Benchmark dataset

Remote Pay Zone Index 2026

We classify all 38 countries in our Salary Index into four cost-of-living zones, then show what 89 mid-level roles would pay under domestic, nearshore, and global remote bands. Static model—not a live geo-pay feed or verified employer policy table.

Figures use Toolminator's static salary model (ranges for comparison, not job listings). Methodology & limitations.

Content revision: 2026-05

Download & cite

Researchers and journalists may use this index with attribution. CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Toolminator and link to methodology.

Download JSON Remote adjustment methodology Methodology

The four zones

Zone A — High-cost hub
CoL index ≥ 1.00
Hub markets at or above the US baseline in our static cost-of-living model.
Zone B — Established market
0.75 – 0.99
Mature, mid-cost markets—most of Western Europe and Australia/Japan in our catalog.
Zone C — Emerging / nearshore
0.50 – 0.74
Lower-cost markets often used as nearshore hiring pools relative to a hub country.
Zone D — Lowest-cost
< 0.50
Lowest cost-of-living markets in our static model—largest nominal gap vs. hub pay.

Country zone map

Ranked by our static cost-of-living index (US = 1.00 baseline).

Country	CoL index	Zone
Switzerland	1.28	Zone A — High-cost hub
Norway	1.05	Zone A — High-cost hub
Singapore	1.02	Zone A — High-cost hub
United States	1.00	Zone A — High-cost hub
Denmark	0.98	Zone B — Established market
Israel	0.97	Zone B — Established market
United Kingdom	0.95	Zone B — Established market
United Arab Emirates	0.95	Zone B — Established market
Australia	0.94	Zone B — Established market
Ireland	0.93	Zone B — Established market
Canada	0.92	Zone B — Established market
Sweden	0.91	Zone B — Established market
Netherlands	0.90	Zone B — Established market
Hong Kong	0.90	Zone B — Established market
Japan	0.89	Zone B — Established market
Germany	0.88	Zone B — Established market
Belgium	0.88	Zone B — Established market
New Zealand	0.88	Zone B — Established market
Finland	0.88	Zone B — Established market
France	0.86	Zone B — Established market
Austria	0.86	Zone B — Established market
South Korea	0.82	Zone B — Established market
Italy	0.78	Zone B — Established market
Spain	0.72	Zone C — Emerging / nearshore
Portugal	0.68	Zone C — Emerging / nearshore
Czechia	0.58	Zone C — Emerging / nearshore
Poland	0.52	Zone C — Emerging / nearshore
South Africa	0.52	Zone C — Emerging / nearshore
Romania	0.48	Zone D — Lowest-cost
Mexico	0.42	Zone D — Lowest-cost
Malaysia	0.42	Zone D — Lowest-cost
Brazil	0.38	Zone D — Lowest-cost
Thailand	0.38	Zone D — Lowest-cost
Philippines	0.36	Zone D — Lowest-cost
Colombia	0.36	Zone D — Lowest-cost
Türkiye	0.35	Zone D — Lowest-cost
Indonesia	0.34	Zone D — Lowest-cost
India	0.28	Zone D — Lowest-cost

Top 30 mid-level roles — hub pay vs. remote bands (global USD rank)

#	Role	Country (zone)	Hub USD	Domestic remote	Global remote
1	Physician	Switzerland (Zone A)	$298,638	$274,747	$215,020
2	Physician	Norway (Zone A)	$244,976	$225,378	$176,383
3	Physician	Singapore (Zone A)	$237,977	$218,939	$171,343
4	Physician	United States (Zone A)	$233,310	$214,645	$167,983
5	Physician	Denmark (Zone B)	$228,644	$210,353	$164,624
6	Physician	Israel (Zone B)	$226,311	$208,206	$162,944
7	Physician	United Arab Emirates (Zone B)	$221,645	$203,913	$159,584
8	Physician	United Kingdom (Zone B)	$221,644	$203,913	$159,583
9	Machine Learning Engineer	Switzerland (Zone A)	$221,198	$203,503	$159,263
10	Cloud Architect	Switzerland (Zone A)	$221,070	$203,384	$159,171
11	Physician	Australia (Zone B)	$219,311	$201,766	$157,904
12	Physician	Ireland (Zone B)	$216,979	$199,621	$156,225
13	Physician	Canada (Zone B)	$214,645	$197,473	$154,545
14	Physician	Sweden (Zone B)	$212,312	$195,327	$152,865
15	Physician	Netherlands (Zone B)	$209,980	$193,182	$151,186
16	Physician	Hong Kong (Zone B)	$209,979	$193,181	$151,185
17	Dentist	Switzerland (Zone A)	$209,046	$192,322	$150,513
18	Physician	Japan (Zone B)	$207,646	$191,034	$149,505
19	Physician	Germany (Zone B)	$205,313	$188,888	$147,825
20	Physician	Belgium (Zone B)	$205,313	$188,888	$147,825
21	Physician	New Zealand (Zone B)	$205,313	$188,888	$147,825
22	Physician	Finland (Zone B)	$205,313	$188,888	$147,825
23	Physician	France (Zone B)	$200,647	$184,596	$144,466
24	Physician	Austria (Zone B)	$200,647	$184,596	$144,466
25	Investment Banker	Switzerland (Zone A)	$196,830	$181,083	$141,717
26	Product Manager	Switzerland (Zone A)	$191,982	$176,624	$138,228
27	Physician	South Korea (Zone B)	$191,314	$176,009	$137,746
28	Site Reliability Engineer	Switzerland (Zone A)	$191,128	$175,838	$137,612
29	Security Engineer	Switzerland (Zone A)	$191,128	$175,838	$137,612
30	Data Scientist	Switzerland (Zone A)	$188,232	$173,174	$135,527

United States — remote bands by role

Canada — remote bands by role

United Kingdom — remote bands by role

Germany — remote bands by role

Netherlands — remote bands by role

Sweden — remote bands by role

Ireland — remote bands by role

Australia — remote bands by role

Singapore — remote bands by role

India — remote bands by role

New Zealand — remote bands by role

South Africa — remote bands by role

Zones are a static classification of our own cost-of-living model, not a live geo-pay feed or verified employer policy table. Remote pay columns apply the same illustrative multipliers (0.92 / 0.82 / 0.72) used by the Remote Salary Adjustment Model.

Remote work statistics →Remote adjustment methodology →Datasets hub →

Cite & registry

Toolminator Remote Pay Zone Index 2026 (2026) — permalink for citations and dataset metadata.

Benchmark landing →All benchmarks Datasets Methodology