--- title: "The 10,000 Zloty Illusion: The Real Picture of Salaries in Poland in 2026" description: "🇵🇱 The average salary in Poland in 2026 almost reached 10,000 zloty, but this is an illusion: the real median salary is only 7,690 zloty. 📉 Half of the workers receive less than 7,700 zloty, and 40% — no more than 6,802 zloty. 💰 Income leaders: coal mining (16.9k) and IT (18.9k). 📉 Outliers: security (5.5k) and small business (median up to 4.8k). 👴 The highest salaries are among workers over 65, the lowest — among youth under 25. 📊 In 2026, employers have become more selective: salary growth is happening only where there is a labor shortage." date: 2026-08-14T05:10:01.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/salary-in-poland-2026-statistics-and-reality tags: [poland, salary, economy, ukraine-migrants, labor-market, 2026] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # The 10,000 Zloty Illusion: The Real Picture of Salaries in Poland in 2026 ![A woman works in a field in Poland, harvesting crops, illustrating the real situation with wages in agriculture in 2026](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/14/zarplata-v-polse-2026-statistika-i-realnost/zarplata-v-polse-2026-statistika-i-realnost-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - The average salary in Poland in February 2026 was 9,966 zloty, but the median was 7,690 zloty. - High salaries are concentrated in IT and the mining industry, low salaries — in security and small business. - The income gap between large and small companies remains significant. - In 2026, employers are raising salaries selectively, focusing on labor shortages. According to the Central Statistical Office of Poland (GUS), the average salary in the country in February 2026 reached 9,966 zloty gross. At first glance, this suggests that the Polish labor market has confidently overcome the psychological barrier of 10,000 zloty. However, as a detailed analysis of data conducted by the Gremi Personal analytical center shows, this figure is misleading and does not reflect the actual situation of the majority of workers. In the conditions of 2026, the statistical "average" is becoming an increasingly less indicative metric for assessing the standard of living. ### The Gap Between Average and Real Income The key indicator that reveals the true picture of income is the median salary — the income received by a worker located in the middle of the distribution. In February 2026, the median salary in Poland was 7,690 zloty. This means that half of all workers in the country earn less than this amount. Furthermore, about 40% of employees earn no more than 6,802 zloty. The founder of Gremi Personal, Evgeny Kirichenko, emphasizes: "An average salary of almost 10,000 zloty may create the impression that this is the typical income level for a Polish worker. In reality, half of the people earn significantly less". To enter the top 30% of highest-paid workers at the beginning of 2026, one had to earn at least 10,257 zloty. The elite segment of the labor market, representing the top 10% of workers, received 17,111 zloty and above. Such a gap indicates that high average salary figures are formed by a narrow circle of highly paid specialists, while the mass segment of the labor market remains in the zone of more modest incomes. ### Geography and Industry: Where They Pay the Most In 2026, there is a clear polarization of income depending on the industry. The leader in median salary was the mining industry, where the figure reached 13,794 zloty. In particular, in the sector of hard coal and lignite mining, half of the workers received no less than 16,897 zloty. High incomes were also recorded in the digital sphere. In the segment related to computer infrastructure, data processing, and hosting, the average salary was an impressive 18,940 zloty, and in the media industry — 14,745 zloty. At the other pole are sectors with the lowest wages. The lowest average salary was recorded in the field of detective and security services — only 5,547 zloty. Analysts note that in 2026, employers have become more selective regarding salary increases. Growth is recorded primarily in industries where there is a labor shortage and high demand for services. For example, in logistics, salaries by May rose by 8.1% year-on-year, which is higher than the average indicator for the economy. ### The Influence of Company Size and Employee Age The size of the employer remains one of the determining factors of income in 2026. In micro-enterprises with up to nine employees, the median salary was only 4,806 zloty gross, and the average was 6,057 zloty. For comparison, in the largest corporations with a staff of more than a thousand people, the median salary reached 9,146 zloty, and the average — 11,801 zloty. This confirms the trend of capital and high salary concentration in large structures. The age factor also plays a significant role. The lowest average salary was recorded among workers under 25 years old — 6,622 zloty. At the same time, the highest average salary was observed among people over 65 years old — 11,112 zloty. However, if looking at the median, the leader becomes the 45–54 age group with an income of 8,109 zloty, indicating a peak of career achievements and stability in the middle of the professional path. ### Contradictory Data Although the statistical data from GUS looks unambiguous, experts offer different interpretations of the dynamics. On the one hand, over the year, the average salary grew by 6.4%, and the median by 7.3%, which speaks of a positive trend. On the other hand, analysts from Gremi Personal and the publication minfin.com.ua point out that the "salary boom" in Poland is ending. Employers are changing the rules of the game, moving from mass increases to targeted investments in personnel. This creates a situation where formal salary growth is not always felt by the majority of workers, especially in small businesses and sectors with low qualifications. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Ten thousand zloty on paper: the average salary in Poland does not reflect the real income of the majority](https://delo.ua/ru/news/desyat-tysyac-zlotyx-na-bumage-srednyaya-zarplata-v-polse-ne-otrazaet-realnyx-doxodov-bolsinstva-470645/) - Подтверждает данные о средней и медианной зарплате, а также цитаты эксперта Gremi Personal. - [What affects salary levels in Poland: where the level is highest](https://news.finance.ua/ru/chto-vliyaet-na-razmery-zarplaty-v-pol-she-gde-samyy-vysokiy-uroven) - Подтверждает данные по отраслям и влиянию размера компании. - [The salary boom in Poland is ending: employers are changing the rules of the game](https://minfin.com.ua/2026/06/24/176442302/) - Подтверждает тезис о замедлении роста зарплат и избирательной политике работодателей. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: What is the average salary in Poland in 2026? **A:** The average salary in February 2026 was 9,966 zloty gross, however, the median salary (the real income of the majority) is 7,690 zloty. ### Q: Which industry pays the most in Poland? **A:** The highest salaries are in the mining industry (especially coal mining) and the IT sector (computer infrastructure and hosting). ### Q: How does company size affect salary? **A:** In small companies (up to 9 employees), the median salary is 4,806 zloty, whereas in large ones (more than 1000 employees) it is 9,146 zloty. ### Q: Which age group earns the most? **A:** The highest average salary is among workers over 65 (11,112 zloty), and the lowest is among youth under 25 (6,622 zloty).