What wages can you expect when working in Denmark?

According to Eurostat, Danish labour costs €44.7 an hour, considerably more than in neighbouring Sweden or Germany. 

Note that this figure does not separate wages from the overall labour cost – that data was not available in 2019, according to Eurostat.

But which jobs earn the most?

The Local made a spreadsheet using data for 2019 salaries downloaded from Statistics Denmark (here's where you can get the raw data), and analysed it to find out.  

Top managers earn the most 

It shouldn't come as a surprise that top executives pull in the most pay, although they do earn a lower multiple of the average salary than their counterparts in the UK or US. 

According to Statistics Denmark, chief executives in 2019 earned on average 104,896 kroner (€14,000) a month, or about 1.3m kroner a year (€170,000).

Presumably the heads of Danish giants like Lego or Maersk are earning quite a bit more than that. 

What about the rest of the board? 

Those on the next rung down in the corporate hierarchy earn about three quarters of what their bosses do. 

Somewhat surprisingly, advertising and public relations managers earn more than IT managers and finance managers, at 79,324 kroner a month or 952,000 a year, compared to 79,249 kroner and 951,000 kroner for IT and 78,956 kroner or 947,472 kroner for the finance head. 

Sales managers earn slightly less, 75,535 kroner a month or 906,000 kroner a year, and human resources managers earn less still at 73,000 kroner a  month or 877,051 kroner a year. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, restaurant managers can't expect the same pay levels as other managers, earning on average 42,170 kroner a month. 

Which non-management jobs pay most? 

If boardroom battles aren't your thing, you can still earn a lot in Denmark. Aircraft pilots earn almost as much as chief executives, banking on average 99,424 kroner a month or 1.2m kroner a year. 

Specialist medical practitioners are also highly paid, drawing 91,125 kroner a month, or about 1.1m kroner a year, compared to 71,514 kroner a month or 860,000 kroner a year for doctors on average. Dentists do less well, earning 61,874 kroner a month or 742,498 a year. 

Air traffic controllers are also among the top earners, drawing in 70,281 kroner a month or 843,372 kroner a year.

According to the database, pharmacists earn on average 67,425 kroner a month or 809,100 kroner a year, which seems strangely high (perhaps it includes people working more generally in Denmark's highly successful pharmaceutical sector). 

City jobs are comparatively less well-paid than in the UK or US, with securities brokers and dealers earning 65,967 kroner a month or about 791,604 kroner a year, financial analysts 66,206 kroner a month or 794,472 kroner a year, and finance professionals in general earn 59,532 kroner a month or 714,384 kroner a year. 

Lawyers earn on average 65,089 kroner a month, or 781,000 kroner a year.

Software developers also earn less than you might expect, taking home 57,973 kroner a month or 695,676 kroner a year on average. 

Engineers also do quite well, earning 59,089 kroner a month on average. The highest earners among them are chemical engineers and electrotechnology engineers on 67,365 kroner a month and 61,460 kroner a month respectively.