How can you know a country's top 10% salary from two numbers?

Income within a country is closely log-normal. Two public World Bank figures pin the whole curve: GNI per capita fixes the mean, and the Gini index fixes the spread (σ = √2·Φ⁻¹((Gini+1)/2)). From the resulting log-normal you can read any percentile — median, top 10%, top 1% — exactly.

What's the difference between the survival floor and the minimum wage?

The survival floor is what a single person's essentials actually cost locally (rent, food, transport, utilities — from our Pint & Property basket). The statutory minimum is the legal wage floor, which can sit above or below survival, and some countries (Nordics, Switzerland, Singapore) have none, relying on collective bargaining.

Is this real payroll data?

No — it's a transparent model calibrated from World Bank GNI and Gini (updated 2026-07-14), covering 41 countries. It's excellent for setting fair local salary bands or benchmarking yourself, but a specific role or city can differ. Treat it as a well-grounded estimate, then validate against local job data.

How do I use this to set fair local salary bands?

Open the HR band builder, pick a percentile range (e.g. p50–p75 for a solid mid-market band), and read the local salary range in USD and local currency. The Fair Pay cross-check also shows where a cost-of-living-adjusted offer would land in the local market.

Doesn't the Gini index measure different things in different countries?

Yes — and we correct for it. Some countries survey income (US, most of Europe and Latin America); others survey consumption (China, India, much of Asia and Africa), which looks more equal because households smooth spending. Using each country's World Bank welfare basis, we widen consumption-based Gini figures by ~7 points to an income-equivalent so top-decile pay isn't understated. We also use each country's actual employment-to-population ratio rather than a global assumption.

Global Pay · Local Reality

What does a good salary look like — locally?

Fair Pay scales a salary between countries. This shows the whole local ladder: survival, minimum, median, comfortable, top 10%, top 1% — so companies set bands fairly and locals see exactly where they stand.

Local Salary Benchmarker

What does a good salary actually look like on the ground? From survival to the top 1% — modeled from World Bank income data, so you can set fair local bands or see where you stand.

Country

Where do I stand? Your salary

In Poland, the median wage is about $1,809/month; a top-10% earner clears $3,506/month, and the top 1% $6,013/month.

Survival floor $994/mo 3,738 PLN

Statutory minimum $1,241/mo 4,667 PLN

Median (p50) $1,809/mo 6,804 PLN

Comfortable (p75) $2,562/mo 9,636 PLN

Top 10% (p90) $3,506/mo 13,186 PLN

Top 1% (p99) $6,013/mo 22,615 PLN

Monthly wage across the income distribution. Your salary appears as a marker when entered.

HR band builder

Pick a percentile range to price a fair local salary band.

From To

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Fair Pay cross-check

Where would a cost-of-living-fair offer land in the local market?

Home salary Home country

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Median monthly wage by country (darker = higher).

Lower → higher · click a country to open its page

Hiring or getting paid globally?

Deel → Oyster → Remote.com →

Modeled from World Bank GNI + Gini (2026-07-14) — estimates for benchmarking, not payroll data. Links may be affiliate links.

How the model works

σ = √2·Φ⁻¹((Gini+1)/2) · μ = ln(mean) − σ²/2 · wage(p) = e^(μ + σ·Φ⁻¹(p))

How can you know a country's top 10% salary from two numbers?: Income within a country is closely log-normal. Two public World Bank figures pin the whole curve: GNI per capita fixes the mean, and the Gini index fixes the spread (σ = √2·Φ⁻¹((Gini+1)/2)). From the resulting log-normal you can read any percentile — median, top 10%, top 1% — exactly.
What's the difference between the survival floor and the minimum wage?: The survival floor is what a single person's essentials actually cost locally (rent, food, transport, utilities — from our Pint & Property basket). The statutory minimum is the legal wage floor, which can sit above or below survival, and some countries (Nordics, Switzerland, Singapore) have none, relying on collective bargaining.
Is this real payroll data?: No — it's a transparent model calibrated from World Bank GNI and Gini (updated 2026-07-14), covering 41 countries. It's excellent for setting fair local salary bands or benchmarking yourself, but a specific role or city can differ. Treat it as a well-grounded estimate, then validate against local job data.
How do I use this to set fair local salary bands?: Open the HR band builder, pick a percentile range (e.g. p50–p75 for a solid mid-market band), and read the local salary range in USD and local currency. The Fair Pay cross-check also shows where a cost-of-living-adjusted offer would land in the local market.
Doesn't the Gini index measure different things in different countries?: Yes — and we correct for it. Some countries survey income (US, most of Europe and Latin America); others survey consumption (China, India, much of Asia and Africa), which looks more equal because households smooth spending. Using each country's World Bank welfare basis, we widen consumption-based Gini figures by ~7 points to an income-equivalent so top-decile pay isn't understated. We also use each country's actual employment-to-population ratio rather than a global assumption.

For AI agents: GET /api/wage-bands.json?country=PL&percentile=90 — see /llms.txt and the calculate_wage_bands MCP tool.