Swiss Salary Guide 2026: What 36 Occupations Earn, From Official Data
Every figure below comes from the Federal Statistical Office's wage structure survey, the official source for Swiss pay, or from our calculator, which uses the same data. Where a number is our estimate, we say so.
· 9 min read
In this guide
1. Salaries by occupation level
The survey sorts jobs by the international ISCO classification. At the top level the spread runs from managers to elementary occupations:
| Occupation level | Median | Middle half (P25 to P75) |
|---|---|---|
| Managers | CHF 122,500 | CHF 92,000 to CHF 164,800 |
| Professionals | CHF 108,300 | CHF 88,100 to CHF 134,800 |
| Technicians and associate professionals | CHF 90,300 | CHF 74,400 to CHF 110,700 |
| Clerical support workers | CHF 76,400 | CHF 64,100 to CHF 91,000 |
| Craft and related trades workers | CHF 74,300 | CHF 65,300 to CHF 84,500 |
| Plant and machine operators | CHF 70,800 | CHF 60,600 to CHF 81,600 |
| Skilled agricultural workers | CHF 68,000 | CHF 60,500 to CHF 77,300 |
| Service and sales workers | CHF 61,600 | CHF 54,800 to CHF 73,700 |
| Elementary occupations | CHF 61,400 | CHF 52,800 to CHF 71,800 |
| All employees | CHF 84,300 | CHF 66,300 to CHF 111,900 |
Source: BFS, wage structure survey (LSE) 2024, gross a year (monthly × 12, incl. a twelfth of the 13th month and bonuses), full-time equivalent.
2. All 36 occupation groups
Find the group closest to your job. P90 is the threshold for the top 10% in that group.
| Occupation group | Median | P25 to P75 | Top 10% from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief executives and senior officials e.g. CEOs, managing directors, senior government officials | 130k | 93k to 183k | 258k |
| Administrative and commercial managers e.g. finance, HR, sales and marketing managers | 125k | 96k to 163k | 226k |
| IT professionals e.g. software developers, systems analysts, database specialists | 119k | 97k to 144k | 181k |
| Teaching professionals e.g. school and university teachers | 116k | 97k to 136k | 156k |
| Production and specialised services managers e.g. IT, engineering, logistics and health service managers | 115k | 92k to 148k | 192k |
| Business and administration professionals e.g. accountants, financial analysts, HR and marketing specialists | 114k | 89k to 151k | 206k |
| Legal, social and cultural professionals e.g. lawyers, economists, journalists | 110k | 90k to 137k | 177k |
| Science and engineering professionals e.g. engineers, architects, chemists | 105k | 86k to 129k | 158k |
| Health professionals e.g. doctors, registered nurses, pharmacists | 96k | 82k to 117k | 171k |
| Business and administration associate professionals e.g. bookkeepers, sales agents, administrative staff with responsibility | 95k | 77k to 120k | 155k |
| IT technicians e.g. IT support, network technicians | 94k | 77k to 115k | 137k |
| Science and engineering technicians e.g. engineering technicians, process controllers | 90k | 77k to 105k | 126k |
| Legal, social and cultural associate professionals e.g. social workers, paralegals, chefs | 85k | 69k to 101k | 119k |
| Hospitality, retail and services managers e.g. hotel, restaurant and shop managers | 81k | 65k to 103k | 125k |
| General office clerks e.g. secretaries, office assistants | 80k | 67k to 93k | 110k |
| Protective services workers e.g. police officers, security guards | 78k | 62k to 101k | 118k |
| Electrical and electronics trades workers e.g. electricians, electronics technicians | 77k | 69k to 88k | 101k |
| Metal and machinery trades workers e.g. mechanics, polymechanics, welders | 77k | 66k to 88k | 99k |
| Other clerical support workers e.g. filing and mail clerks | 76k | 64k to 92k | 117k |
| Health associate professionals e.g. medical assistants, lab technicians, paramedics | 74k | 64k to 87k | 103k |
| Building trades workers e.g. bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers, painters | 74k | 67k to 82k | 92k |
| Precision and printing trades workers e.g. watchmakers, printers | 74k | 63k to 86k | 99k |
| Numerical and material recording clerks e.g. accounting clerks, payroll clerks, stock clerks | 72k | 62k to 86k | 102k |
| Assemblers e.g. assembly line workers | 72k | 63k to 82k | 93k |
| Customer service clerks e.g. receptionists, call centre staff | 72k | 59k to 92k | 128k |
| Drivers and mobile plant operators e.g. truck, bus and tram drivers | 71k | 61k to 82k | 94k |
| Plant and machine operators e.g. machine operators in manufacturing | 69k | 59k to 80k | 92k |
| Personal care workers e.g. care assistants, childcare workers | 68k | 60k to 77k | 90k |
| Skilled agricultural workers e.g. farmers, gardeners | 68k | 60k to 77k | 89k |
| Labourers in construction, manufacturing and transport e.g. construction labourers, packers | 67k | 58k to 76k | 86k |
| Food, wood and garment trades workers e.g. bakers, butchers, cabinet makers | 64k | 56k to 75k | 88k |
| Refuse workers and other elementary workers e.g. refuse collectors, messengers | 64k | 54k to 74k | 84k |
| Sales workers e.g. shop sales staff, cashiers | 60k | 55k to 70k | 90k |
| Personal service workers e.g. cooks, waiters, hairdressers | 59k | 52k to 69k | 84k |
| Cleaners and helpers e.g. cleaners, domestic helpers | 55k | 49k to 62k | 71k |
| Food preparation assistants e.g. kitchen helpers | 53k | 48k to 59k | 67k |
CHF a year, rounded to thousands. Source: BFS, wage structure survey (LSE) 2024, gross a year (monthly × 12, incl. a twelfth of the 13th month and bonuses), full-time equivalent. Examples are typical jobs in each ISCO-08 group.
3. How pay rises with age
The survey reports pay by age rather than by years of experience. Across all jobs the median rises from CHF 66,800 under 30 to CHF 87,500 at 30 to 49 and CHF 93,700 from 50.
| Occupation group | Under 30 | 30 to 49 | 50 and over |
|---|---|---|---|
| IT professionals | CHF 86,400 | CHF 119,900 | CHF 136,200 |
| Business and administration professionals | CHF 80,500 | CHF 116,500 | CHF 134,600 |
| Science and engineering professionals | CHF 80,800 | CHF 105,600 | CHF 128,000 |
| Health professionals | CHF 79,700 | CHF 97,800 | CHF 107,600 |
| Administrative and commercial managers | CHF 80,000 | CHF 122,000 | CHF 137,800 |
| Business and administration associate professionals | CHF 71,300 | CHF 95,800 | CHF 105,800 |
Median gross a year. Source: BFS, wage structure survey (LSE) 2024, gross a year (monthly × 12, incl. a twelfth of the 13th month and bonuses), full-time equivalent.
4. Pay by region
The survey reports seven large regions, not single cantons. Zurich pays most for most groups; Ticino least. For a region-by-region breakdown with every canton, see our guide to salary by canton.How to read a Swiss payslip →
| Region | IT professionals | Business and administration professionals | Science and engineering professionals | Health professionals | Administrative and commercial managers | Business and administration associate professionals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich | 129k | 124k | 110k | 103k | 131k | 98k |
| Northwestern Switzerland | 116k | 111k | 110k | 95k | 128k | 93k |
| Central Switzerland | 114k | 111k | 105k | 91k | 129k | 99k |
| Lake Geneva region | 118k | 116k | 102k | 99k | 124k | 96k |
| Espace Mittelland | 117k | 105k | 103k | 91k | 122k | 95k |
| Eastern Switzerland | 105k | 106k | 101k | 94k | 115k | 90k |
| Ticino | 84k | 90k | 81k* | 91k | 103k | 79k |
Median, CHF a year. * BFS marks the figure as statistically uncertain. Source: BFS, wage structure survey (LSE) 2024, gross a year (monthly × 12, incl. a twelfth of the 13th month and bonuses), full-time equivalent.
5. Popular roles: our calculator's ranges
The survey doesn't publish job titles such as “software engineer”. Our Swiss salary calculator estimates them from the matching BFS group, for someone with five years' experience at the Swiss average. These are estimates, not official figures; adjust for your canton and experience in the calculator.
| Role | Typical (median) | Range (P25 to P75) |
|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | CHF 135,000 | CHF 108,000 to CHF 172,000 |
| Finance Manager | CHF 132,000 | CHF 103,000 to CHF 168,000 |
| DevOps / SRE Engineer | CHF 125,000 | CHF 100,000 to CHF 159,000 |
| Product Manager | CHF 124,000 | CHF 99,000 to CHF 155,000 |
| Software Engineer | CHF 123,000 | CHF 98,000 to CHF 156,000 |
| Data Engineer | CHF 121,000 | CHF 99,000 to CHF 154,000 |
| Teacher | CHF 116,000 | CHF 97,000 to CHF 136,000 |
| Sales Manager | CHF 114,000 | CHF 88,000 to CHF 147,000 |
| Business Development Manager | CHF 113,000 | CHF 89,000 to CHF 145,000 |
| Electrical Engineer | CHF 111,000 | CHF 91,000 to CHF 141,000 |
| Project Manager | CHF 110,000 | CHF 87,000 to CHF 143,000 |
| Mechanical Engineer | CHF 108,000 | CHF 88,000 to CHF 136,000 |
| HR Manager | CHF 107,000 | CHF 84,000 to CHF 135,000 |
| Marketing Manager | CHF 105,000 | CHF 82,000 to CHF 134,000 |
| Civil Engineer | CHF 101,000 | CHF 81,000 to CHF 127,000 |
| Supply Chain Manager | CHF 100,000 | CHF 80,000 to CHF 131,000 |
| UX / UI Designer | CHF 99,000 | CHF 81,000 to CHF 125,000 |
| Healthcare Specialist | CHF 96,000 | CHF 82,000 to CHF 117,000 |
| IT Support Technician | CHF 94,000 | CHF 77,000 to CHF 115,000 |
| Administrative Assistant | CHF 80,000 | CHF 67,000 to CHF 93,000 |
| Electrician | CHF 77,000 | CHF 69,000 to CHF 88,000 |
| Polymechanic / Machinist | CHF 77,000 | CHF 66,000 to CHF 88,000 |
| Customer Service Representative | CHF 72,000 | CHF 59,000 to CHF 92,000 |
| Bookkeeper | CHF 72,000 | CHF 62,000 to CHF 86,000 |
LivingEase estimates based on BFS LSE 2024 occupation groups; method in the calculator's source notes.
6. Take-home pay
What reaches your account after AHV/IV/EO, unemployment and accident insurance, pension and income tax, for a single person aged 32 without children or church tax, on the national median of each group:
| Occupation group (gross) | Net in Zurich | Net in Geneva | Net in Bern |
|---|---|---|---|
| IT professionals (CHF 119,400) | CHF 91,541 | CHF 86,748 | CHF 86,216 |
| Business and administration professionals (CHF 114,100) | CHF 88,008 | CHF 83,510 | CHF 82,937 |
| Health professionals (CHF 96,000) | CHF 75,819 | CHF 72,345 | CHF 71,406 |
| Business and administration associate professionals (CHF 94,800) | CHF 75,009 | CHF 71,598 | CHF 70,630 |
| Building trades workers (CHF 74,100) | CHF 60,332 | CHF 58,116 | CHF 56,734 |
Same model as our calculator, using the income tax of the Federal Tax Administration's calculator (2026), canton capital.
Without a C permit, the tax is deducted from your salary as Quellensteuer. Before you negotiate, read our salary negotiation guide.
FAQ
What is the average salary in Switzerland?
The median gross salary is CHF 7,024 a month, CHF 84,300 a year (Federal Statistical Office, wage structure survey 2024). Half of full-time employees earn between CHF 66,300 and CHF 111,900.
Which jobs pay the most in Switzerland?
Managers. Chief executives and senior officials have a median of CHF 130,000 a year, and the top 10% earn more than CHF 257,700. Among specialists, IT professionals lead with a median of CHF 119,400.
What is a good salary in Switzerland?
Above CHF 111,900 a year you earn more than three quarters of full-time employees; above CHF 150,300 you are in the top 10% (BFS, 2024). What feels good also depends on your canton's rent and tax.
Do Swiss employers pay a 13th month salary?
Many do, but it isn't required by law unless your contract or collective agreement says so. Check whether an offer is quoted in 12 or 13 instalments. The official figures on this page include a twelfth of the 13th month and of bonuses.
How much of my salary do I keep after tax?
On CHF 119,400, the median for IT professionals, a single person keeps about CHF 91,541 a year in Zurich after social contributions, pension and income tax (ESTV tax tables 2026).
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