Luxembourg vs Ireland

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

Luxembourg

Average wage (2025)

$98,530

1-year change: +1.1%
5-year change: +8.3%

Overall price level (2024)

96.6 (United States = 100)

Luxembourg's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 40.5% higher than Ireland's.

Ireland

Average wage (2025)

$70,113

1-year change: +1.8%
5-year change: −2.8%

Overall price level (2024)

92.2 (United States = 100)

Luxembourg has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 40.5% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Luxembourg shows the stronger change (+8.3% against −2.8%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Luxembourg, at 96.6 against 92.2 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +4.4 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)

LuxembourgIreland

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Luxembourg	Ireland
Latest wage	$98,530	$70,113
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	+1.1%	+1.8%
5-year change	+8.3%	−2.8%
10-year change	+11.0%	+4.6%
Historical peak	$98,530	$72,356
Peak year	2025	2021
Change from peak	0.0%	−3.1%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Luxembourg records the higher figure: $98,530 against $70,113, a gap of 40.5%. 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

Ireland had the stronger latest year (+1.8% against +1.1%).

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 Luxembourg: +8.3% against −2.8%.

This is where the two separate: Ireland's latest year runs against its own five-year direction, while Luxembourg's does not. Short-term and medium-term signals agree for one and conflict for the other.

Long-Term Direction

Across ten years both series are up — +11.0% for Luxembourg and +4.6% for Ireland. Over this horizon the two share a direction, and the difference between them is one of pace.

Luxembourg is at its historical peak in the latest year, while Ireland sits 3.1% from its high of 2021. One has recovered its previous ground and the other has not.

The gap has been widening rather than closing over the five-year window: the economy that already reported the higher wage is also the one growing faster.

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	Luxembourg	Ireland	Difference (LUX − IRL)	LUX vs U.S.	IRL vs U.S.
Overall	96.6	92.2	+4.4	−3.4	−7.8
Food	106	98.1	+7.9	+6.0	−1.9
Clothing	99.7	88.7	+11.0	−0.3	−11.3
Housing	99.4	104	−4.6	−0.6	+4.0
Health	77.1	84.4	−7.3	−22.9	−15.6
Transport	101	114	−13.0	+1.0	+14.0
Recreation	97.1	92	+5.1	−2.9	−8.0
Restaurants & Accommodation	101	105	−4.0	+1.0	+5.0

Overall
Luxembourg96.6
Ireland92.2
Difference+4.4
LUX vs U.S.−3.4
IRL vs U.S.−7.8
Food
Luxembourg106
Ireland98.1
Difference+7.9
LUX vs U.S.+6.0
IRL vs U.S.−1.9
Clothing
Luxembourg99.7
Ireland88.7
Difference+11.0
LUX vs U.S.−0.3
IRL vs U.S.−11.3
Housing
Luxembourg99.4
Ireland104
Difference−4.6
LUX vs U.S.−0.6
IRL vs U.S.+4.0
Health
Luxembourg77.1
Ireland84.4
Difference−7.3
LUX vs U.S.−22.9
IRL vs U.S.−15.6
Transport
Luxembourg101
Ireland114
Difference−13.0
LUX vs U.S.+1.0
IRL vs U.S.+14.0
Recreation
Luxembourg97.1
Ireland92
Difference+5.1
LUX vs U.S.−2.9
IRL vs U.S.−8.0
Restaurants & Accommodation
Luxembourg101
Ireland105
Difference−4.0
LUX vs U.S.+1.0
IRL vs U.S.+5.0

Luxembourg and Ireland in Detail

Current Wage Position

Luxembourg reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $98,530 for 2025, and Ireland $70,113 for 2025. That puts Luxembourg ahead by 40.5%.

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 Luxembourg changed by +1.1% and Ireland by +1.8%. 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, Luxembourg records the larger change at +8.3%, against −2.8% for Ireland. 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 +11.0% for Luxembourg and +4.6% for Ireland. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Luxembourg reached its highest recorded value of $98,530 in 2025, and the latest figure sits 0.0% from that high.

Ireland peaked at $72,356 in 2021, leaving its latest value 3.1% 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 96.6 in Luxembourg and 92.2 in Ireland — +4.4 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Transport (−13.0) and Clothing (+11.0).

Restaurants & Accommodation is where they are nearest, at 101 and 105.

Across the categories with data, Ireland 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.