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Start with the Federal Employment Agency (BA), Make it in Germany and EURES to find vacancies; use the BA’s Entgeltatlas to compare gross pay for the same occupation and level across regions. The figures are medians, not a promised starting salary or a strict statistical average. The latest regional figures covered here are for 2025.
Where to look for jobs in Germany
Build a search from official employment services, then add employers and other relevant channels. You do not have to use a recruitment agency or a paid intermediary.
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Federal Employment Agency
The BA offers a job-search service and free advice. Advisers can help match vacancies to your qualifications, explain requirements for working in Germany and review application documents. See the BA’s guidance on finding a job in Germany.
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The German federal government’s portal for skilled professionals from abroad lists BA vacancies for which employers welcome applications from abroad. It also explains job-search routes such as speculative applications and online profiles. Its job-search guidance outlines how to organize the search, visa process and travel; it does not require hiring a service provider.
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EURES
The EU’s EURES portal covers vacancies across Europe and provides information about living and working conditions, adviser contacts and job fairs. It can be useful if you are comparing opportunities in Germany with jobs elsewhere in the EU.
Employer sites, portals and networks
Search company career pages and German-language job portals alongside official listings. Useful German search terms include Stellenangebote (job vacancies), Karriere (careers) and Vakanzen (vacancies). Professional and personal networks can also surface openings.
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Recruitment agencies
A private agency is one possible route, not a requirement. Check its reputation and establish any fees before agreeing to its services.
Check an offer before sharing information or committing
- Verify the employer’s and contact person’s details independently.
- Do not send personal data when you cannot establish who is contacting you.
- If an offer seems questionable, do not pay fees or accept a contract before the job’s suitability has been checked or you have had an interview.
How to compare salaries by region
Use the BA’s Entgelt statistics and salary tools, including the Entgeltatlas. Search for an occupation, then select Germany, a federal state or an available city. The interface includes cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Leipzig and Stuttgart. The BA also provides regional wage maps, occupation comparisons and annual tables.
- Choose the same occupation. Search the job you have in mind, then check the occupational group shown in the result. The BA maps individual job titles to broader occupational aggregates, so similar titles do not automatically mean identical comparison groups.
- Match the occupational requirement level. Where the tool distinguishes levels, compare the same level in each place. A result for one level may not be comparable with a result for another.
- Set the same geographic level. Compare city with city, state with state, or the national figure with another national figure. A city result and a state result describe different populations.
- Check the data year and measure. Use the same year and compare the median gross monthly wage, not a mixture of years or measures.
- Read the coverage notes. Check which employees are included and whether a result has been suppressed or replaced with a broader grouping because the group is small.
If you search “What is the average salary in [city or state] for [occupation]?”, the Entgeltatlas can provide a useful benchmark, but its measure is a median. Half of the observed employees earn less than that figure and half earn more. It is not the arithmetic average, an individual salary offer or a guarantee of what a new hire will earn.
What the latest regional figures show
The BA release of 20 July 2026 reports 2025 median gross monthly wages for full-time employees subject to social-security contributions, classified by workplace location. These are all-worker regional aggregates, not occupation-specific pay rates.
| Region | 2025 median gross monthly wage |
|---|---|
| Germany | €4,217 |
| Hamburg | €4,768 |
| Baden-Württemberg | €4,546 |
| Hesse | €4,530 |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | €3,294 |
| Thuringia | €3,307 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | €3,353 |
All figures in the table are BA 2025 medians published on 20 July 2026. The nationwide median was €203, or 5.1%, higher than in 2024. These figures can orient a regional search, but they cannot tell you which place pays more for your particular occupation. For that, compare occupation-specific Entgeltatlas results on a like-for-like basis. Source: BA release on 2025 wages.
What the BA wage figures include—and what they do not
The BA wage statistics cover full-time employees subject to social-security contributions and use a reference date of 31 December. They are based on employer-reported wages, which are only observed up to the pension-insurance contribution assessment ceiling; for 2025, that ceiling was €8,050 per month. As a result, the figures describe a defined part of the workforce rather than every worker or every possible salary.
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The BA suppresses a regional or occupational result if fewer than 500 employees support it. In the Entgeltatlas, a sufficiently large, approximately similar occupational grouping may appear instead. Occupational classifications can also change between years. Check the displayed group and year before treating two results as comparable. The BA explains these points in its Entgeltatlas help page.
Regional medians also reflect who works in each area, their occupational mix and level, employment histories and collective-agreement coverage. A difference between two all-worker regional figures does not establish that a particular job pays more in one region.
Gross pay alone does not show take-home pay or purchasing power. The BA wage sources cited here do not provide a matched regional cost-of-living comparison, so a higher gross median cannot by itself establish a better standard of living. To assess a move, compare the relevant occupation’s pay with local costs and your likely net income using appropriate, separate data.
Prepare an application for a German vacancy
Follow the documents and application method specified in each listing; employers commonly accept applications by email or through their website. The BA recommends a tabular CV of no more than two pages, with the most recent experience first. Include relevant employment, qualifications, further training, internships and language skills, and provide certificates or certifications where applicable.
Before applying or relocating, check whether the role requires a visa, formal recognition of your qualification or a particular German-language level. Some qualifications need official recognition. The BA’s job-search guidance covers application preparation and support. Its advice and support are free of charge.
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