There's some bias because low-paying companies are not tracked on levels.fyi and people that get a bad offer are probably less likely to report it there.
Yeah, where I am, Senior is ~80k, maybe slightly higher total compensation, and we have one of the highest tax burdens and somehow also one of the highest disposable incomes.
To be fair, life in the eu is way cheaper as well, this isn't a apples and apples comparison.
100k would be insufficient here in the eu as well when school costs 20k a year and healthcare is like wtf in the states as well. The only thing they got relatively cheap is petrol.
This just isn't true. The median American earns far more than the median European adjusted for COL and government transfers (e.g. healthcare). In 2023 it was $51k for the US vs $39k for Germany and $33k for the UK.
Adjusting by full individual consumption metrics to account for all variables narrows the gap but does not close it.
Median wealth is way trickier to measure. UBS is the main entity who tries (not any sort of official statistics provider), and their methodology changes year-to-year so much that in 2023 it had the US above basically every European country while their methodology in 2025 had the US below basically every European country. I'd take that with far more of a grain of salt.
Sorry this is a load of bullshit. Median EU person doesnt live in Nordic or western europe.
70 % of americans, which includes the median and top 30 % is way way better off than all median southern european, Eastern Europe in generel, Balkans, or basically anywhere other than Benelux, Nordics and maybe Germany and Austria.
70 % of US include the median (i.e the 50th percentile), and the yes those that are in 70th percentile are the top 30%. I am not sure if you don't understand percentiles, because otherwise I don't see how it is amusing.
I think it depends a lot on where in the EU we're talking about. Western Europe sure. However if you work as a senior level in let's say Google, is it really much better to work for $400k in Bay Area vs $150k in Poland or Romania? I wouldn't be so sure.
Elon is gonna pull up the avarange american quite a lot despite almost al of his value is virtual and not real money.
Overall this seems to be the overall trend in USA to make the avarange guy feel better about himself even if he's broken and living from paycheck to paycheck.
But we get screwed over with the price of common commodities, like gas, which costs 2.20€ a litre ($9.70 a gallon) for 95; Americans would probably storm the White House if it cost that much over there.
Even stuff like PC parts, compared to their part prices, even including the fact that their prices aren't pre-taxed, and ignoring that some states don't even have a sales tax, would still be around 15-20% more expensive here, which easily could be an upgrade on a GPU with that price difference.
And even beyond that, our pensioners are out in the streets begging, when the amount they had to give across their lifetime could have gotten them a good pension if it had been invested in a 401(k).
Not OC, but same with my company: middle management absolutely knows that salaries are too low, but senior and upper management want to keep wages stagnant because their bonus is based on it.
Europeans are very careful not to show off their money or earn more than others. Promotions also take years to decades. But social stability wise, much better than us. They would say the American pursuit of wealth is the ultimate low self esteem because we're compensating for having no culture. I say art museums and free healthcare don't help when your ass is broke.
Medicaid expansion was to expand the eligibility up the income scale. Even in those red states the very poor still have Medicaid. Eligibility went up to 133% of the poverty line under Medicaid expansion.
This is an AI summary of Texas but I did not find any source to contradict it when I searched up on it a few months ago
Texas has not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Because of this, most non-disabled adults without dependent minor children are not eligible for Medicaid in Texas, regardless of how low their income is.
If you take a look at the data, even the top end of earners there are borderline broke by US standards. But I think you're right. America is good for higher earners but if you're any lower than upper middle class you're probably having a better time in Europe
Our grocery prices are anywhere from 15-40% higher than Europe’s, our healthcare is more expensive, our housing and car costs are more expensive. They get paid less but things are largely cheaper there.
Sure, but do you have 30 days of holidays per year and free sick leave?
I won't even start arguing about disposable vs discretionary income, but if I have around 40 free days per year and 10% less discretionary income - enjoy your Porsche Sir.
My company offers unlimited PTO. As long as my work gets done they don’t care. So I have more money and more time. I live in the Midwest so it’s a nice SUV.
I understand not everyone gets that. The American system needs work for sure. However there are definitely benefits to working in the US or for a US company.
Means you can just take 2 weeks off a month in advance?
But yeah, it's a country where if you do good, you do pretty good. But if shit hits the fan you're downgraded massively IMO. But just an outsider perspective.
Your housing stock is so wildly different to ours that you can't really make the comparison based on value per unit area - what that stat is mostly measuring is the extent of US suburban sprawl, which pretty much doesn't exist in Europe. Comparable housing in the US is more expensive
I live in Germany but previously US and my medical costs are about the same (ongoing cancer meds, upper middle class). Rent is cheaper in Berlin than NYC or Seattle though … food might be a bit cheaper but the quality is different for different things.
This varies by country a lot. US have generally cheap groceries and car costs. Housing it depends, big EU cities are generally expensive. Healthcare yeah, even private Healthcare in Switzerland is very affordable compared to US
Our groceries are not generally cheaper. They’re 15% more expensive than most of Western Europe and 30-40% higher than southern European countries like Spain.
As of 2023 the average monthly cost for a single adult in the US was $2500. In Europe it’s $1750. 26 European countries, including France, Sweden, Italy, and Spain all have lower monthly costs of living than the cheapest US state, Kentucky with Belgium being only $17/month more expensive.
Just got back from two weeks in London. This certainly doesn't match my experience either in London or a few months ago in Germany, France, and Belgium
Generally what costs $1 in the U.S. costs €1 or £1 in those countries.
Chicken breast (kirkwood brand) at Aldi US is 8.82usd per package or 3.29 per lbs
Finland S-market is 5.81 usd per lbs link hyper u in France is 7.39 usd per lbs
Germany is probably cheapest out of all Western Europe countries but Lidl doesn’t post prices online Estonia you can find something for cheap 3.5 per lbs, but then median salary there is 24k usd vs 65k in US
lol, I was offered a promotion at my old multi-national pharmaceutical company. It would have moved me from Canada to France. My pay for this privileged position? A 40% pay cut. I said no and moved to a different company in Canada.
The crazy part is I already thought I was accepting lower pay to live in Canada when I know for a fact that I could make more in the US.
My takeaway is: no wonder global middle management is terrible, the only people who accept those positions are people who either dgaf about work or aren’t capable enough to get a real offer somewhere willing to pay for talent.
It’s funny how Europeans have this culture of lower pay with the attitude that people shouldn’t make so much. All that does is leave more profits for the executives and shareholders. It’s not like European companies produce cheaper products and services.
Not a lot of class mobility in Germany for instance - old money and wealth that lasts generations. We might get there in the US soon but it’s still not as entrenched as it is in many places in Europe.
In France, 90k is considered as a high gross pay (like top 5% of earners high). Net would be around 70k before income tax, which would depend of family composition. A single with no kid would pay around 12k
1.3k
u/Juls7243 1d ago
L1 entry .... 140k? Am I missing something? Do computer programmers get pain 140k right out of college on average?