Gs. 2.69 million instead of Gs. 3.27 million
Anyone trying to understand earnings in Paraguay will frequently encounter averages. They are easy to communicate, but they can give a misleading impression of what is typical for a large part of the population.
An analysis of the 2025 Encuesta Permanente de Hogares Continua (EPHC) microdata published by Paraguay's Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) gives the following results for positive monthly income from the main occupation:
| Measure | EPHC 2025 |
|---|---|
| Median | Gs. 2,690,302 |
| Average | Gs. 3,266,148 |
| Difference | Gs. 575,846 / 21.4% |
The average is therefore more than 21% higher than the median.
The reason is straightforward: relatively high incomes pull the average upward. The median is much less affected by those values. It marks the point around the middle of the income distribution, with roughly half of the represented population on either side.
For the question of where the middle of observed incomes lies, the median is therefore often more informative than the average.
What exactly was analysed?
The calculation uses 26,585 records from the 2025 EPHC in which a positive monthly income from the main occupation was reported.
INE assigns survey weights to the individual observations so that the survey sample reflects the wider population. After applying those weights, the records included in this analysis represent an estimated 3.03 million people.
The figures of Gs. 2.69 million and Gs. 3.27 million are calculations based on official INE microdata. They are not newly published INE indicators.
That distinction matters because the figures are useful only when the population and type of income being measured remain clear.
What Gs. 2.69 million does not mean
The Gs. 2.69 million median is not average household income, nor is it a person's total disposable income.
The calculation looks at reported monthly income from the main occupation. Income from a second job, rent, pensions, transfers or earnings of other household members is not automatically included.
The analysis also includes only records with a positive reported income. It should therefore not be interpreted as the median income of every adult or everyone of working age.
The precise finding is:
Among people reporting positive monthly income from their main occupation, the weighted median in the 2025 EPHC was about Gs. 2.69 million.
That is a narrower statement than saying that “a Paraguayan earns Gs. 2.69 million”, but it is also a much more defensible one.
Why is the median below the minimum wage?
Since July 2026, Paraguay's general statutory minimum wage has been Gs. 3,044,000. That is higher than the median calculated here.
At first glance this can look contradictory, but the two figures are not directly comparable.
The median comes from the 2025 EPHC, while the minimum wage cited here has applied since July 2026. More importantly, the survey population is not limited to regular full-time employees covered by the general minimum wage. It can include self-employed workers, people working different hours and people in different employment arrangements.
An observed income below the statutory minimum therefore does not automatically mean that an employer is violating minimum-wage law.
Assessing a specific employment situation requires additional information, including working hours, employment status and the minimum-wage rule that applies.
What does the median tell you about a job offer?
A job offering around Gs. 2.7 million per month would sit close to the national median calculated here. That alone does not establish whether the offer is good or bad.
Other factors matter, including:
- weekly working hours and overtime,
- occupation and level of responsibility,
- location,
- whether the figure is gross or net,
- registration with IPS,
- benefits such as transport, meals, commissions or accommodation.
Likewise, an income above the national average is not automatically attractive if it requires substantially longer hours or comes without important employment benefits.
The median is therefore best used as a benchmark, not as a salary table.
What the two figures tell us
The average and the median answer different questions.
The Gs. 3.27 million average describes the arithmetic centre of the incomes included in the calculation. The Gs. 2.69 million median shows where the middle of the distribution lies.
The gap of roughly Gs. 576,000 between them is substantial. It demonstrates why descriptions of earnings in Paraguay can look quite different depending on which measure is used.
For readers trying to understand where the incomes of a large part of the population actually sit, the average should therefore not be the only number considered. The median provides a better starting point for understanding the middle of the distribution.