The average salary of a Russian citizen in August 2019 was 44,961 rubles per month (USD 704). However, the median wages are 20-30% lower, depending on the region of the country.
Average salaries vs. median wages in Russia
- Median salary is the value where 50% of numbers in the sample are higher and 50% are lower. As such, the median wage gives a better representation of the actual amounts people earn.
- Average wage is the value that we get by adding all the values in the sample and dividing by the total number of values.
When we look at average wages, in Russia they are much higher than the median values due to the high income inequality between top and bottom earners within the same industry. Wages of top managers are not separated for statistical purposes but included in the total earnings of workers within the industry.
There are lies, damn lies, and official statistics
Some other statistical manipulations include grouping industries with low earnings together with the professions where people earn above average.
- For instance, retail, which is traditionally one of the lowest paid occupations, is grouped with servicing of motor vehicles, where pay checks are much higher.
- Wages of governmental management of various levels, which are disproportionally high in Russia, where bureaucrats became a class of the modern rich in the past decade, are grouped with salaries of social workers and military, who are getting paid close to minimum amounts allowed by the law.
The statistics on average salaries also includes payments for overtime. In industries like health or education, employees often have to work double time to be able to earn such salaries that we see in the official statistics.
This is why, for instance, earnings of educators in August 2019 are 25% lower than in January of the same year: 25,164 vs. 33,582 RUB. August is the time of school holidays in Russia, so teachers have no ability to work overtime, as kids are not in school.
Medical doctors report working twice as much as the base working week hours, to earn the average salary of 41,000 RUB (USD 644).
How Russian citizens are getting paid
Remuneration is calculated in Russia on the monthly basis, not weekly or yearly. When Russians talk about wages, it’s always about monthly salaries.
Earnings are paid twice a month.
- In the first week of the month salary for the previous month is paid.
- The advance is paid in the third week of the month. The name of the payment isn’t reflecting the actual nature of the payment: By the third week an employee has already worked for over two weeks, and this is what he or she is actually being paid for.
So, even though Russians talk about monthly salaries, the pay checks or electronic transfers are issued fortnightly.
In Russia employers pay 30% social contribution on top of their workers’ remuneration to the budget directly. This allows the government to pay for free medical and pensions.
Aged pensions for Russian citizens are based on the earnings and years of work, thus, there is another indicted payment connected with the salaries of employees that goes to the government’s budged, although the general income tax for Russian citizens is 13%.
Income tax for non-residents (people who spent less than 183 days on the territory of the country) is 30%.
Income per capita in Russia
In 2018 income per person in Russia was 32,609 rubles monthly (391 thousand RUB annually). In US Dollars this equals $511 per month or $6,130 yearly.
Read also:
- What is minimum wage in Russia?
- How much do teachers make in Russia?
- What is the average hourly wage in Russia?
- 5 tips how to break up with a Russian girl
One thing that I have found out about income in Russia was, that a lot of the income is actually available for spending. Many people have very little for monthly expenses and payments.