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 Germany's big-city mayors receive
relatively modest financial rewards
December 2017: The salaries awarded to the mayors of Germany’s largest cities are relatively modest compared to the remuneration packages enjoyed by senior management in industry and business. The Mayor of Berlin, who also functions as a state prime minister, has a basic annual salary of some €168,000 (US$198,000), while the mayors of Cologne and Munich earn €143,000 and €147,000 respectively. Mayors of smaller large cities (Grossstädte) such as Ingolstadt, Saarbrücken or Osnabrück receive little more than €100,000 per year. In contrast, the CEOs of Volkswagen, Siemens and BASF earn in excess of eight million euros a year. Research by the management magazine ‘Markt und Mittelstand’ found that the bosses of smaller German companies - those with less than 500 employees - earn on average just under €300,000 a year.
The salaries of German mayors are linked to those of senior civil servants (Beamte) and vary from state to state. Mayors of large cities are paid more than those of smaller communities. For example in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state and home to cities such as Cologne, Düsseldorf and Bonn, mayors of towns with less than 10,000 people are paid between €60,000 and €76,000 per annum, while the mayors of cities with more than half a million inhabitants receive more than €140,000 a year.
In addition to their basic salaries, German mayors receive fixed expense allowances, which can amount to as much as 13.5 per cent of their basic pay. The allowances cover expenses for items such as work-related travel, cell phone use, protective clothing or the use of an office at home and can top €6,000 pa for the mayors of larger cities
Mayors of Germany's largest
cities and their annual salaries
|
Cities
|
Mayors
|
Basic annual salaries in euros
(1 euro = 1.18 US dollar)
|
Sources
|
| Aachen, Popl: 245,885, (North-Rhine Westphalia) |
Marcel Philipp |
€140,064
|
Mayor's account (2015) |
| Augsburg, Popl: 276,542 , (Bavaria) |
Kurt Gribl |
€111,600 to €120,000
|
Augsburger Allgemeine (2016) |
| Berlin, Popl: 3,421,829, (Federal capital, city state) |
Michael Müller |
€168,000
|
RBB24 (2017) |
| Bielefeld, Popl: 328,864 , (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
Pit Clausen |
€137,448
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Bochum, Popl: 361,734, (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
Ottilie Scholz |
€137,448
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Bonn, Popl: 311,287, (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
Ashok Alexander Sridharan |
€137,448
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Braunschweig, Popl: 251,364, (Lower Saxony) |
Ulrich Markurth |
€130,000
|
News38.de (2016) |
| Bremen, Popl: 548,547, (City state) |
Carsten Sieling |
€110,652
|
Gehaltsvergleich (2017) |
| Cologne / Köln, Popl: 1,034,175, (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
Henriette Reker |
€142,752
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Darmstadt, Popl: 155,353, (Hesse) |
Jochen Partsch |
€113.724
|
Oeffentlicher-Dienst.info (2016) |
| Dortmund, Popl: 575,944;, (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
Ullrich Sierau |
€142,752
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Dresden, Popl: 530,754; , (State capital of Saxony) |
Dirk Hilbert |
€119,748
|
Gehaltsvergleich (2017) |
| Duisburg, Popl: 486,855; , (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
Sören Link |
€137,448
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Düsseldorf, Popl: 598,686; , (State capital of North Rhine-Westphalia) |
Thomas Geisel |
€142,752
|
Focus (2015) |
| Erfurt, Popl: 210,178, (Thuringia) |
Andreas Bausewein |
€113,412
|
Focus (2015) |
| Essen, Popl: 574,635, (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
Thomas Kufen |
€142,752
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Frankfurt am Main, Popl: 701,350, (Hesse) |
Peter Feldmann |
€159,351
|
Frankfurter Neue Presse (2016) |
| Freiburg, Popl: 226,393, (Baden-Württemberg) |
Dieter Salomon |
€158,000
|
Badische Zeitung (2017) |
| Gelsenkirchen, Pop: 257.850, (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
Frank Baranowski |
€137,448
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Hagen, Popl: 189,044, (North-Rhine Westphalia) |
Erik Schulz |
€116,856
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Halle, Popl: 236,991, (Sachsen Anhalt) |
Bernd Wiegand |
€112,812
|
Halle Spektrum (2014) |
| Hamburg, Popl: 1,746,342, (City state) |
Olaf Scholz |
€168,516
|
Gehaltsvergleich (2017) |
| Hamm, Popl: 179,397, (North-Rhine Westphalia) |
Thomas Hunsteger-Petermann |
€116,856
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Hannover, Popl: 518,386; , (State capital of Lower Saxony) |
Stefan Schostock |
€124,080
|
Focus (2015) |
| Heidelberg, Popl: 156,267, (Baden-Württemberg) |
Eckhardt Wurzner |
€115,728
|
Stimme.de (2016) |
| Herne, Popl: 155,655, (North-Rhine Westphalia) |
Dr Frank Dudda |
€116,856
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Ingolstadt, Popl: 132,438, (Bavaria) |
Dr Christian Losel |
€109,800
|
Welt Digital (2013) |
| Karlsruhe, Popl: 294,761, (Baden-Württemberg) |
Frank Mentrup |
€121,656
|
Stimme.de (2016) |
| Kassel, Popl: 197,984, (Hesse) |
Bertram Hilgen |
€120,648
|
Oeffentlicher-Dienst.info (2016) |
| Kiel, Popl: 246,306, (Schleswig-Holstein) |
Dr Ulf Kampfer |
€119,040
|
Focus (2015) |
| Krefeld, Popl: 225,144, (North-Rhine Westphalia) |
Frank Meyer |
€116,856
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Leipzig, Popl: 531.562, (Saxony) |
Burkhard Jung |
€136,576
|
Leipziger Volkszeitung (2014) |
| Leverkusen, Popl: 163,487, (North-Rhine Westphalia) |
Uwe Richrath |
€116,856
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Lübeck, Popl: 216,253, (Schleswig-Holstein) |
Bernd Saxe |
€124,000
|
Flensbruger Tageblatt (2015) |
| Magdeburg, Popl: 235,723, (Saxony-Anhalt) |
Dr Lutz Trumper |
€112,920
|
Focus (2015) |
| Mainz, Popl: 209,779, (Rhineland-Palatinate) |
Michael Ebling |
€116,916
|
Focus (2015) |
| Mannheim, Popl: 296,690, (Baden-Württemberg) |
Peter Kurz |
€121,656
|
Stimme.de (2016) |
| Mönchengladbach, Popl: 256,853, (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
Hans Wilhelm Reiners |
€137,448
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Mülheim / Ruhr, Popl: 169,278, (North-Rhine Westphalia) |
Ulrich Scholten |
€116,856
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Munich / München, Popl: 1,407,836, (State capital, Bavaria) |
Dieter Reiter |
€146,556
|
Focus (2015) |
| Münster, Popl: 299,708, (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
Markus Lewe |
€137,448
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Nuremberg / Nürnberg, Popl: 498,876, (Bavaria) |
Ulrich Maly |
€138,800
|
Welt Digital (2014) |
| Oberhausen, 210,934, (North- Rhine Westphalia) |
Daniel Schranz |
€116,856
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Osnabrück, Popl: 162,403, (Lower Saxony) |
Wolfgang Griesert |
€109,524
|
Osnabrücker Zeitung (2014) |
| Potsdam, Popl: 167,745, (Brandenburg) |
Jann Jakobs |
€105,288
|
Focus (2015) |
| Rostock, Popl: 206,001, (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) |
Roland Methling |
€107,909
|
Svz.de (2015) |
| Saarbrücken, Popl: 178,151, (Saarland) |
Charlotte Britz |
€104,940
|
Gehaltsvergleich (2017) |
| Solingen, Popl: 158,726, (North-Rhine Westphalia) |
Tim Kurzbach |
€116,856
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
| Stuttgart, Popl: 604,297, (Baden-Württemberg) |
Fritz Kuhn |
€157,752
|
Stimme.de (2016) |
| Wiesbaden, Popl: 275.976, (Hesse) |
Sven Gerich |
€140,736
|
Focus (2015) |
| Wuppertal, Popl: 343,488, (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
Andcreas Mucke |
€137,448
|
Bund der Steuerzahler (2016) |
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