Research / Happiness and taxes
What makes engineers happy in Europe (and what taxes buy back)
677 engineers across Europe rated their happiness and what their taxes buy, alongside their pay and savings. This analysis takes both ratings apart: what correlates with each, which countries lead and trail, what remote work changes, and how it all feeds the money rankings.
The average engineer in the data rates life 7.4 out of 10 but what their taxes buy only 6.8. Happiness tracks the savings rate more than the paycheck, runs higher fully remote, and peaks in countries the famous happiness rankings ignore: Serbia, Czechia lead the sturdier samples. Meanwhile the more tax engineers pay, the worse they rate what it buys.
Key findings
- What engineers keep tracks happiness better than what they earn. Across 677 reports, the share of net pay saved lines up with the happiness rating more tightly than net pay does, and gross pay, the number offers are negotiated on, lines up weakest of the pay figures (r = +0.32 vs +0.20). In plain terms: engineers saving under 10% of net average 5.9 out of 10; those saving half or more average 7.9. #
- Among countries with 10+ ratings, Serbia tops the happiness board at 8.59 out of 10, with Czechia, Poland next. At the other end sit Netherlands and France (6.96). #
- The board inverts the famous happiness rankings. Sweden, Denmark, Finland sit in the bottom third of 27 countries here, while the top is held by places the world rankings put far lower. Working in a country as a well-paid engineer and living in it as an average citizen are different experiences. #
- Paying more tax does not come back as better-rated services. Engineers with an effective tax rate under 15% rate what it buys 7.2 out of 10; at 45% and up the rating falls to 6.0. The slide is monotone: every extra band of tax burden rates what it buys the same or worse, and at country level the tax rate explains nothing of service satisfaction (r = -0.01). #
- Where taxes feel worth it: Switzerland, Czechia, Estonia pair below-median tax burdens with above-median service ratings, and Austria, Norway, Finland at least deliver for the high rates they charge. The sore spot is Germany, Croatia, Romania: above-median tax, below-median rating of what it buys. #
- Remote engineers report higher happiness (7.82 vs 7.14 onsite; 67% of them rate 8+, against 48%), and the link survives holding savings constant. Their rating of tax-paid services barely moves (6.87 vs 6.75): where you live decides what your taxes buy, not how you work. #
- The happiest engineers in the data work remotely from Central & Eastern Europe. That group averages 8.32 out of 10 across 85 reports, 1.1 points above everyone else pooled, with 75% rating 8+ while keeping 50% of a €93k average net. The remote premium follows the arbitrage: +0.95 points of happiness in Central & Eastern Europe against +0.06 in Western Europe, where local pay is already close to remote pay. #
- Happiness and service satisfaction are related but far from the same thing (r = +0.39). Greece, Lithuania, Serbia run happy despite poorly rated services; in Finland, Switzerland the services outscore the mood. That is why the /data Livability score averages both before anything gets ranked. #
- The financial and livability boards point the same way. The countries where engineers save the biggest share of pay are broadly the happier ones (r = +0.49); how much they earn barely matters by comparison (+0.13), and the heavier a country's tax bite, the lower its happiness runs (-0.51). Countries that let engineers keep more do not trade it away in life quality, which is why the same names top the Overall rank. #
What tracks with happiness
Correlation of each money factor with the 0 to 10 happiness rating, across 677 reports. The ordering is the story: the further down the money goes toward what an engineer actually keeps, the tighter the link. Gross pay, the number offers get negotiated on, is the weakest of the positive factors, and the effective tax rate points the other way.
Savings rate (savings over net pay)
+0.32
Yearly savings
+0.26
Net pay (after tax)
+0.24
Gross pay (pre tax)
+0.20
Effective tax rate
-0.15
How to read r: it runs from -1 to +1, and 0 means no relationship at all. In self-reported data like this, +0.32 is a real pattern with plenty of exceptions, not a law. What it looks like in practice is the table below: the lowest savers average 5.9 out of 10, the highest 7.9.
Happiness by savings rate
| Savings rate | Avg happiness | Rating 8+ | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10% | 5.91 | 23% | 47 |
| 10 to 20% | 6.82 | 40% | 67 |
| 20 to 30% | 6.98 | 40% | 105 |
| 30 to 40% | 7.37 | 54% | 109 |
| 40 to 50% | 7.73 | 58% | 108 |
| 50% and up | 7.94 | 71% | 241 |
Pay itself never stops mattering: average happiness climbs from 6.7 under €40k net to 8.1 at €100k+ with no plateau in between. But at every pay level, the engineers who keep a bigger share report better lives, and self-described lifestyle moves the same way (Frugal 6.1, Luxurious 8.5). Seniority helps too (Junior 7.1 rising to Executive 8.1), consistent with the same mechanism: seniority buys slack, and slack is what the savings rate measures.
The country board
Every country with at least 5 ratings from engineers living there, sorted by average happiness. Services is the same engineers rating what their taxes buy (infrastructure, healthcare, public services). The financial columns come from all 1,568 approved reports for each country, not just the rated subset. Read the Ratings column before quoting a small country.
| Country | Happiness | Services | Ratings | Avg tax rate | Avg savings rate | Avg net pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kosovothin sample | 8.80 | 6.20 | 5 | 14% | 45% | €73k |
| Lithuaniathin sample | 8.60 | 5.60 | 5 | 33% | 45% | €75k |
| Serbia | 8.59 | 5.94 | 17 | 24% | 42% | €62k |
| Czechia | 8.31 | 8.08 | 13 | 22% | 44% | €73k |
| Bulgariathin sample | 8.14 | 6.00 | 7 | 17% | 42% | €57k |
| Norwaythin sample | 8.00 | 7.80 | 5 | 32% | 31% | €78k |
| Poland | 7.89 | 7.73 | 60 | 25% | 47% | €77k |
| Switzerland | 7.82 | 8.48 | 42 | 23% | 39% | €120k |
| Austria | 7.82 | 8.09 | 11 | 34% | 40% | €47k |
| Belgium | 7.80 | 7.20 | 10 | 35% | 43% | €65k |
| Romania | 7.74 | 6.16 | 19 | 32% | 44% | €65k |
| Croatiathin sample | 7.63 | 6.38 | 8 | 31% | 39% | €58k |
| Estoniathin sample | 7.63 | 7.75 | 8 | 23% | 39% | €58k |
| Cyprusthin sample | 7.60 | 6.80 | 5 | 14% | 54% | €126k |
| Greecethin sample | 7.50 | 4.33 | 6 | 30% | 28% | €34k |
| Ireland | 7.43 | 5.19 | 15 | 38% | 35% | €84k |
| Spain | 7.39 | 6.68 | 98 | 30% | 43% | €56k |
| United Kingdom | 7.34 | 6.83 | 29 | 34% | 35% | €87k |
| Swedenthin sample | 7.33 | 7.44 | 9 | 31% | 33% | €52k |
| Portugal | 7.24 | 5.76 | 29 | 28% | 32% | €44k |
| Italy | 7.09 | 5.98 | 58 | 30% | 35% | €40k |
| Germany | 6.99 | 6.74 | 100 | 39% | 33% | €59k |
| Netherlands | 6.97 | 7.39 | 31 | 32% | 37% | €83k |
| France | 6.96 | 6.92 | 25 | 32% | 36% | €63k |
| Slovakiathin sample | 6.60 | 4.40 | 5 | 25% | 39% | €55k |
| Denmarkthin sample | 6.57 | 6.86 | 7 | 37% | 35% | €63k |
| Finlandthin sample | 6.50 | 7.63 | 8 | 36% | 36% | €83k |
City-level versions of both ratings live on the data explorer.
What taxes buy back
The second rating asks engineers how satisfied they are with what their taxes pay for. It averages 6.8 against 7.4 for happiness: across Europe, engineers rate their lives well and their governments' side of the deal noticeably worse. And unlike happiness, this rating barely responds to money at all: the strongest income or savings factor manages r = +0.15. What does move it is the tax rate, in the wrong direction:
| Effective tax rate | Services rating | Happiness | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15% | 7.18 | 8.24 | 61 |
| 15 to 25% | 6.93 | 7.67 | 138 |
| 25 to 35% | 6.83 | 7.24 | 223 |
| 35 to 45% | 6.73 | 7.24 | 211 |
| 45% and up | 6.02 | 7.20 | 44 |
Who delivers for the money
Countries split at the medians: 31% average effective tax and a 6.8 service rating. Each entry shows (tax rate / service rating).
Value for money
Below-median tax, above-median servicesSwitzerland (23% / 8.5), Czechia (22% / 8.1), Estonia (23% / 7.8), Poland (25% / 7.7), Cyprus (14% / 6.8)
Pay a lot, get a lot
Above-median tax, above-median servicesAustria (34% / 8.1), Norway (32% / 7.8), Finland (36% / 7.6), Sweden (31% / 7.4), Netherlands (32% / 7.4), Belgium (35% / 7.2), France (32% / 6.9), Denmark (37% / 6.9), United Kingdom (34% / 6.8)
Pay a lot, get less back
Above-median tax, below-median servicesGermany (39% / 6.7), Croatia (31% / 6.4), Romania (32% / 6.2), Lithuania (33% / 5.6), Ireland (38% / 5.2)
Cheap but bare
Below-median tax, below-median servicesSpain (30% / 6.7), Kosovo (14% / 6.2), Bulgaria (17% / 6.0), Italy (30% / 6.0), Serbia (24% / 5.9), Portugal (28% / 5.8), Slovakia (25% / 4.4), Greece (30% / 4.3)
What remote work changes (and what it does not)
7.82 remote vs 7.14 onsite
8+ share: 67% vs 48%
6.87 remote vs 6.75 onsite
8+ share: 41% vs 41%
Fully-remote engineers (263 of the rated reports) are the happier group by 0.68 points. Part of that is money: they save 44% of net pay on average against 38% onsite, often by earning city pay in cheaper places. But even comparing engineers with the same savings rate, most of the remote edge stays (r drops only from +0.20 to +0.16), so the flexibility itself seems to carry weight. The services rating is the counterexample: no meaningful remote-onsite gap there (r = +0.03). Remote work changes how you live, not what your taxes buy, and the remote board is where the arbitrage lives.
Where remote pays off most
The same reports split by region and work setup, sorted by happiness. The remote premium is not spread evenly: it concentrates where remote pay meets local costs.
| Region | Setup | Avg happiness | Rating 8+ | Avg savings rate | Avg net pay | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central & Eastern Europe | Remote | 8.32 | 75% | 50% | €93k | 85 |
| Nordics | Remotethin sample | 7.67 | 50% | 30% | €77k | 6 |
| Southern Europe | Remote | 7.64 | 66% | 42% | €69k | 94 |
| Central & Eastern Europe | Onsite | 7.38 | 56% | 43% | €55k | 64 |
| Western Europe | Remote | 7.32 | 54% | 37% | €95k | 68 |
| Western Europe | Onsite | 7.26 | 51% | 38% | €82k | 169 |
| Southern Europe | Onsite | 6.88 | 38% | 34% | €38k | 91 |
| Nordics | Onsite | 6.81 | 38% | 32% | €75k | 21 |
The top cell is not about earning more: remote engineers in Central & Eastern Europe and in Western Europe report almost the same average net (€93k vs €95k); the difference is what it buys, a 50% savings rate against 37%. One selection note: 57% of the rated reports from Central & Eastern Europe are fully remote, against 29% in Western Europe, so the region's sample leans toward engineers who already won the remote game.
Livability: two ratings, one score
The two ratings agree only loosely (r = +0.39): related, but each carries information the other misses. Engineers in Greece, Lithuania, Serbia rate life up to 3.2 points above their services (community, weather, and cost of living carry what the state does not), while Finland, Switzerland run the other way: solid services, lower spirits. That is why the Livability score on the data explorer averages both ratings instead of picking one.
Livability then meets the financial data in the Overall rank, which blends a financial subscore (savings, lifestyle, family support) at 60% with the livability subscore at 40%, both normalized over the same countries, with thin samples shrunk toward the mean so five ratings cannot swing a board. The two pillars are not rivals: countries where engineers keep a bigger share of net pay also score better on livability (r = +0.39 across 27 countries), so the blend usually sharpens the order rather than reshuffling it.
The Overall board today
| # | Country | Overall | Financial | Livability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serbia | 67.4 | 72.9 | 59.2 |
| 2 | Cyprus | 63.9 | 78.9 | 41.3 |
| 3 | Poland | 60.2 | 51.2 | 73.6 |
| 4 | Czechia | 58.7 | 47.1 | 76.2 |
| 5 | Kosovo | 57.5 | 59.5 | 54.5 |
Full board, city version, and score breakdowns on the data explorer.
Methodology & what these numbers are
One source: 1,568 approved self-reported submissions behind the data explorer, of which 677 carry the two 0 to 10 ratings analyzed here: happiness and satisfaction with tax-paid services (infrastructure, healthcare, public services). Savings rate is yearly savings over net pay; effective tax rate is one minus net over gross, kept only where both figures exist and net does not exceed gross.
Correlations are Pearson r on raw rows (Spearman ranks agree throughout, and the savings-over-pay ordering also holds within pay bands). Countries need 5 ratings to appear; country financial columns use every approved report for that country. Group means need 3 rows; correlations need 30. Everything recomputes from the live database on each visit, so the numbers move as submissions land. Full definitions in the public methodology. Updated September 2026.
Cite this data
Euro Top Tech, Happiness and Taxes in Europe (2026): what correlates with software engineer happiness and satisfaction with tax-paid services across European countries, from crowdsourced engineer reports. https://www.eurotoptech.com/research/happiness-taxes-europe
Where this could be wrong
Correlation is not causation. Savings could buy peace of mind, or content people could find saving easier, or a third thing (stable jobs, cheap cities) could drive both. The partial correlations narrow the candidates; they do not settle the direction.
Single-item, self-selected ratings. One 0 to 10 question per rating, answered by engineers who chose to contribute. The service rating measures perception, not an audit of hospitals or trains, and well-paid engineers use private substitutes where public services lag, which can lower what they get from taxes without lowering quality for everyone.
Small countries move. Anything marked thin sample rests on 5 to 9 reports and can shift with a handful of submissions; the n column is part of every claim. If your country is thin or missing, adding your numbers takes 2 minutes and moves the board.
Frequently asked
What are the happiest countries in Europe for software engineers?
Among countries with at least 10 ratings from engineers living there, the top of the board right now is Serbia (8.59/10, n=17), Czechia (8.31/10, n=13), Poland (7.89/10, n=60), Switzerland (7.82/10, n=42). Thinner samples run even higher (Kosovo, Lithuania), but with under 10 reports each they move as new submissions land.
Which European countries give engineers the best value for taxes paid?
Switzerland (23% effective tax, services rated 8.5/10), Czechia (22% effective tax, services rated 8.1/10), Estonia (23% effective tax, services rated 7.8/10), Poland (25% effective tax, services rated 7.7/10) combine below-median tax burdens with above-median satisfaction in what those taxes buy. Among high-tax countries, Austria, Norway, Finland still earn above-median service ratings, while Germany, Croatia, Romania charge above-median rates for below-median satisfaction.
Does a higher salary make software engineers happier?
In this data, more money tracks with more reported happiness at every level: engineers netting under €40k average 6.7/10, and the €100k and up group averages 8.1, with no visible plateau between. But the savings rate, the share of net pay an engineer keeps, correlates more strongly than either gross or net pay itself: keeping money tracks happiness better than earning it.
Does remote work make engineers happier?
Fully-remote engineers in the data report 7.82/10 average happiness against 7.14 for onsite, and 67% of them rate 8 or higher versus 48%. Remote workers also save a larger share of net pay, but the happiness link survives controlling for savings, so it is not only a money effect. This is a correlation in self-reported data, not proof that going remote causes it.
Where are the happiest remote software engineers in Europe?
Remote engineers living in Central & Eastern Europe are the happiest group in the data: 8.32/10 across 85 reports, with 75% rating 8 or higher, keeping 50% of an average €93k net. The remote happiness premium runs +0.95 points there against +0.06 in Western Europe, where local pay is already close to remote pay.
Do higher taxes buy better public services, as engineers experience them?
Not in this data. Engineers with effective tax rates under 15% rate their tax-paid services 7.2/10 on average; those paying 45% or more rate them 6.0. Across countries, the average tax rate and the average service rating are essentially uncorrelated. Satisfaction depends on which country is spending the money, not on how much of the paycheck it takes.