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Average Nursery Nurse Salary in Spain for 2026

A nursery nurse in Spain earns about 16,400 EUR a year. That's 48% below the national average of 31,520 EUR.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Spain sit around 6,280 EUR a year, while the very top stretches to 24,860 EUR. Everything on this page is in Euro (EUR, symbol €), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Spain, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.


How much does a nursery nurse make in Spain?

Average salary
16,400 EUR
1,366 EUR per month
Lowest reported
6,280 EUR
523 EUR per month
Highest reported
24,860 EUR
2,071 EUR per month

A typical nursery nurse working in Spain brings home around 1,366 EUR a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 6,280 EUR, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 24,860 EUR for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior nursery nurse working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around. For a cross-country comparison, see the nursery nurse salary in Belgium or Netherlands, both of which pay in the same currency.


How nursery nurse pay ranges in Spain

A good way to think about salary in Spain is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all nursery nurses in Spain earn less than 17,560 EUR a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 12,760 EUR (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 21,980 EUR (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of nursery nurses sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 6,280 EUR. The highest stretch to 24,860 EUR, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

6,280
Low
17,560
Median
24,860
High
12,760
25th
21,980
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in EUR

Nursery nurse pay by experience in Spain

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a nursery nurse in Spain, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical nursery nurse salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    9,360 EUR
  • 2-5 Years
    +35% from previous
    12,620 EUR
  • 5-10 Years
    +49% from previous
    18,780 EUR
  • 10-15 Years
    +14% from previous
    21,400 EUR
  • 15-20 Years
    +9% from previous
    23,400 EUR
  • 20+ Years
    +8% from previous
    25,220 EUR

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 49%. That is the point at which a nursery nurse typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.


Nursery nurse pay by education in Spain

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving nursery nurse pay in Spain. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average nursery nurse salary in Spain broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Certificate or Diploma
    12,840 EUR
  • Bachelor's Degree
    +64% from previous
    21,020 EUR

Nursery nurse gender pay gap in Spain

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Spain is no exception. Male nursery nurses in Spain earn an average of 14,140 EUR a year, while female nursery nurses earn around 15,380 EUR. That works out to a 8% gap in favour of women, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Nursery Nurse gender pay gap

8%

Men earn this much less than women on average in Spain.

Women 15,380 EUR
Men 14,140 EUR

Pay raises for a nursery nurse in Spain

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in Spain sees a raise of about 10% every 17 months, which works out to roughly 7% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in Spain, the national average raise is around 8% every 17 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in Spain:

  • Banking
  • Energy
    1%
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
    2%
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Nursery nurse bonus rates in Spain

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

32%

32% of nursery nurses in Spain reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a nursery nurse a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary. The remaining 68% of nursery nurses reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in Spain

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Nursery nurse: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in Spain is about 6% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

6%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Spain on average.

Public sector 34,240 EUR
Private sector 32,200 EUR

Nursery nurse salary by city in Spain

Nursery nurse pay is not even across Spain. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • Malaga
  • Valencia
  • Barcelona
  • Madrid
  • Sevilla
  • Murcia
  • Zaragoza
  • Las Palmas
  • Bilbao
  • Palma de Mallorca
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
MalagaCity18,260 EUR14,540 EUR7,080-23,360 EUR
ValenciaCity18,260 EUR18,780 EUR8,420-27,040 EUR
BarcelonaCity17,860 EUR18,900 EUR8,960-28,720 EUR
MadridCity17,560 EUR16,400 EUR10,320-25,160 EUR
SevillaCity17,560 EUR17,560 EUR9,020-25,440 EUR
MurciaCity17,260 EUR17,620 EUR6,200-23,260 EUR
ZaragozaCity15,760 EUR17,260 EUR8,780-23,080 EUR
Las PalmasCity14,660 EUR14,920 EUR5,960-21,300 EUR
BilbaoCity14,540 EUR14,200 EUR6,440-22,660 EUR
Palma de MallorcaCity14,140 EUR16,400 EUR7,300-25,940 EUR


Nursery Nurse in Spain: FAQs

  • How much does a nursery nurse make per month in Spain?

    A nursery nurse in Spain earns about 1,366 EUR a month before tax, based on an annual average of 16,400 EUR.

  • What's the salary range for a nursery nurse in Spain?

    Entry-level nursery nurses in Spain start near 6,280 EUR. Top-end pay reaches around 24,860 EUR. The middle 50% of earners sit between 12,760 and 21,980 EUR.

  • Is the median nursery nurse salary in Spain higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 17,560 EUR, higher than the average of 16,400 EUR. Half of nursery nurses in Spain earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for nursery nurses in Spain?

    Men working as a nursery nurse in Spain earn around 8% less than women on average (14,140 vs 15,380 EUR a year).

  • Do nursery nurses in Spain get bonuses?

    About 32% of nursery nurses in Spain reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary.

  • Do nursery nurses earn more in the public or private sector in Spain?

    In Spain, the public sector pays a nursery nurse about 6% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do nursery nurses in Spain get a pay raise?

    A nursery nurse in Spain sees a raise of around 10% every 17 months, equivalent to roughly 7% a year.