web designers earn a median salary of €54,500, while IT security specialists make €74,250, and software architects can command up to €87,250.
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