You have seen the argument online. One person earns $150,000 in the United States. Another earns €65,000 in Germany, works fewer hours, travels every few months, and still saves money. The comments fill up with people insisting their side is obviously better.
The honest answer is more interesting than either camp wants it to be. On the paycheck itself, the US usually does win, and by more than Europeans like to admit. Where the comparison flips is everything that never shows up on your payslip: what you pay separately for healthcare and education, how much time off you get, and what happens when life goes wrong.
So rather than cheer for a side, here's what the actual numbers say about where your money goes on each side of the Atlantic, and who ends up better off.
Key Facts at a Glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Bigger gross salary? | Usually the US, often by a wide margin |
| Higher tax on that salary? | No. The US tax wedge (30.1%) sits below the OECD average and far below Germany |
| So who keeps more of the paycheck itself? | Usually the US worker, on the cash line alone |
| Then what is Europe's edge? | What you don't pay separately: healthcare, tuition, childcare, plus far more paid time off and a stronger safety net |
| Paid vacation, by law | US: none required federally. EU: 20 days minimum, guaranteed |
| Catastrophic medical risk | Real in the US even with insurance. Low in most of Europe |
| Best fit | The US for raw earning and career speed. Europe for stability, time and predictable costs |
The Paycheck Itself: The US Usually Wins
Let's start where the internet arguments usually go wrong. A lot of people assume Europe claws back its lower salaries with punishing taxes, so it all evens out. On the average single salary, that isn't what the data shows.
The clearest way to compare is the OECD's tax wedge, which measures the total slice taken in income tax and social contributions as a share of what your employer spends to employ you. For a single worker on the average wage in 2024:
| Where | Tax wedge on an average single salary (2024) |
|---|---|
| United States | 30.1% |
| OECD average | 34.9% |
| Netherlands | 35.1% |
| Germany | 47.9% |
So the US worker often starts from a higher gross salary and hands over a smaller share of it. Germany, at nearly 48%, has one of the highest tax wedges in the developed world. On the pure cash line, the take-home gap between a US package and a German one can be large, and it usually favours the US.
If you're comparing specific tech and finance offers rather than averages, our US tech salaries in Europe guide breaks down what our own clients actually get offered. Spoiler: the gross numbers are lower than US ones. The story only turns once you look at what that higher German tax buys, which is the rest of this article.
Healthcare: The Cost That Doesn't Show on Your Payslip
This is where the comparison starts to move, because US healthcare costs are largely invisible on the salary line and very visible everywhere else.
Even with a good employer plan, an American worker is not done paying. According to the 2025 KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey, the average employer plan for single coverage cost $9,325 a year in premiums, of which the worker paid around $1,440 directly. On top of the premium, the average deductible for single coverage was $1,886, and about a third of covered workers faced a deductible of $2,000 or more before most care was paid for. Family coverage averaged nearly $27,000 in total premiums, with workers contributing $6,850 of that.
The pattern is that you pay a premium, then a deductible, then co-pays, and you carry real exposure if something serious happens. Lose or change the job, and the coverage can go with it.
Most of Europe runs the opposite model. Healthcare is mandatory and funded through taxes or social insurance, so it's largely prepaid rather than paid per event. You still pay, but it comes out steadily and the point-of-use cost is low. In the Netherlands, for example, basic insurance runs about €157 a month with a €385 annual deductible. In Germany it's a percentage of your salary. The number that matters most is the one that barely exists in Europe: the surprise five-figure medical bill. Our cost of living in Germany guide shows how that changes a monthly budget.
Time Off: Where Europe Is in a Different League
Money is one axis. Time is the other, and here it isn't close.
The United States has no federal law requiring employers to provide any paid vacation at all. Paid time off is a benefit companies choose to offer, and while most professional jobs include some, it's typically in the range of ten to fifteen days, and it's not guaranteed by law.
Across the European Union, every worker is legally entitled to a minimum of four weeks, twenty days, of paid annual leave under the Working Time Directive. That's a floor that cannot be reduced, and many countries and employers go well beyond it. German contracts often land at 28 to 30 days, and that's before public holidays. Combined with cheap, fast rail and low-cost flights, that time is why the European colleague in the online argument really is in Lisbon again.
The Safety Net: What Happens When Things Go Wrong
The paycheck comparison assumes everything goes to plan. The safety net is what you're buying with those higher European taxes, and it's the part Americans tend to underestimate until they need it.
Across most of Europe, workers get statutory paid sick leave, unemployment insurance, paid parental leave measured in months rather than weeks, and state pensions, all as legal entitlements rather than employer perks. Germany's sick-pay system, for instance, keeps paying much of your salary through a long illness, which our sick pay (Krankengeld) guide explains. The broader set of protections around working hours and job security is covered in our work-life balance and labour rights guide.
None of this is free. It's the flip side of that 48% German tax wedge. The trade is straightforward: you keep less of each paycheck, and in return a job loss, a serious illness, or a new baby is far less likely to become a financial emergency.
Education and Childcare
Two more big-ticket items sit outside the paycheck and swing the long-run maths.
Higher education in the United States can run into tens of thousands of dollars a year, and student debt follows many graduates for decades. Across much of Europe, public universities charge modest fees or none at all for residents, so families aren't saving for a college fund on the same scale. Subsidised childcare in many European countries works the same way, taking a cost that can rival rent in the US and turning it into a much smaller, more predictable line. These don't show up in a salary comparison, but over a career and a family they move the needle as much as the paycheck does.
If You're a US Citizen, You Still File
One thing that surprises Americans abroad: moving to Europe does not end your relationship with the IRS. US citizens file US taxes on worldwide income no matter where they live.
In practice, most people don't end up paying twice. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion lets qualifying expats exclude up to $132,900 of foreign earned income from US federal tax in 2026, and the Foreign Tax Credit offsets US tax with tax already paid abroad. Tax treaties handle most of the coordination. Where it gets genuinely tricky is retirement accounts and investments, which don't always translate cleanly across borders. Our guides on 401(k) and Roth IRA taxes and the Dutch 30% ruling cover the parts worth planning for before you move.
So Who Actually Comes Out Ahead?
There's no universal winner, because the two systems reward different things.
The United States is hard to beat if your priority is raw earning power, fast career growth, and keeping more of a high salary, and if you're young, healthy and comfortable carrying more personal risk. For a well-paid professional who stays well, the US can leave you with more money at the end of the year, full stop.
Europe pulls ahead when you value predictability over maximum upside: guaranteed time off, healthcare that won't bankrupt you, real support if you lose a job or have a child, and lower costs for the big things like university and childcare. The paycheck is smaller, but the range of outcomes is narrower, and the floor is much higher.
For a lot of the people we work with, the decision comes down to life stage. The single 26-year-old optimising for savings and the family of four thinking about health coverage and school often reach opposite, and equally rational, conclusions. If you're weighing the move, our case for moving to Europe in 2026 lays out the wider picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Europeans really take home less money than Americans? On the paycheck itself, usually yes. US salaries are often higher to begin with, and the US tax wedge (30.1% on an average single wage) is below the OECD average and far below Germany's 47.9%. Europe's advantage isn't the take-home line, it's the costs you avoid and the benefits you gain elsewhere.
Are taxes in Europe higher than in the US? Generally yes. Germany has one of the highest tax wedges in the developed world at nearly 48%, versus about 30% in the US. But those taxes prepay healthcare, education, pensions and paid leave that Americans often pay for separately or don't get at all.
How much paid vacation do you get in Europe vs the US? The EU legally guarantees at least 20 paid vacation days a year, and many jobs offer 28 to 30 plus public holidays. The US has no federal paid-vacation requirement at all, and typical professional jobs offer around 10 to 15 days as a benefit, not a legal right.
Is healthcare actually cheaper in Europe? It's structured differently. Americans with employer coverage still pay premiums, deductibles and co-pays, and carry real risk from a major medical event. Most of Europe funds healthcare through taxes or mandatory insurance, so it's prepaid and the point-of-use cost is low, which mostly removes the surprise-bill risk.
Do US citizens have to pay taxes twice if they move to Europe? Usually not. You still have to file US taxes on worldwide income, but the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion ($132,900 in 2026) and the Foreign Tax Credit, combined with tax treaties, mean most people don't pay the same income twice. Retirement accounts and investments need more careful planning.
Should I move to Europe if I'll earn less? It depends what you're optimising for. If it's maximum earnings and career speed and you're happy carrying more risk, the US often wins on pure money. If it's time off, stable costs, and protection when life goes wrong, a smaller European salary can buy a life that's harder to price.
The viral salary debate misses the point. A bigger number on your offer letter is real, but so is everything it has to cover. The right question isn't which side pays more, it's which trade fits the life you're trying to build.
At Move2Europe, we help skilled professionals work through exactly this, from what you'd realistically earn to what you'd actually keep.
Book a consultation and let's figure out whether the move makes sense for your numbers.
Official sources:
- OECD Taxing Wages 2025, tax wedge figures for single workers at the average wage
- KFF 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey, US premiums, worker contributions and deductibles
- US Department of Labor, on paid vacation not being federally required
- EU Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC, the minimum four weeks of paid annual leave
- IRS Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, US expat tax rules