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Start your search with the Federal Employment Agency (BA), Make it in Germany, and EURES. To compare pay, use the BA’s Entgeltatlas and hold the occupation, occupational level, region, and data year constant. Its figures are gross monthly medians for observed groups—not a guaranteed offer or an arithmetic average.
Where to look for jobs in Germany
Federal Employment Agency (BA)
The BA job-search service is a public starting point for vacancies and advice. Its staff can help match jobs to your qualifications, explain requirements for working in Germany, and review application documents. The BA says, “Our advice and support are free of charge.”
Make it in Germany
The federal government’s Make it in Germany job-search guidance is aimed at skilled professionals from abroad. Its listings include BA vacancies for which employers welcome applications from abroad. The portal also describes speculative applications and online profiles as possible ways to approach employers. It provides information for arranging a job search, visa application, and travel; it does not say you must use a service provider.
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EURES, the European employment portal, lists vacancies across Europe and offers information about living and working conditions, adviser contacts, and job fairs. You can also search employer career pages, other job portals, and professional networks. On German employer sites, useful search terms include “Stellenangebote,” “Karriere,” and “Vakanzen.”
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Private recruitment agencies are another option, not a requirement. The Make it in Germany guidance advises checking fees in advance and assessing an agency’s reputation.
Check an offer before sharing information or paying
The BA warns job seekers to be cautious about questionable offers. If something seems doubtful, do not pay; verify the contact details; do not accept a contract before the employer has checked your suitability or you have had an interview; and do not share personal data when you cannot verify the contact.
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How to compare salaries by region
Use the Entgeltatlas for an occupation-specific comparison
Search the BA’s Entgeltatlas and pay statistics for an occupation, then select Germany, a federal state, or an available city. The interface includes places such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Leipzig, and Stuttgart. The BA statistics portal also links to regional wage maps, occupation comparisons, and annual tables.
- Choose the occupation and check the displayed group. Individual job titles are mapped to occupational aggregates. Confirm that the result represents the work you mean, and keep the occupational requirement level the same in each comparison.
- Choose one geographic level. Compare city with city, state with state, or national with national. A city result and a state result are not interchangeable.
- Use the same data year. Pay can change from year to year, so do not mix years when comparing places.
- Compare gross monthly medians. A median divides the observed group in half: one half earns less and the other half earns more. It is not an arithmetic average or a promised salary for a new hire.
Latest nationwide and state benchmarks
The BA’s release published on 20 July 2026 reports 2025 gross monthly medians for full-time employees subject to social-security contributions, based on workplace location. These are broad workforce figures, not occupation-specific pay rates.
| Location | 2025 median gross monthly wage |
|---|---|
| Germany | €4,217 |
| Hamburg | €4,768 |
| Baden-Württemberg | €4,546 |
| Hesse | €4,530 |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | €3,294 |
| Thuringia | €3,307 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | €3,353 |
According to the BA, the nationwide median increased by €203, or 5.1%, from 2024 to 2025. The figures and coverage definitions are given in the BA’s 20 July 2026 release. Use the Entgeltatlas, rather than these all-worker figures, to answer what a particular occupation earns in a city or state.
What the BA salary figures include—and what they do not
The Entgeltatlas reports median wages for full-time employees subject to social-security contributions, using a 31 December reference date. Employers report wages only up to the pension-insurance contribution assessment ceiling; for 2025, that ceiling was €8,050 per month. The BA may suppress an occupational or regional result if fewer than 500 employees support it. In some cases, the atlas instead displays a similar grouping with enough employees. Its Entgeltatlas help page explains these limits and its methodology.
These medians describe an observed workforce, whose pay reflects factors such as regional wages, collective agreements, and workers’ employment histories. The BA’s annual wage tables include further dimensions—occupation, qualification, working time, age, industry, and employer size—that can help explain why two results differ. Occupational classifications may also change between years, so check the group and year displayed before drawing a conclusion.
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Gross pay alone does not show take-home pay or purchasing power. The official wage sources described here do not provide a matched regional cost-of-living comparison, so a higher regional gross median is not, by itself, evidence of a better standard of living.
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Prepare an application for the German market
Read the vacancy carefully for required documents and apply directly to the company, commonly through its website or by email. The BA recommends a tabular CV of no more than two pages, with the most recent experience first. Include relevant work history, qualifications, further training, internships, and language skills, and provide certificates or certifications where required.
Before applying or relocating, check whether the job requires a particular German-language level, a visa, or official recognition of your qualifications. Some qualifications need recognition before you can work in the relevant role. The BA’s job-search guidance provides application support and information on working in Germany.
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