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Salaries and the cost of living in Malta, 2026
Minimum wage €229.44 a week in 2026. Typical pay in hospitality, admin, customer service, IT, finance. Rent by area, tax bands, 10% social security, two worked budgets.
Updated 5 November 2026 · 5 min read
A Maltese salary looks small next to a German one and large next to a Colombian one. What matters is what is left after rent. Rent is the whole story in Malta: a room costs a third of a junior salary, a flat costs half. Here are the official numbers for 2026, the market ranges we see in the ads on this site, and two budgets worked through to the last euro.
Minimum wage, official
For 2026 the national minimum wage for a full-time employee is €229.44 a week. Over a year that is about €994 a month. Part-timers get the same hourly rate, which works out at €5.74 an hour where no sectoral order applies. Some sectors have higher minimums under their Wage Regulation Order. Check the current figure at DIER before you sign anything.
On top of the wage, every employee gets the statutory bonus and weekly allowance: four payments a year, two of €135.10 and two of €121.16, so around €512 a year. A cost-of-living increase is added each January and is obligatory; for 2026 it was €4.66 a week.
Wages must be paid at intervals of no more than four weeks.
Typical salaries, approximate
These are gross monthly ranges from the job ads we index, not official figures. Pay varies with experience, hours, tips and shift allowances. Treat them as a sanity check, not a promise.
| Sector | Typical gross per month |
|---|---|
| Hospitality: waiting, kitchen, housekeeping, reception | minimum wage to about €1,500 |
| Hospitality: chef, supervisor | about €1,600 to €2,500 |
| Administration, office assistant, receptionist | about €1,300 to €1,800 |
| Customer service, multilingual, gaming and tech support | about €1,500 to €2,200, often plus bonus |
| IT: developer, QA, sysadmin | about €2,500 to €4,500, seniors above |
| Finance: accounts clerk, payroll | about €1,500 to €2,000 |
| Finance: qualified accountant, compliance | about €2,500 to €4,000, seniors above |
An offer far above these for an entry-level job is a red flag, not a prize. See the guide on never paying an agent.
Rent, approximate
Listings move month to month and the main portals are the only source; there are no official statistics for asking rents. In late 2026, rough monthly ranges:
| What | Where | About |
|---|---|---|
| Room in a shared flat | anywhere | €450 to €700 |
| One-bedroom flat | St Paul’s Bay, Buġibba, the south | €700 to €1,000 |
| One-bedroom flat | Birkirkara, Mosta, Msida, Gżira | €800 to €1,100 |
| One-bedroom flat | Sliema, St Julian’s | €1,000 to €1,500 and up |
Add a deposit of one month, electricity and water that spike in July and August with the air conditioning, and internet at around €25 to €35.
Tax, official 2026
Income tax is deducted from each pay under the Final Settlement System. Single rates for 2026, on annual chargeable income:
| From | To | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| €0 | €12,000 | 0% |
| €12,001 | €16,000 | 15% |
| €16,001 | €60,000 | 25% |
| €60,001 | and over | 35% |
The 25% band carries a subtraction of €3,400, so tax at €16,800 a year is €800, not €4,200. Married and parent rates have wider zero bands. The full tables are on the tax administration’s site.
Social security, official 2026
Employees pay 10% of the basic weekly wage as a Class 1 contribution, and the employer pays the same again. For anyone born in 1962 or later the contribution is capped at €55.93 a week, reached at a basic wage of €559.30 a week, roughly €2,420 a month. Above that you pay the flat €55.93.
That contribution is your ticket to public health care, sickness benefit and, in time, a pension.
Worked budget: €1,400 gross a month
A typical hospitality or admin salary.
| Per month | |
|---|---|
| Gross | €1,400 |
| Social security, 10% | about €140 |
| Income tax, single rates | about €67 |
| Net | about €1,193 |
| Room in a shared flat | €550 |
| Share of electricity, water, internet | €60 |
| Food, cooking at home | €300 |
| Phone | €20 |
| Bus, with the free Tallinja card | €0 |
| Left | about €260 |
Four bonus payments a year add around €40 a month on average. There is no room here for a one-bedroom flat, a car or sending much money home. It is a starting salary, and people start here.
Worked budget: €2,500 gross a month
A customer service lead, a junior developer, an experienced accounts person.
| Per month | |
|---|---|
| Gross | €2,500 |
| Social security, capped | about €242 |
| Income tax, single rates | about €342 |
| Net | about €1,916 |
| One-bedroom flat, central | €1,000 |
| Electricity, water, internet | €110 |
| Food, some eating out | €400 |
| Phone | €20 |
| Bus | €0 |
| Gym, leisure, small extras | €150 |
| Left | about €230 |
Take a room instead of a flat and the figure at the bottom becomes about €700. That is the whole arithmetic of Malta: the flat is the luxury, not the restaurant.
What is cheap and what is not
- Cheap: the bus (free with the card), local vegetables and bread, a coffee, the beach, a pharmacist’s advice, mobile data.
- Not cheap: rent, imported groceries, electricity in summer, a car and its parking, a cold beer in Paceville.
Check this at the source
- DIER, national minimum wage 2026: €229.44 a week, €5.74 an hour, COLA €4.66. https://dier.gov.mt/en/services/employment-conditions/wages/national-minimum-wage/
- DIER, wages FAQ: statutory bonus amounts, four-week payment rule. https://dier.gov.mt/en/faqs/wages/
- Malta Tax and Customs Administration, tax rates for individuals 2026. https://mtca.gov.mt/personal-tax/tax-rates/tax-ratesindividuals
- Malta Tax and Customs Administration, Class 1 social security rates 2026. https://mtca.gov.mt/personal-tax/fss/social-security-contribution-rates/class-1---social-security-contribution-rates/2026
- Malta Public Transport, Tallinja card and free travel. https://www.publictransport.com.mt/en/tallinja-card
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change. The official sources linked at the end are the final word.
Never pay anyone for a job in Malta. If someone asks for money, it is a scam. No agents →