Mexico vs Estonia

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

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)

Estonia's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 67.7% higher than Mexico's.

Estonia

Average wage (2025)

$41,019

1-year change: +1.4%
5-year change: +1.6%

Overall price level (2024)

63.6 (United States = 100)

Estonia has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 67.7% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Mexico shows the stronger change (+8.9% against +1.6%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Estonia, at 63.6 against 50.9 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +12.7 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)

MexicoEstonia

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Mexico	Estonia
Latest wage	$24,463	$41,019
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	+1.3%	+1.4%
5-year change	+8.9%	+1.6%
10-year change	+9.7%	+27.6%
Historical peak	$27,014	$42,741
Peak year	1994	2021
Change from peak	−9.4%	−4.0%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Estonia records the higher figure: $41,019 against $24,463, a gap of 67.7%. 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

The latest year moved both by a similar amount: +1.3% in Mexico and +1.4% in Estonia.

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 Mexico: +8.9% against +1.6%.

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 — +9.7% for Mexico and +27.6% for Estonia. Over this horizon the two share a direction, and the difference between them is one of pace.

Neither is at its peak: Mexico is 9.4% from its 1994 high and Estonia 4.0% from its 2021 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	Mexico	Estonia	Difference (MEX − EST)	MEX vs U.S.	EST vs U.S.
Overall	50.9	63.6	−12.7	−49.1	−36.4
Food	88.3	91.2	−2.9	−11.7	−8.8
Clothing	72	105	−33.0	−28.0	+5.0
Housing	42.7	54.9	−12.2	−57.3	−45.1
Health	46	41.4	+4.6	−54.0	−58.6
Transport	80.6	98.5	−17.9	−19.4	−1.5
Recreation	63.3	83.8	−20.5	−36.7	−16.2
Restaurants & Accommodation	65.1	80.7	−15.6	−34.9	−19.3

Overall
Mexico50.9
Estonia63.6
Difference−12.7
MEX vs U.S.−49.1
EST vs U.S.−36.4
Food
Mexico88.3
Estonia91.2
Difference−2.9
MEX vs U.S.−11.7
EST vs U.S.−8.8
Clothing
Mexico72
Estonia105
Difference−33.0
MEX vs U.S.−28.0
EST vs U.S.+5.0
Housing
Mexico42.7
Estonia54.9
Difference−12.2
MEX vs U.S.−57.3
EST vs U.S.−45.1
Health
Mexico46
Estonia41.4
Difference+4.6
MEX vs U.S.−54.0
EST vs U.S.−58.6
Transport
Mexico80.6
Estonia98.5
Difference−17.9
MEX vs U.S.−19.4
EST vs U.S.−1.5
Recreation
Mexico63.3
Estonia83.8
Difference−20.5
MEX vs U.S.−36.7
EST vs U.S.−16.2
Restaurants & Accommodation
Mexico65.1
Estonia80.7
Difference−15.6
MEX vs U.S.−34.9
EST vs U.S.−19.3

Mexico and Estonia in Detail

Current Wage Position

Mexico reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $24,463 for 2025, and Estonia $41,019 for 2025. That puts Estonia ahead by 67.7%.

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 Mexico changed by +1.3% and Estonia by +1.4%. 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 +1.6% for Estonia. 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 +9.7% for Mexico and +27.6% for Estonia. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Mexico reached its highest recorded value of $27,014 in 1994, and the latest figure sits 9.4% from that high.

Estonia peaked at $42,741 in 2021, leaving its latest value 4.0% 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 50.9 in Mexico and 63.6 in Estonia — −12.7 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Clothing (−33.0) and Recreation (−20.5).

Food is where they are nearest, at 88.3 and 91.2.

Across the categories with data, Estonia 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.