In 2026, Poland remains the main destination for labor migration for Ukrainians. It is here that one of the largest groups of Ukrainian workers in Europe is employed, and it is here that the first transition from the Ukrainian labor market to the European one most often occurs
Looking at the basic figures, the difference becomes obvious. In Ukraine, the average salary is about 550 euros per month. On average in the European Union, it is approximately 3155 euros "net". Ukrainians working in Poland earn an average of 1500–1650 euros net
A tutaj główny punkt jest wyraźnie widoczny: Polska znajduje się pomiędzy Ukrainą a "starą Europą", ale bliżej dolnego końca europejskiego poziomu
In this context, Poland acts as an intermediate market. The incomes of Ukrainians here are about 1.5–2 times higher than in Ukraine, but significantly lower than the average European levels. When comparing directly with the EU, the Polish incomes of Ukrainians are on average about 45–55% lower.
Simply put, a person earning about 1500–1650 euros in Poland could expect around 3000–3150 euros on average in the European Union. The gap is almost double.
Ważne jest również, aby wziąć pod uwagę, że nawet w Polsce Ukraińcy często nie osiągają średniego poziomu dla kraju. Powód leży w strukturze zatrudnienia: większość pracuje w logistyce, magazynach, produkcji lub usługach — czyli w sektorach z wynagrodzeniami poniżej średniej.
As a result, the average income of Ukrainians in Poland looks like this: about 8750 zlotys gross, which after taxes turns into 6500–7000 zlotys net, or 1500–1650 euros
When putting the whole picture together, a fairly clear ladder emerges: Ukraine is the base level, Poland is the middle with income growth of one and a half to two times, and the average EU level is almost twice as high as the Polish level and several times higher than the Ukrainian.
