Nurse Salary in Germany: EUR 4,310 Gross a Month
Cross-agency · employment
Quick answer
The Federal Statistical Office puts skilled workers in health and hospital nursing on EUR 4,310 gross a month in April 2024, and elderly care on EUR 4,228. The average across all German occupations was EUR 3,978, so nursing sits above it.
Every figure on this page is from Statistisches Bundesamt's own published documents.
Last verified 1 source, listed below
Zahl der Woche PD25/19, Bruttomonatsverdienste in Gesundheits- und Pflegeberufen1. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with any agency.
Germany’s Federal Statistical Office, Destatis, publishes nursing pay as an average of gross monthly earnings by occupational group. The most recent figures in the release read for this page are April 2024.
The figures
| Occupational group | Gross monthly, April 2024 |
|---|---|
| Skilled workers in health and hospital nursing | EUR 4,310 |
| Skilled workers in elderly care | EUR 4,228 |
| All health and care occupations | EUR 4,048 |
| All occupations in the economy | EUR 3,978 |
These are gross earnings without special payments. Bonuses, thirteenth month payments and one-off supplements sit outside them.
Hospital nursing is EUR 332 a month above the all-occupations figure and EUR 82 above elderly care. Both subtractions are arithmetic on the published figures.
The ten-year picture
Destatis published these as a comparison with April 2014, and the interesting part is the rate of change rather than the level.
| Occupational group | April 2014 | April 2024 | Rise |
|---|---|---|---|
| All health and care occupations | EUR 2,829 | EUR 4,048 | EUR 1,219 |
| All occupations | - | EUR 3,978 | EUR 988 |
| Skilled workers in health and hospital nursing | - | EUR 4,310 | EUR 1,260 |
| Skilled workers in elderly care | - | EUR 4,228 | EUR 1,612 |
Health and care occupations gained EUR 231 a month more than the economy as a whole over the decade. Elderly care gained most of all, EUR 1,612, which is EUR 624 more than the all-occupations rise.
Destatis gives a reason: it says the growth was larger than in many other occupational groups, and that one likely cause is the introduction and development of the statutory minimum wage since 2015, from which employees in health and care benefited more than average. Elderly care rising fastest is consistent with that, because it started lowest.
What this figure is not
It is an average across a whole occupational group, not a scale and not an offer. Two things follow.
There is no pay ladder here. German public sector nursing is paid under a collective agreement with steps by experience and responsibility, but the release read for this page publishes group averages only, so no ladder is stated here.
And it is not a figure for a nurse arriving from abroad. Germany runs a recognition procedure for foreign qualifications and applies language requirements. Destatis publishes earnings, not entry rules, so this page carries none of them. The work visa requirements guide explains why the Philippine government controls the exit documents and the destination controls the visa.
The Philippine side
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| DMW processing, direct hire | USD 100, in peso equivalent |
| DMW processing, manual OEC through a landbased agency | ₱200.00 |
| OWWA membership | USD 25 |
| Pag-IBIG | ₱600.00 |
Charging above the allowable schedule is illegal recruitment under RA 10022, carrying 12 years and 1 day to 20 years and a fine of ₱1,000,000.00 to ₱2,000,000.00.
The recruitment agencies guide covers the licence directory and the OEC guide covers the exit certificate.
Related
The nurse salary abroad comparison puts this beside the other destinations that publish nurse pay, the nurse salary in the UK guide covers a market that publishes an actual ladder, the nurse salary in Australia guide covers one that publishes a legal minimum instead, and the PEOS guide covers the free seminar to take before applying.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a nurse earn in Germany?
- The Federal Statistical Office puts skilled workers in health and hospital nursing on EUR 4,310 gross a month in April 2024. That is gross earnings without special payments, so it excludes bonuses and one-off payments.
- Is that good pay by German standards?
- It is above average. The figure across all occupations in the German economy was EUR 3,978 gross a month in April 2024, so hospital nursing sits EUR 332 above it.
- What about elderly care?
- Skilled workers in elderly care earned EUR 4,228 gross a month in April 2024, EUR 82 below hospital nursing. Across all health and care occupations together the figure was EUR 4,048.
- Has nursing pay been rising?
- Yes, and faster than the wider economy. Health and care occupations as a whole rose EUR 1,219 a month over the ten years to April 2024, against EUR 988 across all occupations. Elderly care rose most, by EUR 1,612.
- Why did it rise faster?
- Destatis points to the introduction and development of the statutory minimum wage since 2015, which it says benefited employees in health and care more than average.
- Is there a pay ladder by experience?
- Not in this source. German public sector nursing pay is set by collective agreement with steps by experience, but the Destatis release read for this page publishes averages only, so no ladder is stated here.
- Do I need my Philippine nursing degree recognised?
- Germany operates a recognition procedure for foreign qualifications, and language requirements apply. The Destatis release covers earnings and nothing else, so this page states no recognition or language requirement.
- Does the Philippine side still apply?
- Yes. You still need an Overseas Employment Certificate, OWWA membership and either a licensed agency or a qualifying direct hire, whatever Germany decides about entry.