Netherlands vs Australia

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

Netherlands

Average wage (2025)

$80,136

1-year change: +1.9%
5-year change: −2.0%

Overall price level (2024)

78.4 (United States = 100)

Netherlands's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is approximately 11.3% higher than Australia's.

Australia

Average wage (2025)

$72,018

1-year change: +1.1%
5-year change: −1.4%

Overall price level (2024)

92.7 (United States = 100)

Netherlands has the higher latest average wage of the two, by 11.3% on a PPP-adjusted basis. Over five years Australia shows the stronger change (−1.4% against −2.0%). Overall consumer prices are higher in Australia, at 92.7 against 78.4 on the United States = 100 scale — a gap of +14.3 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)

NetherlandsAustralia

USD PPP, constant 2025 prices

Wage Key Facts

Metric	Netherlands	Australia
Latest wage	$80,136	$72,018
Latest year	2025	2025
1-year change	+1.9%	+1.1%
5-year change	−2.0%	−1.4%
10-year change	−3.1%	+2.2%
Historical peak	$83,103	$73,870
Peak year	2016	2021
Change from peak	−3.6%	−2.5%

How the Wage Trends Compare

Current Position

Netherlands records the higher figure: $80,136 against $72,018, a gap of 11.3%. 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

Netherlands had the stronger latest year (+1.9% 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 Australia: −1.4% against −2.0%.

For both, the latest year runs against the five-year direction — a short-term move that the medium-term series does not yet reflect.

Long-Term Direction

The ten-year direction splits between them: −3.1% for Netherlands against +2.2% for Australia. 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: Netherlands is 3.6% from its 2016 high and Australia 2.5% 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	Netherlands	Australia	Difference (NLD − AUS)	NLD vs U.S.	AUS vs U.S.
Overall	78.4	92.7	−14.3	−21.6	−7.3
Food	84.4	101	−16.6	−15.6	+1.0
Clothing	82.7	69.5	+13.2	−17.3	−30.5
Housing	73.1	91.8	−18.7	−26.9	−8.2
Health	60.8	86.9	−26.1	−39.2	−13.1
Transport	119	99.3	+19.7	+19.0	−0.7
Recreation	90	95.2	−5.2	−10.0	−4.8
Restaurants & Accommodation	99.2	115	−15.8	−0.8	+15.0

Overall
Netherlands78.4
Australia92.7
Difference−14.3
NLD vs U.S.−21.6
AUS vs U.S.−7.3
Food
Netherlands84.4
Australia101
Difference−16.6
NLD vs U.S.−15.6
AUS vs U.S.+1.0
Clothing
Netherlands82.7
Australia69.5
Difference+13.2
NLD vs U.S.−17.3
AUS vs U.S.−30.5
Housing
Netherlands73.1
Australia91.8
Difference−18.7
NLD vs U.S.−26.9
AUS vs U.S.−8.2
Health
Netherlands60.8
Australia86.9
Difference−26.1
NLD vs U.S.−39.2
AUS vs U.S.−13.1
Transport
Netherlands119
Australia99.3
Difference+19.7
NLD vs U.S.+19.0
AUS vs U.S.−0.7
Recreation
Netherlands90
Australia95.2
Difference−5.2
NLD vs U.S.−10.0
AUS vs U.S.−4.8
Restaurants & Accommodation
Netherlands99.2
Australia115
Difference−15.8
NLD vs U.S.−0.8
AUS vs U.S.+15.0

Netherlands and Australia in Detail

Current Wage Position

Netherlands reports a PPP-adjusted average annual wage of $80,136 for 2025, and Australia $72,018 for 2025. That puts Netherlands ahead by 11.3%.

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 Netherlands changed by +1.9% and Australia by +1.1%. 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, Australia records the larger change at −1.4%, against −2.0% for Netherlands. 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 −3.1% for Netherlands and +2.2% for Australia. This is the longest horizon the data covers, and it is the one least affected by any single year's movement.

Netherlands reached its highest recorded value of $83,103 in 2016, and the latest figure sits 3.6% from that high.

Australia peaked at $73,870 in 2021, leaving its latest value 2.5% 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 78.4 in Netherlands and 92.7 in Australia — −14.3 index points apart.

The categories that separate them most are Health (−26.1) and Transport (+19.7).

Recreation is where they are nearest, at 90 and 95.2.

Across the categories with data, Australia 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.