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Hamburg tops table of highest income-earners

Hamburg is Germany’s highest-earning city with an average net income of €23,366 a year, a survey published Wednesday found.

Published: 14 April 2010 10:37 CEST
Updated: 14 April 2010 13:26 CEST

Hamburg tops table of highest income-earners

Photo: DPA

A report by Men’s Health magazine showed the well-to-do Hanseatics earn €9,000 more each year than residents in the poorest parts of the country.

Inhabitants of Munich are the second-highest earners with an average of €22,606, followed by those in Stuttgart with €22,071.

The magazine calculated average take-home pay based on data from the 50 biggest cities in Germany for 2007, though no data was available for the cities of Hannover or Saarbrücken.

Berlin continues to live up to its “poor but sexy” reputation, coming in at 43rd place with an average net income of €15,342.

Coming in last was Halle an der Saale, the largest city in the struggling state of Saxony-Anhalt, with €14,019, while the second-worst earning city was far-north Rostock in Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania, with €14,465 in take-home pay.

In February, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), released a study showing that more than 11 million Germans lived in poverty, with poverty defined as an income lower than 60 percent of the national average.

For a one-person household poverty meant a yearly net income of €11,100 or below, while for a couple with two children, it would be €23,316 or less.

According the Federal Statistics Office, the 2009 national average for gross income was €41,500.

Germany’s top 10 earning cities

1. Hamburg €23,366

2. Munich €22,606

3. Stuttgart €22,071

4. Düsseldorf €22,055

5. Solingen €21,884

6. Mülheim (Ruhr) €21,193

7. Münster (Westfalen) €21,165

8. Bremen €21,143

9. Bielefeld €20,348

10. Karlsruhe €20,213

The bottom 10 cities

39. Hamm (Westfalen) €15,690

40. Gelsenkirchen €15,624

41. Dresden €15,592

42. Kiel €15,505

43. Berlin €15,342

44. Erfurt €14,850

45. Leipzig €14,648

46. Magdeburg €14,473

47. Rostock €14,465

48. Halle (Saale) €14,019

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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