Hungary vs Latvia

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

Hungary

Average wage (2025)

$39,145

1-year change: +3.4%
5-year change: +18.8%

Overall price level (2024)

45.1 (United States = 100)

Latvia's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 14.2% higher than Hungary's.

Latvia

Average wage (2025)

$44,709

1-year change: +3.3%
5-year change: +12.3%

Overall price level (2024)

52.2 (United States = 100)

Latvia has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 14.2% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Hungary shows the stronger change (+18.8% against +12.3%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Latvia, at 52.2 against 45.1 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +7.1 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)

HungaryLatvia

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Hungary	Latvia
Latest wage	$39,145	$44,709
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	+3.4%	+3.3%
5-year change	+18.8%	+12.3%
10-year change	+48.3%	+38.8%
Historical peak	$39,145	$44,709
Peak year	2025	2025
Change from peak	0.0%	0.0%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Latvia records the higher figure: $44,709 against $39,145, a gap of 14.2%. The gap is clear enough to rank the two, though it says nothing about how the figure is distributed within either economy.

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

The latest year moved both by a similar amount: +3.4% in Hungary and +3.3% in Latvia.

Both moved up in the latest year, which leaves the ordering between them unchanged.

Widening the window to five years, the stronger of the two is Hungary: +18.8% against +12.3%.

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

Across ten years both series are up — +48.3% for Hungary and +38.8% for Latvia. Over this horizon the two share a direction, and the difference between them is one of pace.

Both are at their historical peaks in the latest year, so neither series is currently below a previous high.

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	Hungary	Latvia	Difference (HUN − LVA)	HUN vs U.S.	LVA vs U.S.
Overall	45.1	52.2	−7.1	−54.9	−47.8
Food	81.6	90.2	−8.6	−18.4	−9.8
Clothing	76.4	92.5	−16.1	−23.6	−7.5
Housing	35.6	31.1	+4.5	−64.4	−68.9
Health	19.2	31	−11.8	−80.8	−69.0
Transport	84.4	86.4	−2.0	−15.6	−13.6
Recreation	55.7	70.9	−15.2	−44.3	−29.1
Restaurants & Accommodation	56.7	75.4	−18.7	−43.3	−24.6

Overall
Hungary45.1
Latvia52.2
Difference−7.1
HUN vs U.S.−54.9
LVA vs U.S.−47.8
Food
Hungary81.6
Latvia90.2
Difference−8.6
HUN vs U.S.−18.4
LVA vs U.S.−9.8
Clothing
Hungary76.4
Latvia92.5
Difference−16.1
HUN vs U.S.−23.6
LVA vs U.S.−7.5
Housing
Hungary35.6
Latvia31.1
Difference+4.5
HUN vs U.S.−64.4
LVA vs U.S.−68.9
Health
Hungary19.2
Latvia31
Difference−11.8
HUN vs U.S.−80.8
LVA vs U.S.−69.0
Transport
Hungary84.4
Latvia86.4
Difference−2.0
HUN vs U.S.−15.6
LVA vs U.S.−13.6
Recreation
Hungary55.7
Latvia70.9
Difference−15.2
HUN vs U.S.−44.3
LVA vs U.S.−29.1
Restaurants & Accommodation
Hungary56.7
Latvia75.4
Difference−18.7
HUN vs U.S.−43.3
LVA vs U.S.−24.6

Hungary and Latvia in Detail

Current Wage Position

Hungary reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $39,145 for 2025, and Latvia $44,709 for 2025. That puts Latvia ahead by 14.2%.

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 Hungary changed by +3.4% and Latvia by +3.3%. 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, Hungary records the larger change at +18.8%, against +12.3% for Latvia. 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 +48.3% for Hungary and +38.8% for Latvia. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Hungary reached its highest recorded value of $39,145 in 2025, and the latest figure sits 0.0% from that high.

Latvia peaked at $44,709 in 2025, leaving its latest value 0.0% away from that point.

Both long-term series move the same way, so the difference between these two economies is one of degree over ten years rather than of direction.

Consumer Price Profile

Against the United States benchmark of 100, overall consumption sits at 45.1 in Hungary and 52.2 in Latvia — −7.1 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Restaurants & Accommodation (−18.7) and Clothing (−16.1).

Transport is where they are nearest, at 84.4 and 86.4.

Across the categories with data, Latvia 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.