Many Romanians consider the minimum wage in the economy to be very low compared to their expectations, and a monthly income of approximately 10,000 lei is generally considered to be a decent one.
Romania is among the countries in the European Union with a high share of employees paid minimum wage, with over ten percent of Romanian employees receiving net monthly incomes of approximately 2,600 lei, according to reports recently published by Eurostat.
The minimum net salary in Romania for the year 2025 is 2,574 lei, part of a minimum gross salary of 4,050 lei. In the messages published on social networks, many Romanians believe that this income could barely ensure their living, being far below what a low salary would mean for them.
How Romanians see salaries, from low to high
Challenged to estimate what a low and a high salary could represent for them, some Romanians show that the differences between the two extremes are several thousand lei.
“In Bucharest, for higher education, small means 3,500 lei, large 9,000 lei”, claims one of them, on the Reddit platform.
Another Bucharest resident claims that he would need more money to live decently in the capital
“In Bucharest at least, under 5,000 lei you barely exist, and with 10,000 lei you manage decently. So a salary to which I can say “wow, how well you pay!” it’s clearly over 15,000 lei”, he states.
Another Romanian believes, for his part, that salaries must be related to expenses, the lowest salary being the one of which half is the rent payment. And the highest represents the income that can secure one’s own apartment.
“I think a low salary starts from 5-6,000 lei. I live in rent and pay 450 euros. And with bills, diesel, food and everything else, I barely have enough 6,000 lei. I would say that a high salary is around 15,000 lei, and the extremely low one is 3,000 lei”, says a netizen.
Other Romanians evaluate salaries according to the shopping basket, sometimes estimated for one person at 3,800 – 4,200 lei per month. When the income does not cover this value, the salary can be considered low, says one of them.
“Between small and large there is: average, decent, above average, etc. At 4,500 euros you live extremely well, at 3,500 you live well, at 2,500 you live ok, at 1,500 you live, and at 1,000 euros you say “God help”, in Bucharest”, another netizen thinks.
Some Romanians say that salaries in Romania could be considered satisfactory, as long as they are not compared to those in the West.
“5,000 lei is a very low salary in the West, and the price of products is about the same as in Romania”says one of the Romanians.
What jobs bring decent income
A monthly salary of approximately 10,000 lei is considered by many Romanians to be decent. Some of them explained on social networks how they got to such an income. Experience, qualification, overtime, but also the fact that I work in the Capital, mattered in determining income.
“I work in the financial field, as a team leader, with 4-5 years of experience, and I reach almost 9,000 lei, but that’s because the company I work for pays more than the average. At other companies, I found offers of 7,000 lei for the same position and I had a lot of interviews.” says a Bucharest resident.
In the IT field, someone else adds, 10,000 lei is a salary offered after 3–5 years of experience. An engineer in the energy field claims, for his part, that he receives a similar salary, for two years, without per diem or vouchers.
“But in these years I pushed hard and showed that the company can rely on me for more complicated things. It’s not hard to get to higher salaries; what a lot of people don’t understand is that you can’t get to a high salary in most fields if you’re not willing to stay overtime or work on a project until you know it’s ready. People who break the schedule are everywhere.” believe this one.
Someone else says that he gets almost 10,000 lei as a specialist doctor in Bucharest, but in other cities he thinks he would earn better. Another doctor exceeds this income, but with sacrifices.
“In surgery, in the private sector, plus state and guards, you reach 13,000 lei if you keep quiet, but you can also earn 35,000-40,000 if you break the work. At the profitable end are lifeless work and extreme fatigue, but you can drag on for a few months if you want to make money”says someone else.
Some drivers and sales agents say that they also reach decent wages in the capital.
“In sales, especially in the software field (English is a must, and the second language is a big plus), you get by easily after 5 years of basic experience of 10,000 lei, plus commissions (usually 4 times a year). I also earned over 4,000 euros per month.” writes another Romanian.
“What is important to understand is that salaries are determined by supply and demand and by the political and economic context. The mistake that many make is to choose a job or a profession based on what salaries are given at a certain time and ignore the essential: what they are good at”. concludes someone else.
