What monthly income makes you ‘rich’ in France? 2025 report

An equality think tank has highlighted the monthly income of France’s highest earners as the country’s ‘rich’ threshold continues to rise.

The richest 10% of the population earn at least €3,653 per month, reads the 2025 edition of L’Observatoire des inégalités’* biannual Rapport sur les inégalités en France (Report on Inequality in France) - based on 2022 figures from state statistics body Insee.

This level of monthly income (after taxes and social security benefits), represents some 3.4 times more than the poorest 10% of the population, who earn less than €1,080.

The report also highlighted that a single person earning between €1,608 and €2,941 per month falls into the middle class (classe moyenne) category, and that France’s median monthly income is €2,028 net.

This figure is multiplied by two to calculate the country’s seuil de richesse, meaning those earning a monthly net income of €4,056 or over are considered ‘rich’, up 5% from €3,860 in 2024’s report, which was based on 2021 figures. 

At the higher end of the scale, the study found that a monthly income of: 

• €7,500 net puts you in the top 1%

• €19,514 net puts you in the top 0.1%

Wage gaps

Disparities in income levels can be largely attributed to wage gaps, the report explains.

The top 10% of the highest-paid workers in full-time positions make 2.8 times more than the lowest-paid 10% of full-time workers, while people in senior positions earn an average of €2,600 more per month than employees.

This figure shifts to:

• €1,186 per month for those under 30 

• €3,941 for those over 60.

Defining richness

Note that ‘richness’ partly depends on location in France. In Paris, people may earn more than those living in other parts of the country, but their quality of life might not be particularly high due to greater costs. 

Equally, farmers based in rural areas may receive a modest income per month, but own assets - land, large machinery, and farm buildings and property.

‘Richness’ may also refer to a person’s feeling of community and how good their health is as they age.

*L’Observatoire des inégalités gathers information from government reports and Insee data to publish biannual reports on inequalities in France - the data on these topics is sometimes incomplete, and in some cases outdated.