Moving to Greece
In Greece, the median gross salary is €1,274 a month (2022) and a single worker on the average wage keeps 73.9% of gross pay after income tax and employee contributions (2025).
Greek is the official language. Greece had GDP per capita of US$26,948 in 2025 and life expectancy of 81.8 years in 2024. The national unemployment rate was 8.9% in 2025.
Can I move to Greece?
Across 198 passports, 93 passports enter visa-free and 105 passports need a visa for Greece. Check your passport below.
- Visa-free
- 93
- Visa required
- 105
Choose citizenship and purpose to see the relevant entry steps.
Entry.
Living & working.
Official requirements [63] · Visitor-entry rules
Residence rules and exceptions
| Citizenship / situation | Starting point |
|---|---|
| EU / EEA citizenship | Free movement; longer residence has conditions.[62] |
| Swiss citizenship | Separate Swiss arrangements, including residence documentation for longer stays.[62] |
| Other citizenship | Check work, study or family requirements.[63] |
| Existing status or family rights | A passport alone cannot establish your eligibility. Check the relevant authority’s guidance. |
These are national starting points, not an eligibility decision. Long-stay residence, work authorisation and in-country application rules differ by route; a visa-free visit never settles them. Check the route that matches your purpose and circumstances with the responsible authority.
Visa and entry rules
Sources checked through 22 Oct 2026.
Work and income
What is the unemployment rate in Greece?
The national unemployment rate was 8.9 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a)17
This is the Eurostat labour-force survey series used as the canonical national answer. Other published definitions exist and are shown in the table below.
What is the median gross salary in Greece?
The median gross salary was 1,274 EUR/month in 2022.
Half of employees earn less than this. Mean gross and national-accounts averages use different definitions and are shown in the table below.
What is the minimum wage in Greece?
The statutory minimum wage is about 6.19 EUR/hour, gross (as of April 2026). Source: Κατώτατος Μισθός - Υπουργείο Εργασίας και Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης61
National statutory floor, gross, before tax and social contributions.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross salary, monthly | 1,274 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2022 | Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly)18Official · national figure |
| National unemployment rate | 8.9 % | 31 Dec 2025 | Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a)17Official · national figure |
| Minimum gross hourly wage | 6.19 EUR/hour | 1 Apr 2026 | Κατώτατος Μισθός - Υπουργείο Εργασίας και Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης61Official · national figure |
Taxes in Greece
National rates and comparable published scenarios. Personal tax depends on income, household and residence circumstances.
What does an average earner take home in Greece?
A single person on an average wage keeps about 19,625 EUR/year of about 26,563 EUR/year gross per year — 73.9% of pay.
Standardized OECD Taxing Wages (standardized scenario): single person, no children, earning the average wage. The same scenario is published for every covered country, so take-home shares compare directly.
| Component | Amount / year |
|---|---|
| Net wage earnings, kept | 19,625 |
| Employee social contributions | −3,551 |
| Income taxes | −3,386 |
| Gross wage earnings | 26,563 |
- Gross-to-net pay for a sample household: single person no children — 26,563 gross → 19,625 net a year (2025, national currency) · Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition
Benefits newcomers may qualify for in Greece
Public schemes where an official source defines an eligible migration or residence status. Amounts and conditions are kept in their native terms.
| Programme | Published amount | Source and application |
|---|---|---|
Material Reception Conditions — Arrival and reception support | Amount varies | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current Greek Ministry page defines material reception conditions as accommodation provided only in kind, food in kind and cash assistance for clothing, hygiene, communication, school supplies, non-prescribed medication and urban transportation. The current official pages do not state one national numeric amount; the package varies by the applicable reception conditions and no fixed EUR figure is asserted. The official Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum page states that the Reception and Identification Service, as the responsible authority for reception, ensures the provision of reception conditions to asylum applicants. It defines the material reception package as accommodation provided in kind, food in kind and cash assistance for clothing, hygiene, communication, school supplies, non-prescribed medication and urban transportation, with special conditions for vulnerable persons. Protection Applicant In Greece Receiving Material Reception Conditions and does not generalise the package to every foreign national outside the asylum-applicant reception system. | ||
Επίδομα Παιδιού (Α21) — Family and child support | 28–140 EUR / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsFor the first and second child, the monthly rate is EUR 70, 42 or 28 by equivalised-family-income category; for the third and each subsequent child it is EUR 140, 84 or 56. OPEKA's 2026 current application cycle confirms the scheme remains payable in 2026. The OPEKA A21 source lists EU/EEA/Swiss citizens as eligible with five years of legal and permanent residence in Greece; it also lists recognised refugees with five years of legal and permanent residence in Greece, stateless persons with five years of legal and permanent residence in Greece and humanitarian-status holders with five years of legal and permanent residence in Greece, while other foreign citizens must have twelve years of legal and permanent residence in Greece. | ||
Επίδομα Στέγασης — Housing support | 70–210 EUR / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe official Greek housing-policy portal states EUR 70 to EUR 210 per month depending on household composition; the page is retained as a current-state locator checked 10 August 2026 rather than claiming an unstated statutory start date. The official Greek housing-benefit page requires an applicant to have legal and permanent residence in Greece during the last 5 or 12 years under the applicable duration rule; this public profile is limited to that source-defined residence condition. | ||
Ελάχιστο Εγγυημένο Εισόδημα — Minimum-income support | Amount set per household by formula / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current official Greek programme page states EUR 216 per month for a one-person household, plus EUR 108 per additional adult and EUR 54 per minor, with a maximum guaranteed amount of EUR 972 per month. The official Greek Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family programme page states in ‘Κριτήρια διαμονής’: ‘Ο αιτών καθώς και όλα τα μέλη της μονάδας που υποβάλλει την αίτηση πρέπει να διαμένουν νόμιμα και μόνιμα στην ελληνική επικράτεια’ (the applicant and all members of the applying household must have legal and permanent residence in Greek territory), alongside the published income, asset and household conditions. | ||
Regular unemployment benefit — Unemployment support | Amount set per household by formula / Daily And Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsCurrent DYPA staged formula after the 01.04.2026 revaluation: the statutory-minimum-wage tier publishes daily amounts EUR 28.76, 24.65, 20.55, 16.44, 12.33 and 8.22 and monthly examples EUR 719.00, 616.25, 513.75, 411.00, 308.25 and 205.50; the lower tier publishes daily EUR 19.60, 16.80, 14.00, 11.20, 8.40 and 5.60 and monthly EUR 490.00, 420.00, 350.00, 280.00, 210.00 and 140.00. The official National Registry of Administrative Public Services defines this regular unemployment benefit as granted to ‘insured persons who are competent and available for work’, with an employment relationship that has expired or was terminated by the employer, during which they ‘paid contributions to the unemployment branch of the Public Employment Service (DYPA (former OAED))’. bounded work-status profile insured Worker In Greece With Dypa Unemployment Contribution Record; it does not infer nationality, residence status or migrant entitlement beyond the official insurance and work conditions. | ||
ImmigrationDB shows published rules; it does not decide personal eligibility. Confirm your status, contribution record and household circumstances with the responsible authority before applying. Sources checked through 12 Aug 2026.
Can migrants receive medical care in Greece?
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Greece when the official insurance or residence conditions are met.
Language courses and integration in Greece
Government programmes, public integration services and exact provider records. The section expands only from fields present in the source; missing prices, refunds or contacts are not replaced with estimates.
Preparatory Greek-language classes for migrants and refugees in Second Chance Schools — State Language Course
General Secretariat for Vocational Education, Training and Lifelong Learning — Ministry of Education
For legally resident migrants, refugees aged 18 or over who meet the Second Chance School conditions.
Living and moving context for Greece
In 2024, the groceries price level index was 105.8 on an EU27=100 basis. Average gross salary was €1,071 per month and national median net income was €817 per month in 2024. There were 6.576 doctors per 1,000 people in Greece in 2022. In 2025, the top income-tax rate was 44%, standard VAT was 24% and the corporate tax rate was 22%.
Greece cities by population
The largest published cities appear first. Population is taken from the reusable official city layer; hub labels come from the existing city taxonomy.
All published cities in Greece (274)
60 of 274 shownSearch all cities
Reports with this country
Accepted report pages with a row for this country.
What different occupation groups earn in Greece
Mean gross monthly earnings by ISCO-08 major group, from the Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (employees in enterprises with 10–49 employees).
| Occupation group | Earnings | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Managers | ≈ 3,197 EUR/month (gross) | 2022 |
| Professionals | ≈ 1,345 EUR/month (gross) | 2022 |
| Technicians and associate professionals | ≈ 1,332 EUR/month (gross) | 2022 |
| Clerical support workers | ≈ 1,408 EUR/month (gross) | 2022 |
| Service and sales workers | ≈ 1,044 EUR/month (gross) | 2022 |
Source: Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (earn_ses22_25)) · observed 2022 · checked 2026-07-30.
Method and sources for these figures
Mean gross monthly earnings in EUR from the Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (earn_ses22_25); employees in enterprises with 10–49 employees; ISCO-08 major groups.
Eurostat — Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (earn_ses22_25)
An occupation major group (ISCO or national equivalent) is not a job title: each figure is the average across all occupations in the group, so it is never a salary "for" one profession. Rows from different surveys, periods or statistics are shown as separate rows and are never merged or ranked against each other.
Profession pages for Greece: Nurse · Physician · Teacher · Engineer · Architect · Software developer · Accountant · Childcare worker.
Greece facts
Current source-backed observations, grouped the way the city pages are, with geographic scope and observation periods.
Population and profile
How many people live in Greece?
The published population was 10,405,134 people in 2024. Source: World Bank52
National, resident population scope. Foreign-resident and migration-background figures are separate metrics in the table below.
How many foreign residents live in Greece?
The foreign-resident population was 737,061 people in 2025. Source: Eurostat9
Residents without Greece citizenship. The migration-background population is a broader measure and appears in the table below.
Legal, tax and other context
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent deposit can be paid in instalments | 0 | 31 Dec 2024 | Decision 9/20243Official · national figure |
| Typical rent deposit | 2 months | 8 Oct 2026 | Living and working conditions: Greece30Official · national figure |
| Public healthcare access for foreign residents | Conditional | 3 Aug 2026 | EOPYY — Hellenic National Contact Point for Cross-border Healthcare (official)6Official · national figure |
| Area | 131,960 km² | 31 Dec 2023 | World Bank53Official · national figure |
| Cost level against the capital | 105.8 index (EU27=100) | 31 Dec 2024 | Eurostat — Comparative price levels and HICP (prc_ppp_ind, prc_hicp_midx)13Official · national figure |
| Gross-to-net pay for a sample household | single person no children — 26,563 gross → 19,625 net a year (2025, national currency) | 31 Dec 2025 | Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition48Official · country household scenario |
| Population by year | 10,555,344 people (2021) | 1 Jan 2021 | Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN)46Official · country annual series |
| Doctors per 1,000 residents | 6.58 per 1,000 | 31 Dec 2022 | World Bank indicator SH.MED.PHYS.ZS56Official · national figure |
| Household electricity price | 0.255 EUR/kWh | 31 Dec 2025 | Eurostat10Official · national figure |
| Employer social contribution rate | 21.79 % | 31 Dec 2025 | OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration36Official · national figure |
| People employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing | 508,400 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in mining and quarrying | 9,400 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in manufacturing | 419,900 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning | 32,800 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in water supply, sewerage and waste management | 29,400 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in construction | 200,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in wholesale and retail trade; motor vehicle and motorcycle repair | 888,800 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in transportation and storage | 273,100 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in accommodation and food services | 738,300 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in information and communication | 125,800 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in finance and insurance | 84,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in real estate | 30,500 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in professional, scientific and technical services | 327,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in administrative and support services | 179,900 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 4 to 15. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: Reception classes for pupils with insufficient Greek (ZEP measures). How to enrol a child (minedu.gov.gr).
Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2026.
Typical city (median): about 13.6%
Unemployment rate (%)
Settling-in index
How the conditions a newcomer meets in Greece compare with the other 35 scored destinations: integration policy, getting by in English, an established foreign community and language courses. Every point comes from the component table below.
Above the median on integration policy; below it on getting by in English and the size of the foreign community.
Working as… in Greece
Open a profession for its available regulation, recognition and work-route evidence.
Regions of Greece
Each region's page lists its published cities with population, rent, salary, unemployment and air quality.
Common questions
Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.
What is the unemployment rate in Greece?
The national unemployment rate was 8.9 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a).
How many people live in Greece?
The published population was 10,405,134 people in 2024. Source: World Bank.
What is the median gross salary in Greece?
The median gross salary was 1,274 EUR/month in 2022. Source: Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly).
What is the minimum wage in Greece?
The statutory minimum wage is about 6.19 EUR/hour, gross (as of April 2026). Source: Κατώτατος Μισθός - Υπουργείο Εργασίας και Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης.
Cite this page
Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.
APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 23). Moving to Greece: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 3c78a676a07654f650bf68b09aaec1a9]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/countries/greece/ Retrieved 2026-10-23. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_moving-to-greece-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_c514f5ef272c,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Moving to Greece: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-23},
version = {3c78a676a07654f650bf68b09aaec1a9},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/countries/greece/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-10-23. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Moving to Greece: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/countries/greece/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 3c78a676a07654f650bf68b09aaec1a9; retrieved 2026-10-23; built 2026-10-23.This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.
Sources
Every number above comes from one of these records. Open the original source for its geographic scope and publication date.
- Areios Pagos — Decision 922/2019 Areios Pagos · areiospagos.gr · checked 2026-10-08
- Consular tariff for visas mfa.gr · checked 2026-10-08
- Decision 9/2024 efeteio-peir.gr · checked 2026-10-08
- ec.europa.eu ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-12
- EF EPI ef.com · checked 2026-08-03
- EOPYY — Hellenic National Contact Point for Cross-border Healthcare (official) EOPYY · eu-healthcare.eopyy.gov.gr · checked 2026-08-03
- EU Blue Card in Greece home-affairs.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-10-07
- Eurofound, Working time in 2021–2022 (EF23007EN), Figure 11 'Minimum number of days of paid annual leave, 2022' and Annex 2 notes assets.eurofound.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-18
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-20
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
Show 53 more sources
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-07
- Eurostat — Comparative price levels and HICP (prc_ppp_ind, prc_hicp_midx) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-06-12
- Eurostat — Distribution of income by household composition (ilc_di04) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat — Household energy prices (nrg_pc_204 electricity, nrg_pc_202 gas) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-06-12
- Eurostat — National accounts aggregates (nama_10_a10) and employment (nama_10_a10_e) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat crim off cat (ICCS0101, NR) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat demo_pjan ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat earn mw cur (Monthly minimum wages - bi-annual data) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-04
- Eurostat hbs exp t121 (Mean consumption expenditure per household by COICOP consumption purpose) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-04
- Eurostat ilc_di03 (Mean and median income by age and sex) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-04
- Eurostat lfsta_ewhuis — Usual weekly hours of work of full-time employees (sex total, 15-64, employees, main job) Eurostat lfsta_ewhuis · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-18
- Globalization and World Cities (GaWC), Loughborough University gawc.lboro.ac.uk · checked 2026-08-03
- Greece — compulsory education age range Greece · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Greece — school enrolment authority url Greece · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Greece — school language support programme Greece · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) data.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-13
- Living and working conditions: Greece eures.europa.eu · checked 2026-10-08
- Mean monthly earnings by sex, occupation and size class of the enterprise (2022) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-30
- Minimum Wage ypergasias.gov.gr · checked 2026-10-07
- MIPEX mirovni-institut.si · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD — Taxing Wages (DF_TAXINGWAGES) tax wedge and net income OECD · oecd.org · checked 2026-06-12
- OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-05
- Official statistics: grocery price level (EU27 = 100) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-18
- Official statistics: official language european-union.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-18
- Official statistics: standard VAT rate aade.gr · checked 2026-07-18
- Physicians (per 1,000 people) data.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-13
- Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-29
- Residence permit following approval of an invitation for dependent employment – Initial granting (E.4) en.mitos.gov.gr · checked 2026-10-08
- Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition Taxing Wages 2026 · sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-07-29
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- Working time limits — Official public holidays Working time limits · ypergasias.gov.gr · checked 2026-09-25
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank indicator NY.GDP.PCAP.CD api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- World Bank indicator SH.MED.PHYS.ZS api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- World Bank indicator SP.DYN.LE00.IN api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank SP.POP.TOTL api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-09-05
- Κατώτατος Μισθός - Υπουργείο Εργασίας και Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης ypergasias.gov.gr · checked 2026-09-17
- Greece Ministry of Migration and Asylum — EU citizens and family members
Official Greece starting point for EU/EEA/Swiss residence; national guidance only, not a personal eligibility decision.
- Greece Ministry of Migration and Asylum — residence permit categories
Official Greece national residence and immigration guidance; not a personal eligibility decision.