In England the average salary is only 29.00 Euros higher than in Germany. But living costs in England are 11.5% higher than in Germany. A similar situation is also in Italy. In Italy, the living costs are 3.9% lower than in Germany. But the average salary is also about 800.00 Euro lower than the average salary in Germany.

The cost of living in Germany may seem higher, but they are stable and adapted according to the wages here.

Here`s an example of what the cost of living in Germany might look like:

Household 1 person, small town

  • Rent (about 60m²) € 270.00
  • Electricity € 38.00
  • Heat € 38.00
  • Utilities (water, sewer, garbage collection) € 25.00
  • Radio and TV fee € 17.50
  • Phone & Internet € 20.00
  • Living costs (Food, beverages, clothing, hygiene) € 250.00
  • Total costs per month: € 658.50

Household 2 people, big city

  • Rent (about 60m²) € 500.00
  • Electricity € 55.00
  • Heat € 38.00
  • Utilities (water, sewer, garbage collection) € 30.00
  • Radio and TV fee € 17.50
  • Phone & Internet € 20.00
  • Living costs (Food, beverages, clothing, hygiene) € 500.00
  • Total costs per month: € 1,177.50

These are large sums for you – it`s understandable

But compared to the wages in Germany, the cost of living here is still normal.

But how much is left from your gross salary as a nurse in Germany?

Unfortunately, we do not have a single answer for everyone, because the net salary depends on various aspects related to tax and social aspects. However, we will try to show you some examples of how you can calculate your net salary.

Because the hourly wage in the nursing homes varies between € 12.00 and € 15.00 and there is a big difference between single and married staff, we created 4 situations. In our examples we calculated two Sunday shifts with a benefit of 25%. Depending on the location, this benefit can vary between 25% -100%. Holidays were not taken into account. Moreover, there is the possibility to obtain a non-taxable bonus of € 40.00 in every senior care home. In conclusion, your net salary may actually be much higher than showed in our examples.

We took the “worst case scenario” to give you a real picture of how the salary is set up in Germany.

Single person – € 13.50 per hour

  • Hourly wage € 13.50
  • Hours worked per month 173.5 h
  • Gross salary € 2,342.25
  • Sunday benefit 25% € 23.63
  • Sunday benefit 25% € 23.63
  • Gross total € 2,389.50
  • Income tax € 252.25
  • Pension insurance € 213.99
  • Social insurance € 34.52
  • Medical insurance € 193.28
  • Care insurance € 35.09
  • Total net € 1,660.37

Single person – € 14.50 per hour

  • Hourly wage € 14.50
  • Hours worked per month 173.5 h
  • Gross salary € 2,515.75
  • Sunday benefit 25% € 25.38
  • Sunday benefit 25% € 25.38
  • Gross total € 2,566.50
  • Income tax € 314.58
  • Pension insurance € 238.64
  • Social insurance € 38.49
  • Medical insurance € 215.54
  • Care insurance € 39.13
  • Total net € 1,720.12

Married – € 13.00 per hour

  • Hourly wage € 13.00
  • Hours worked per month 173.5 h
  • Gross salary € 2,255.50
  • Sunday benefit 25% € 22.75
  • Sunday benefit 25% € 22.75
  • Gross total € 2,301.00
  • Income tax € 49.16
  • Pension insurance € 213.99
  • Social insurance € 34.52
  • Medical insurance € 193.28
  • Care insurance € 35.09
  • Total net € 1,774.96

Married – € 14.50 per hour

  • Hourly wage € 14.50
  • Hours worked per month 173.5 h
  • Gross salary € 2,515.75
  • Sunday benefit 25% € 25.38
  • Sunday benefit 25% € 25.38
  • Gross total € 2,566.50
  • Income tax € 96.66
  • Pension insurance € 238.64
  • Social insurance € 38.49
  • Medical insurance € 215.54
  • Care insurance € 39.13
  • Total net € 1,938.04