What is the average salary in Switzerland?

According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, the average gross salary in Switzerland is CHF 79,980 per year which is CHF 6,665 per month. Breaking it down by gender, we can see that men in Switzerland earn approximately CHF 6,963 gross monthly salary (median) and women earn CHF 6,211. 

‍Full-time employees in Switzerland earn higher than the national gross average with an annual salary of around CHF 83,700. Full-time male employees earn CHF 87,500 while full-time female employees are estimated to earn CHF 75,000.

Analysing Average Salaries in Switzerland

The average salary in Switzerland is much higher than the average salary in other European countries like the UK and Austria. Within Switzerland, average wages vary as well, for example the northwestern region where Basel is located, the average monthly wage is the highest in the country (CHF 7,048). Looking to the south we find the Ticino region where average wages are the lowest reported at CHF 5,216. Swiss map.

‍

Gross income by occupation group‍

Thanks to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office we’ve also got access to salary data based on occupation. With this, you can drill down further to compare your salary with those people in the same occupation to see how you measure up. You can also compare average salary based on gender. Annual salary (CHF) by occupation:

‍

Key industries and job roles

Now, let’s look at some specific roles based on industry, and analyse their average salaries (Glassdoor data). Below, we've outlined notable sectors along with their corresponding average salary ranges (CHF):

Information Technology (IT):

• IT Manager: 120,000
• Software Engineer: 105,000
• Data Analyst: 87,000

Finance:

• Financial Analyst: 93,500
• Accountant: 72,000
• Investment Banker: 98,000

Healthcare:

• General Practitioner: 75,000
• Registered Nurse: 61,500
• Surgeon: 203,000

Engineering:

• Mechanical Engineer: 88,000
• Civil Engineer: 79,000
• Electrical Engineer: 91,500

Marketing:

• Marketing Manager: 90,500
• Social Media Manager: 75,000
• Graphic Designer: 79,000

‍

Factors influencing salary levels

Aside from occupation and industry, the next biggest factors that can push your potential earnings higher are experience, education, location, company, and market trends. Let’s go through each of these factors and discuss why and how they influence salary. 

1. Experience:

• Pay generally increases parallel to the years of experience that you have in your industry or career. Experience also factors into title changes (i.e. from individual contributor to manager) and promotions within a company — organisational movements tend to mean a salary increase. As you gain more years of experience, you will be offered more money, you’ll have more job opportunities, and your earning potential will increase. This is assuming experience = skill (which is not always true) and that you are in a role that requires skill. 

2. Education and qualifications:

• A good education will help you get your foot in the door, and can go towards securing a higher paying entry-level/grad position. Top companies (like Google and Meta) have requirements for entry-level positions which can include a masters degree in a specific field. If you have that degree, well, you have a competitive advantage, and if you land the job you’ll likely earn $20K - $40K more than your peers. Secondly, education factors into getting a work visa in many European countries (including Switzerland).

3. Location:

• In most cases, you’ll have a higher earning potential in the city compared to a town or regional location (this is across most professions). Based on the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, we can see that average wages also vary between cantons — this doesn’t necessarily mean that if you were to move canton you’d earn more, but it does indicate that higher earners are living in that region. You generally find top earners in locations where there are higher paying jobs and better job opportunities (corporates and multinational companies). The map below shows the average monthly wages by Swiss region. 

4. Company size and industry demand:

• Larger companies have bigger budgets and can afford to pay higher salaries to attract top talent. Shifting from a smaller company to a multinational or tech company will increase your salary. Startups generally pay employees the least amount but there can be high earning potential if you’ve got stocks or equity and you stick with that company until it gets acquired. Scaleups and unicorns have a lot of funding from investors and so can pay a bit higher — growth and management positions can earn significantly more. And then there’s the big tech companies like Spotify and Stripe that’ll only hire top talent but compensate them very well. 

5. Market trends and economic conditions:

• The health of the economy and what’s trending directly influence where investors put their money. As a downstream effect, this affects how companies behave and where resources are allocated. If investors are putting all of their cash into machine learning startups and AI, then we’ll see companies shifting in that direction. Salaries will be higher in hot markets and for specialists who have those desired skills. The same thing if investors stop investing or pull back significantly, we see hiring freezes and layoffs. In a market like that, HR and recruiting is redundant, and that’s why a lot of these roles are on the chopping block. 

Average salary in other European Countries

‍

Summary

While the average gross salary in Switzerland is CHF 79,980 per year, your salary might vary based on the factors discussed above. Use the market data from above to pinpoint an accurate salary range based on your experience, occupation, and industry. As a starting point, you can use the salary calculator created by the Swiss government. On the off chance that you are earning lower than the national average, it might be time to find a new job. For tech jobs check out the WeAreDevelopers job board and see what new opportunities await!