Average Federal Government Worker Salary in Bern, Switzerland for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Federal Government Worker salary for 2026 in Bern and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Swiss franc. To keep things simple, we are using the CHF currency code instead of the currency symbol Fr..

How Much Does a Federal Government Worker Make in Bern?

A Federal Government Worker working in Bern will typically earn around 112,700 CHF per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 57,200 CHF to the highest average salary of 172,300 CHF.

Average Annual Salary112,700 CHF
Average Monthly Salary9,391 CHF
Average Lowest Salary57,200 CHF
Lowest Monthly Salary4,766 CHF
Average Highest Salary172,300 CHF
Highest Monthly Salary14,358 CHF

These are average salaries for a Federal Government Worker in Bern and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Federal Government Worker to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Federal Government Worker salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Federal Government Worker Salaries in Bern

So we've looked at the average salaries a Federal Government Worker will earn in Bern. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Federal Government Worker can earn between 57,200 CHF and 172,300 CHF on average in Bern. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Federal Government Worker in Bern is 108,200 CHF. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 108,200 CHF, and 50% of the population earn more than 108,200 CHF.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Federal Government Worker salary in Bern, 25% of the population are earning less than 75,500 CHF while 75% of the population earn more than 75,500 CHF.

75% of the population earn less than 139,100 CHF, and 25% of the population earn more than 139,100 CHF.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Federal Government Worker Salary by Experience Level in Bern

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average Federal Government Worker salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Federal Government Worker in Bern that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 65,200 CHF.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Federal Government Worker salary would increase to 84,500 CHF.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Federal Government Worker, the average salary would be 115,600 CHF.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 142,100 CHF.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Federal Government Worker with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 152,900 CHF.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Federal Government Worker with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 163,800 CHF.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
65,200 CHF
2-5 Years+31%
84,500 CHF
5-10 Years+40%
115,600 CHF
10-15 Years+20%
142,100 CHF
15-20 Years+9%
152,900 CHF
20+ Years+8%
163,800 CHF

Federal Government Worker Salary by Education Level in Bern

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Federal Government Worker in Bern based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. A Federal Government Worker in Bern with a high school education can earn an average salary of 75,900 CHF.
  • Certificate or Diploma. A Federal Government Worker in Bern with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 89,800 CHF.
  • Bachelor's Degree. A Federal Government Worker in Bern with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 125,400 CHF.
  • Master's Degree. A Federal Government Worker in Bern with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 160,700 CHF.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School-
75,900 CHF
Certificate or Diploma+15%
89,800 CHF
Bachelor's Degree+41%
125,400 CHF
Master's Degree+29%
160,700 CHF

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Switzerland is around 51,600 to 155,000 CHF and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Federal Government Worker Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Bern, a male federal government worker will earn an average of 116,400 CHF, while a female federal government worker will earn around 111,700 CHF.

This means that a male federal government worker earns approximately 4% more than a female federal government worker for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Bern

Male-
116,400 CHF
Female-4%
111,700 CHF

Federal Government Worker Average Pay Raise in Bern

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Federal Government Worker in Bern is around 13% every 14 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Switzerland is around 9% every 15 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 13 ÷ 14 ) × 12  = 11%

What this means is that a Federal Government Worker in Bern can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 11% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Bern for 2026

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Switzerland.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking-
3%
Energy-
6%
Information Technology-
9%
Healthcare-
3%
Travel-
6%
Construction-
9%
Education-
3%

Federal Government Worker Bonus and Incentive Rates in Bern

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Federal Government Worker is a low bonus based job, with 30% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

70% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3%.

Received Bonus-
30%
No Bonus-
70%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Switzerland earn approximately 5% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector-
127,700 CHF
Private Sector-5%
121,800 CHF

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Federal Government Worker

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Federal Government Worker in Bern.

Job TitleCategorySalary
Armed Forces OfficerGovernment and Defence108,200 CHF
Army OfficerGovernment and Defence109,000 CHF
CartographerGovernment and Defence84,600 CHF
Customs OfficerGovernment and Defence87,600 CHF
Defense OfficerGovernment and Defence134,700 CHF
Electoral Project CoordinatorGovernment and Defence167,100 CHF
Government Affairs AdvisorGovernment and Defence187,500 CHF
Government Affairs DirectorGovernment and Defence209,700 CHF
Government Affairs RepresentativeGovernment and Defence193,400 CHF
Government OfficerGovernment and Defence171,300 CHF
Government Property InspectorGovernment and Defence182,400 CHF
Government Relations AssociateGovernment and Defence187,500 CHF
International Cooperation SpecialistGovernment and Defence218,100 CHF
Military PersonnelGovernment and Defence142,100 CHF
Police ConstableGovernment and Defence100,400 CHF
Public Affairs SpecialistGovernment and Defence151,800 CHF
Public Information OfficerGovernment and Defence92,400 CHF
RiflemanGovernment and Defence69,200 CHF
SoldierGovernment and Defence92,100 CHF
VAT Fraud InvestigatorGovernment and Defence121,800 CHF

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Switzerland, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

CityAverage Salary
Basel124,500 CHF
Biel107,700 CHF
Geneve119,700 CHF
Lausanne118,900 CHF
Lugano105,800 CHF
Luzern114,300 CHF
St. Gallen109,000 CHF
Winterthur119,700 CHF
Zurich128,400 CHF

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