For the analysis of wage developments, the Federal Employment Agency evaluates the medians of the monthly gross wages of full-time employees subject to social insurance at the place of work at the end of the year. At the regional level, the analysis of median wages enables, for example, the identification of spatial disparities or convergence developments.
 

The figure shows the media remuneration by spatial planning regions in 2022. The three regions with the highest median wages are the Rhine-Main, Stuttgart and Munich regions with a median wage of €4,300 and above. The special role of these regions can be explained by the respective industry focus of the companies located in the regions. In the Stuttgart region, for example, the median wage in vehicle construction is just under €6,600. Employees in the "financial and insurance service providers" sector in the Rhine-Main region receive a similarly high value. The highest media remuneration is received by employees in the vehicle construction sector in Munich with 6900€.

It is clear that the regions in the east of Germany, with few exceptions, are all in the lowest category with a median wage of €2,700 to €3,100. Only the regions of Berlin and Potsdam as well as Leipzig and Dresden have a higher wage level. The development of median wages from 2012 to 2022 is, however, more positive in the regions of the new federal states with an average annual increase of over 2% than in the other regions, so that an equalisation of wages between the new and old federal states could be observed. One of the reasons for this is the increase in the minimum wage to €12 in October 2022. According to the WSI, 29.1% of employees in the east benefit from the increase in the minimum wage, compared to only 16.1% in the west [1].

Other figures can be found here.
 

[1] Pusch, T. & Seils, E. (2023): Mindestlohn 12 Euro. WSI Policy Brief, Düsseldorf, 22 Seiten. https://www.wsi.de/de/faust-detail.htm?produkt=HBS-008420, abgerufen am 27.07.2023.