Greece vs Mexico

Compare PPP-adjusted average wages, long-term wage trends and consumer price levels using consistent OECD data.

Country A

Country B

Wage data: 2025 · Price data: 2024

Comparison Overview

Greece

Average wage (2025)

$32,412

1-year change: −0.3%
5-year change: −0.3%

Overall price level (2024)

54.7 (United States = 100)

Greece's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 32.5% higher than Mexico's.

Mexico

Average wage (2025)

$24,463

1-year change: +1.3%
5-year change: +8.9%

Overall price level (2024)

50.9 (United States = 100)

Greece has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 32.5% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Mexico shows the stronger change (+8.9% against −0.3%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Greece, at 54.7 against 50.9 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +3.8 index points. Both wage figures are for 2025 and the price levels for 2024, so the two economies are read at the same point in each series.

Wage History

See how PPP-adjusted average annual wages have changed in both economies.

PPP-adjusted annual wage (USD)

GreeceMexico

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Greece	Mexico
Latest wage	$32,412	$24,463
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	−0.3%	+1.3%
5-year change	−0.3%	+8.9%
10-year change	−6.0%	+9.7%
Historical peak	$44,174	$27,014
Peak year	2009	1994
Change from peak	−26.6%	−9.4%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Greece records the higher figure: $32,412 against $24,463, a gap of 32.5%. A difference of that size is one of the wider ones in this dataset, and it holds after the PPP adjustment has already removed price level differences between the two.

Both figures are for 2025, so this is a like-for-like comparison of the same year rather than of two different latest points.

Both use the same basis: PPP-adjusted US dollars at constant prices. That conversion strips out the price level differences between the two economies, which is what makes the two figures comparable at all — neither is a local-currency salary, and neither is what an employer in that country would write on a contract.

Recent Momentum

Mexico had the stronger latest year (+1.3% against −0.3%).

Greece was the one that fell, while Mexico rose, so the latest year moved them apart rather than together.

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is Mexico: +8.9% against −0.3%.

For both economies the latest year points the same way as the five-year change, so the recent movement reads as continuation rather than a turn.

Long-Term Direction

The ten-year direction splits between them: −6.0% for Greece against +9.7% for Mexico. One long-term series is rising while the other is not, which is a more durable difference than any single year's movement.

Neither is at its peak: Greece is 26.6% from its 2009 high and Mexico 9.4% from its 1994 high. Both series have retreated from an earlier maximum.

The long view and the recent one point differently here — the lower-paid of the two has been closing ground over the five-year window, so the current gap understates how the two have been moving relative to each other.

Consumer Price Level Comparison

Compare eight consumer price categories with the United States benchmark of 100.

United States = 100
Missing values are shown as -

All differences are shown in index points. United States = 100.

Category	Greece	Mexico	Difference (GRC − MEX)	GRC vs U.S.	MEX vs U.S.
Overall	54.7	50.9	+3.8	−45.3	−49.1
Food	91.1	88.3	+2.8	−8.9	−11.7
Clothing	80.9	72	+8.9	−19.1	−28.0
Housing	40.7	42.7	−2.0	−59.3	−57.3
Health	38.1	46	−7.9	−61.9	−54.0
Transport	93.4	80.6	+12.8	−6.6	−19.4
Recreation	66.5	63.3	+3.2	−33.5	−36.7
Restaurants & Accommodation	71.3	65.1	+6.2	−28.7	−34.9

Overall
Greece54.7
Mexico50.9
Difference+3.8
GRC vs U.S.−45.3
MEX vs U.S.−49.1
Food
Greece91.1
Mexico88.3
Difference+2.8
GRC vs U.S.−8.9
MEX vs U.S.−11.7
Clothing
Greece80.9
Mexico72
Difference+8.9
GRC vs U.S.−19.1
MEX vs U.S.−28.0
Housing
Greece40.7
Mexico42.7
Difference−2.0
GRC vs U.S.−59.3
MEX vs U.S.−57.3
Health
Greece38.1
Mexico46
Difference−7.9
GRC vs U.S.−61.9
MEX vs U.S.−54.0
Transport
Greece93.4
Mexico80.6
Difference+12.8
GRC vs U.S.−6.6
MEX vs U.S.−19.4
Recreation
Greece66.5
Mexico63.3
Difference+3.2
GRC vs U.S.−33.5
MEX vs U.S.−36.7
Restaurants & Accommodation
Greece71.3
Mexico65.1
Difference+6.2
GRC vs U.S.−28.7
MEX vs U.S.−34.9

Greece and Mexico in Detail

Current Wage Position

Greece reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $32,412 for 2025, and Mexico $24,463 for 2025. That puts Greece ahead by 32.5%.

Both figures are PPP-adjusted: converted using purchasing power parities rather than market exchange rates, and expressed in constant prices so different years stay comparable.

This matters for reading the gap. A market-rate conversion would move with currency markets and would not reflect what the money buys in each economy. These figures are built to compare purchasing power, not to tell you what a currency transfer would be worth.

Recent Wage Momentum

In the latest reported year Greece changed by −0.3% and Mexico by +1.3%. A single year is a narrow window, so it is worth reading alongside the five-year figure rather than on its own.

Over five years, Mexico records the larger change at +8.9%, against −0.3% for Greece. That is the difference in how far each series has travelled over the medium term, in real PPP-adjusted terms.

Short-term and five-year movement point the same way for both economies, so neither is currently being pulled against its own medium-term direction.

Long-Term Wage Direction

Across ten years the changes are −6.0% for Greece and +9.7% for Mexico. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Greece reached its highest recorded value of $44,174 in 2009, and the latest figure sits 26.6% from that high.

Mexico peaked at $27,014 in 1994, leaving its latest value 9.4% away from that point.

Over the long run the two point in opposite directions. That is the clearest structural difference between these series, and it matters more for reading them than any single year's change does.

Consumer Price Profile

Against the United States benchmark of 100, overall consumption sits at 54.7 in Greece and 50.9 in Mexico — +3.8 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Transport (+12.8) and Clothing (+8.9).

Housing is where they are nearest, at 40.7 and 42.7.

Across the categories with data, Greece is the more expensive of the two more often than not.

How to Interpret the Comparison

These are average wages, not median wages, and not take-home pay. An average is pulled by the whole distribution, so it does not describe a typical individual, occupation, city or employer in either economy.

The wage figures are already PPP-adjusted and in constant prices. They are not local-currency salaries and not amounts convertible at a market exchange rate.

The price levels are relative indices against United States = 100. They describe how price levels compare, not what a household actually spends.

Wages and price levels should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better. This page is for understanding how the two wage trends and price structures differ — nothing further follows from it.