HOUSE RENTS AND MONTHLY SALARIES BY STATES IN GERMANY
Comparison of house rents in different states and salaries paid for some professions in Germany
(This article was originally written in Turkish on December 1st, 2019 and updated before publishing in English.)
Hello there…
In this episode of our “Life in Germany” blog series, we will talk about house rents in Germany and average salaries for various professions. The topic of house rents and salaries in Germany is a very detailed and variable subject. I do not want to over-stretch and bore you with a monotonous course, and I want to give you the healthiest information possible. Therefore, we will take a middle course: I will explain the subject through five major cities, each in different states and geographically not very close to each other, even located in completely different geographical directions of Germany. So we will examine house rents and salary levels based on five different German cities. Thus, even if the place where you want to live in Germany is not included in the list of five cities, you will be able to get an “approximate” idea about the averages by taking the nearest city as an example. At the end of this chapter, we also analyzed “where to live in Germany?”
The lucky cities selected are:
Of course, the capital city Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, and Leipzig…
Yes, then let’s start with Berlin…
Berlin is a vast city, and it is also a state. It is divided into regions that differ sociologically, culturally, and economically. Therefore, rents in Berlin may also vary from region to region. As a matter of fact, there are similar regional differences in living standards in all German cities, but these differences are more noticeable in Berlin.
Berlin has reached its present geographical structure during its long, very long history as many different cities have been merged and included in the city borders. Perhaps one of the reasons for these distinct regional differences may be these mergers.
Without further ado, let’s come to rents…
As a piece of preliminary information, the number of rooms in Germany is not mentioned separately from the living room. In other words, the phrase two bedrooms one living room does not exist in Germany. Instead, it’s called three rooms directly. It is even possible to hear size evaluations such as 2.5 rooms, 1.5 rooms, etc. These half rooms are usually rooms ranging from 6 to 12 m2 and are mostly associated with kitchens or areas of use such as cellars and wardrobes. After giving this additional information, let’s take a look at the rents of one-bedroom houses in Berlin.
The size of the one-room houses in Berlin ranges from 20 to 45 square meters on average, and the rents are between 200 Euros and 560 Euros — as long as they are not too luxurious. All the rents that I mentioned and will talk about are “Kaltmiete,” by the way. In other words, it is an amount consisting only of rent, without any extra expenses. When you add the garbage tax, water, heating, and similar costs, our rent is called “Warmmiete.” So to translate directly, cold rent and hot rent…
The extra expenses I mentioned are called “Nebenkosten,” that is, side expenses, and your expenses such as electricity and telephone are not included under this heading. You provide such services yourself by making annual or biennial binding agreements with one of the many companies in the private sector that you find suitable.
The side expenses of the unfurnished house with a rental value of 560 Euros, which does not fall into the luxury category but seems to be the most expensive of the mid-range homes in the rental range I mentioned, are 110 Euros. Moreover, the heating costs are also stated as 50 Euros per month, and the total rent, “Warmmiete,” is 720 Euros. We are talking about a one-room, 45 m2 house. By the way, it is helpful to add when I say single room: There is also an American-style kitchen and a separate bathroom in one corner of this room. This style is the case in all of the houses that are referred to as one-room.
Let me specify one more detail at this point: It is also likely that the kitchen consists of just plumbing.
In other words, you will likely have to buy your own “ready to fit kitchen.” If the fitted kitchen is already in the house you rent, this can also be considered one factor that increases the rent. Suppose you have had to buy and build the kitchen yourself. In that case, you can sell it on the internet while you vacate, or if you are lucky and you have the opportunity to get to know the tenant who will rent the house after you, you will have the chance to transfer it for a reasonable price by making an agreement with them. If none of these happens, you have to disassemble and take your kitchen away.
Yes, let’s come to the two-room houses…
In two-room houses, the choices look a little more abundant and diverse.
In the options that cannot be considered luxurious, the houses vary between 35 mt2 and 70 m2, and their rents range from 290 Euros to 770 Euros. When 180 Euros of heating and side expenses are added to the rent of our most expensive house, the total rent reaches 950 Euros.
In three-room places, the dimensions start from 65 mt2 and range up to 90 m2, and the rents vary between 325 Euros and 925 Euros. The most expensive middle-class house heating and side expenses are 200 Euros in total.
Finally, in 4-room residences, the dimensions are between 80 mt2 and 140 m2, while the rents vary between 450 Euros and 1850 Euros. The heating and side expenses are 350 Euros in total, in the most expensive house, which we cannot call luxurious.
By the way, let me point out without skipping that the location of the house is one of the most important determining factors in terms of rent in Germany as well as everywhere else. Houses close to shopping places, public transport stops, and famous places are listed with higher rents, especially those in the city center are naturally the most expensive. Therefore, a 4-room house of 80 mt2, which you can find for 450 Euros, is probably quite far from the city center, no matter where in Germany it is.
Now let’s talk about the average monthly salaries paid to some professionals in Berlin…
Just like in the matter of “Kaltmiete-Warmmiete,” there is a net salary-gross salary situation here, and the amounts that I will talk about in this section will be entirely based on gross salary. The net amount you receive from your gross salary in Germany varies depending on whether you are married, whether you have children, and if you are married, how you and your spouse split taxation. There are various taxation classes, and according to these classifications, the tax and insurance premium deductions to be made from your gross salary can range from 25% to 45% in a rough total.
If there are some unusual circumstances, for example, if you receive extra payments due to different bonuses based on your work performance or night shifts, weekends, and holidays, the deductions to be made from these payments may differ and affect the total deduction rate.
While we’re on this subject, let’s add that the minimum hourly wage across Germany is 9.82 Euros gross as of the beginning of 2022, and a full-time wage earner has to work 39–40 hours a week. The total time required to be performed during the month is determined as an average of 169 hours in most workplaces, except for extraordinary situations.
In Berlin, a general practitioner earns an average salary of 5,800 Euros per month, while a nurse earns 3,322 Euros. The monthly average wage for a salaried mason is 2,667 Euros, while the salary for a baker is 2,066 Euros. Mechanical engineers earn an average wage of 5,444 Euros in Berlin. A primary school teacher works for a monthly salary of 4,479 Euros. The average monthly salary of a librarian with civil servant status is 3,594 Euros. A bus driver earns an average of 2,655 Euros per month.
Now let’s turn our course to the northwest and take a look at the situation in Hamburg. Hamburg is a port city and the second-largest city in Germany. At the same time, Hamburg is a state on its own, just like Berlin. I think it would not be wrong to say that the living standards in Hamburg are higher than many other German cities and that it is a relatively more expensive city.
While the average rents of one-room houses in Hamburg are between 275 Euros and 770 Euros, two-room houses are between 350 Euros and 850 Euros. Rental prices for three-bedroom dwellings vary between 550 Euros and 1.100 Euros. For four-bedroom places, the rents range from 850 Euros to 2,150 Euros. Heating and side expenses can start from around 150 Euros in the most miniature house and go up to 350–400 Euros in large houses. I don’t need to mention the dimensions in each city separately because we can say that the average size of an ordinary house according to the number of rooms is more or less the same in almost every part of Germany. Of course, exceptions don’t break the rule; I’m talking about entirely average and ordinary houses at this point.
You may have noticed that rents are indeed higher in Hamburg than in Berlin. Let’s see how the salaries seem in Hamburg…
A train driver in Hamburg earns an average monthly salary of 3,446 Euros. The monthly average wage of a software developer is 4,870 Euros, while the salary of a chemistry laboratory is 4,482 Euros. The average monthly income of salaried lawyers in Hamburg is over 6,500 Euros. The average monthly salary of a paid architect is 3,981 Euros. A general practitioner earns an average of 5,930 Euros per month in Hamburg. Nurses make a monthly salary of 3,437 Euros, while an electrician has an average gross salary of 3,056 Euros.
Now let’s go a little further south from Hamburg. Let’s examine Frankfurt, located on the west side, when you divide the map of Germany from top to bottom in the middle…
Frankfurt is an extremely cosmopolitan city. It is located in the state of Hesse and is the 5th largest city in Germany. Being one of the most important financial centers in Europe and being in a very central location, it is one of the cities where urban life is vivacious.
Let’s see how the rents are…
Frankfurt holds the record for rent levels for one-bedroom houses due to the large number of people who work on temporary projects. In ordinary and average one-room places, rents can start from 290 Euros and go up to 850 Euros. Rental prices for two-bedroom houses range from 420 Euros to 980 Euros. While rents are paid between 650 Euros and 1250 Euros for three-room residences, they range between 950 Euros and 2200 Euros for four-room dwellings. The fees paid for heating and ancillary expenses start from 100 Euros and go up to 350 Euros in total.
There is one more general piece of information I would like to give about the house rent. More precisely, about the lease contracts…
Lease contracts in Germany are indefinite “unless otherwise stated for valid reasons.” In other words, in order to write “until such a date” on the contract, the property owner must have a very valid reason, have clearly stated this in the agreement, and the person who will rent must have accepted it. For example, “in two years, my daughter will come from America after completing her education, and I will have to evict you so that she can settle in this house” is a valid reason. If the tenant accepts this situation in advance and signs the contract, the contract is valid for the period mentioned. If the deadline for a valid reason is extended (in this example, the daughter has to repeat the grade, and her arrival is delayed for another year), the tenant can request to extend the lease for another year. If the valid reason is completely eliminated (in this case, if the daughter decides to stay permanently in the United States after finishing school), the tenant can request to convert the lease to an indefinite lease. The exit notification period for indefinite contracts is usually three months. In other words, if the tenant wants to leave the house, he has to notify it at least three months in advance and pay the rent for the said three months, whether he stays in the place or not, from the month he makes the notification. If a temporary contract has been made, the conditions for the tenant get a little harder at that point. The property owner cannot evict the tenant from the house during the period specified in the contract, and the tenant bounds himself with the agreement during the said period. In other words, even if they want to leave the house within the specified period, it is compulsory under the law to pay the rent specified in the contract or to find a new tenant that the owner of the property deems appropriate. Therefore, this type of term contract option is not considered as one of the most advantageous and preferable methods for the tenant. It is best not to approach such an option unless absolutely necessary. However, in indefinite contracts, the laws are generally on the tenant’s side and protect the tenant, except in extreme and exceptional circumstances. Generally, in leases with an indefinite contract, the tenant can keep the house and continue to use it for as long as they wish unless the owner has to reside in the said house due to a need or has to sell the house due to a financial bottleneck that can be proved.
After conveying this information, let’s see how much some professionals earn monthly in Frankfurt…
The average banker in Frankfurt earns a gross monthly salary of 5,685 Euros. While a mechatronics technician works with a monthly wage of 3,319 Euros, an electronics engineer receives a gross salary of 5,946 Euros per month. Nurses earn an average of 3,445 Euros per month in Frankfurt. Pedagogues earn a salary of 3,058 Euros, while the average wage of graphic artists is 3,304 Euros. University professors perform their duties in Frankfurt with a gross salary of 4,870 Euros. Biologists have an average monthly wage of 5,117 Euros.
Let’s look at Munich, one of the German cities famous for being expensive…
Munich is the third-largest city in Germany and the capital of the state of Bavaria. With a population of approximately 1.5 million and three universities, two of which are very rooted, Munich is one of the most important centers of the IT industry across Europe.
If Munich -at least in terms of house rents- is really expensive, let’s see that in this episode.
The rent of an unfurnished one-bedroom flat in Munich can start from 350 euros and go up to 750 euros. Rents in two-bedroom homes are between 550–1100 Euros. If we look at the rents of three-room places with average properties, they vary between 800–1350 Euros. Finally, rents for four-bedroom houses in Munich can start from 900 Euros and go up to 2500 Euros even for unfurnished dwellings. Heating and side expenses in rentals in Munich are again in the range of 100–350 Euros per month.
House rents seem to be a little higher in Munich, indeed…
Another detail is that there are fewer options for houses with reasonable rental prices in Munich. In other words, it is possible to find a place for the same rent with the same number of rooms compared to other cities, but they are infrequent. I think that this situation definitely has an effect on the formation of a judgment such as “House rents are high in Munich”…
I want to give one more additional information on renting a house. Landlords also demand “Kaution” from tenants, which is usually two or three months’ rent. If you did not cause any damage to the house while you were leaving it, and if you left the house with the features specified in the report made before the rental, you will get this money back. There is no “usually” problem in this regard because the minute details of the house are precise in the minutes of the rental. When you leave the house, you and the owner of the property check over that report. Doing this protects both parties from harm.
I felt the need to mention this issue separately, especially for your possible budget calculations…
Let’s see how the salaries are in Munich, known as “high living standards”…
General practitioners earn an average monthly gross salary of 6,014 Euros in Munich. The average monthly wage paid to nurses is 3,480 Euros gross. A primary school teacher’s salary is 4,151 euros, while a cook earns 2,368 euros per month. I’m not talking about head chefs in luxurious restaurants, of course. The monthly salary paid to train drivers is 3,523 Euros. Architects earn an average monthly salary of 4,200 euros. Geologists are paid 4,321 euros, while civil engineers average 4,906 euros.
And finally, let’s come to Leipzig…
Leipzig is a former “East Germany” city and the 10th largest city in present-day Germany. Like Berlin, Leipzig has a long history and is a culturally rich city.
Well, let’s see how the rents are in Leipzig…
Rents for one-bedroom houses start from 130 Euros per month in Leipzig and go up to 285 Euros for non-luxury dwellings. In two-bedroom homes, the rents range from 210 Euros to 620 Euros. Rental prices for three-bedroom houses range from 280 Euros to 890 Euros. When we look at the rent levels in the four-room residences, we see that it is between 390 Euros and 1.150 Euros. Heating and side expenses can start from 100 Euros per month and increase up to 250 Euros. I should add that there are quite a lot of rental housing options in Leipzig.
Before closing the rent issue and moving on to salaries, let me remind you again: The examples of rental ranges that I have given for all cities in this section are purely examples based on extremely ordinary houses. In other words, places that are not furnished, not located on the brightest streets of the city, where you do not come directly to a shopping center or a subway stop as soon as you walk out of the door, are located in the relatively coastal parts of the city. If you go further from the city center, you can find lower rents than the examples I have given here. If you go to the city’s most central streets, you can see that the examples I have given are even funny. A bit of luck, a few proper search methods, and prioritization will eventually lead you to the right house…
Finally, it’s time for the salaries paid to professions in Leipzig…
A hairdresser in Leipzig receives a gross monthly salary of 1,503 Euros. Practitioners earn 5.696 euros per month, while nurses and caregivers receive an average of 3.045 euros. A construction technician earns monthly 2,266 Euros. A pedagogue receives a gross monthly salary of 2,672 Euros. The average salary of a welder is 2,328 Euros per month. Chemical engineers earn a monthly salary of 3,173 euros in Leipzig. A tailor has to live on a monthly salary of 1.687 Euros in Leipzig.
After these comparisons, where do you think is the most liveable place in Germany?
Of course, a healthy conclusion cannot be reached with an evaluation made in only five cities and only on rent and salaries. But we made the following calculation to give you an idea:
It seems like Munich is one of the cities with the highest rents in Germany. In this section, we came across the most reasonable rents in Leipzig. As you may recall, nurses were at the top of the list of occupations with the highest skilled labor shortage.
Now suppose a single nurse who intends to settle in Germany alone is torn between Munich and Leipzig in terms of city choice. Both cities have their own advantages and disadvantages. Since we are talking about rent and salary in this section, let’s go over these criteria first. Let’s say, our persona wants to rent a three-room house. When we want to calculate an average value from the lowest and most expensive rents for three-bedroom houses in both cities, we find the amount of 1075 Euros in Munich and 585 Euros in Leipzig. Our sample person will receive a gross salary of 3,480 Euros in Munich and 3,045 Euros in Leipzig and will be subject to the most disadvantageous taxation class as they are single. Assuming there are no exceptions, let’s calculate a total monthly deduction of roughly 40% from his gross salary. While our persona will earn about 2.088 Euros in Munich, they will have a net income of about 1.827 Euros in Leipzig. After the lease, they will have 1013 Euros in Munich and 1.242 Euros in Leipzig. The difference is 229 Euros. With possible differences in some other living expenses, we can assume that this amount can reach an estimated 350–400 Euros per month for a single person. The calculation is explicit…
However, if I have to express my own opinion, if I think that I would be more peaceful in my heart in the city where I assume that I will receive less money, I guess I would not give up the city I am aiming for, because of 300–400 Euros. As a result, in every town in Germany, it is possible to find additional jobs for which you are exempt from taxes up to 520 Euros per month. You can reach this amount by working 8–10 hours a week in many places. What I mean is, even if there is a possibility of earning a little less money in the city you want to live in, the peace of living in the city where you believe you will be happier will “spiritually” repay you the amount. I am sure of that. But as I said in the first chapter, the person’s inner voice makes the best decision for themself.
In this section, I tried to explain the average house rents and salary levels for occupations in some cities in Germany. I also touched on other details that need to be known about these two issues.
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Thank you for reading.
Take care of yourself.
