Do you go on vacation once a year? Save part of your pay each month? If you answered yes to those questions, you are likely making a decent living wage.
A new calculation from the Decent Minimum Wage platform puts a number on just that: what it actually costs to live vs. just get. And the difference between those two benchmarks is stark.
In 2024, the minimum decent wage, enough for a full-time worker supporting one child to cover housing, food, transport, healthcare, some leisure, and a small savings cushion, stood at CZK 48,336 gross per month. In Prague and Brno, where rents run significantly higher, that figure rises to CZK 56,912.
But the national minimum wage in Czechia last year was CZK 20,800, less than half the decent wage threshold calculated by researchers.
Breaking down the numbers
Even the average gross wage CZ 49,215 according to the Czech Statistical Office barely clears the bar for most of the country and falls short in the two largest cities. Half of all workers earned less than CZK 45,523.
The result: roughly 2.5 million workers 63 percent of the workforce fell below the decent wage threshold. Among women, the share was nearly three in four.
So what does a decent wage actually get you?
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Summary for: A decent life in Czechia costs CZK 48,336 a month. Here's where it goes
