Wages and prices › Romania
Romania: a wage buys 18.6% more than in 2019
Prices are 60.2% higher than in August 2019. Hourly wages rose 87.9% between the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2026, while prices rose 58.4% over the same quarters. Wages have more than caught up.
How much have prices risen since 2019?
Prices in Romania are 60.2% higher than in August 2019. What cost 100 lei then costs 160.25 lei now.
Price rise since August 2019, by what people buy. The red mark is all items, +60.2%.
- Insurance and finance+142.7%
- Housing and energy+89.7%
- Restaurants and hotels+77.2%
- Leisure and culture+74.4%
- Personal care and other+71.3%
- Food and soft drinks+65.5%
- Alcohol and tobacco+63.0%
- Education+55.8%
- Health+55.7%
- Transport+52.9%
- Clothing and shoes+49.0%
- Furniture and household goods+47.2%
- Phone and internet+19.8%
Have wages kept up?
Hourly wages rose 87.9% between the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2026. Prices rose 58.4% over the same quarters, so a wage buys 18.6% more than in 2019.
The hourly measure rose in 2020 because people worked fewer hours, not because pay rose.
How does Romania compare with its neighbours?
- European UnionPrices +30.0%, wages +30.0%, a wage buys +0.1%
- RomaniaPrices +58.4%, wages +87.9%, a wage buys +18.6%
- HungaryPrices +62.1%, wages +117.2%, a wage buys +34.0%
- BulgariaPrices +42.5%, wages +121.8%, a wage buys +55.6%
- SerbiaPrices +48.7%, wages +127.7%, a wage buys +53.2%
Work out your own inflation
Your prices depend on what you buy. Put in what you spend each month and see your own rate beside the official one: your inflation in Romania.
Sources and method
Prices: Eurostat, HICP (prc_hicp_minr), August 2026 against August 2019. Wages: Eurostat, labour cost index (lc_lci_r2_q), wages and salaries per hour worked, seasonally adjusted, the second quarter of 2026 against the second quarter of 2019. For the comparison, prices are the average of the same months. The figures are as published on 6 October 2026.