Average gross earnings at HUF 840,600
Full-time employees’ average gross earnings were HUF 840,600 and average net earnings reached HUF 585,700 in January 2026. Average gross earnings grew by 26.3%, net average earnings increased by 28.0% and real earnings were 25.4% higher than a year earlier. The payment of the “service premium” (the so-called “firearms money”) for the army and the law enforcement personnel corresponding to six-month salary contributed to the sharp increase in average earnings. This effect explains 18.0 percentage points of the rise in gross average earnings. The increase in net average earnings exceeded the growth in the gross average earnings partly due to the expansion of family tax allowance, and the tax allowance for mothers. Median gross earnings were HUF 598,700, and median net earnings were HUF 420,200, surpassing the value for the same period of the previous year by 11.0% and 12.5%, respectively.
January 2026:
Full-time employees’ average gross earnings were HUF 840,600, which was 26.3% higher than a year earlier. The significant increase in average earnings is determined by the „service premium” (so-called „firearms money”) for the army and the law enforcement personnel, corresponding to six months' salary. Excluding the impact of this one-time payment, the average gross earnings increased by 8.3%. The allowance had a significant impact on the increase in gross average earnings of the budget - primarily the public administration and defence branches of the national economy.
Average net earnings reached HUF 585,700, being 28.0% higher than in January 2025. The growth in the net earnings was considerably impacted by the higher amount of family tax allowance introduced as of 1 July 2025 and 1 January 2026, as well the personal income tax exemption for mothers raising three children introduced from 1 October 2025, and for mothers under 40 raising two children introduced from 1 January 2026, as well as the expansion of the tax allowance for mothers under 30.
Regular average gross earnings (without premiums and one-month bonuses) were HUF 694,700, being 9.4% higher than in the same period of the previous year. Regular average gross earnings amounted to HUF 683,800 in the business sector, HUF 720,400 in the budgetary sector and HUF 726,800 in the non-profit sector, increasing by 8.4%, 12.8% and 9.0%, respectively, over a year.
Real earnings were up by 25.4%, along with a 2.1% increase in consumer prices compared to the same period of the previous year. Excluding the effect of the so-called “firearms money”, real wage growth can be estimated at 8.1%.
Median gross earnings were HUF 598,700, being 11.0% above the one year earlier level.
Median net earnings reached HUF 420,200, surpassing the value for the same period of the previous year by 12.5%.
Monthly average earnings, January 2026
| Denomination | Average gross earnings | Average net earnings | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HUF/person/month | change compared to corresponding period of previous year, % | HUF/person/month | change compared to corresponding period of previous year, % | |
| January 2026 | ||||
| Business sector | 722,700 | 7.8 | 504,800 | 9.6 |
| Budgetary institutions | 1,285,700 | 99.0 | 887,700 | 100.2 |
| Non-profit institutions | 739,600 | 9.4 | 525,700 | 12.3 |
| National economy, total | 840,600 | 26.3 | 585,700 | 28.0 |
| Of which: | ||||
| fostered workers | 157,500 | 10.5 | 120,900 | 14.6 |
| non-fostered workers | 855,000 | 26.4 | 595,500 | 28.1 |