More than half of Latvia’s residents — 59% — say they would feel financially secure if their monthly income after taxes reached at least €2,000, according to a survey conducted by Citadele Bank.
The results show that 24% of respondents would feel financially safe earning between €2,001 and €2,500, while another 21% would need €2,501 to €3,000 per month. Meanwhile, 14% believe that financial security requires over €4,000 monthly, and only 4% said they could feel secure with up to €1,500 in income.
According to Citadele’s Chief Economist Kārlis Purgailis, the average net salary in Latvia has increased rapidly in recent years, but it still remains relatively low at €1,342. By the end of June this year, the average net wage was 10.7% higher than in mid-2024.
“Although this year’s tax changes have contributed positively to net income, the main driver of growth has been the rise in gross salaries, which increased by 8.2% at the end of the second quarter,” said Purgailis.
He added that
since the beginning of 2021, Latvia has seen a relatively strong increase in average wages,
with some quarters showing growth above 12% compared to the same period a year earlier. However, this growth pace is gradually slowing, and it is expected to continue moderating in the coming periods.
Purgailis predicts that next year, gross wage growth will likely slow to around 6–6.5%, but it will probably remain higher than inflation, allowing residents’ purchasing power to keep improving. At the same time, he warned that the rapid wage growth of recent years is not sustainable from employers’ perspective — with economic growth of only 1–2% per year, such salary increases cannot continue indefinitely.
When analyzing the results by gender, women more often than men associate financial security with a lower income. About 25% of women said they would feel secure with a salary between €1,501 and €2,000, compared to 18% of men. Meanwhile, men more often choose higher income levels — 18% of them think more than €4,000 a month is needed for financial security, compared to 10% of women.
The survey also reveals clear differences between age groups.
Younger people aged 18 to 29 most often said that €2,001–2,500 would make them feel safe (28%). Older respondents aged 60–74 said they would feel secure earning €1,501–2,000 (30%). In contrast, the middle-aged group (40–59) had significantly higher expectations — around one in four said they would need more than €3,000 per month to feel secure.
Regional differences are also evident in how residents define financial security.
In Riga, residents have the highest financial expectations — nearly 18% said they would need more than €4,000 a month, and 46% mentioned an income between €2,001 and €3,000. The bank explains this by the higher cost of living in the capital, including housing, transportation, and daily expenses.
In Kurzeme, about 33% of residents said they would feel financially secure earning between €1,501 and €2,000. In Zemgale and Latgale, the threshold is the lowest — up to 28% of Zemgale residents and 25% of Latgale residents believe up to €2,000 per month would be enough. Vidzeme residents take a middle ground: 22% said they would need €2,001–2,500, and only 12% think more than €4,000 a month is required for financial security.
The survey was conducted by Citadele Bank together with the research agency Norstat in September 2025, interviewing more than 1,000 Latvian residents aged 18 to 74 online.
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