Average Safety Officer Salary in Bulgaria for 2026
A safety officer in Bulgaria earns about 20,300 BGN a year. That's 48% below the national average of 38,700 BGN.
Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Bulgaria sit around 10,320 BGN a year, while the very top stretches to 30,840 BGN. Everything on this page is in Bulgarian lev (BGN, symbol лв), 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 Bulgaria, 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 safety officer make in Bulgaria?
A typical safety officer working in Bulgaria brings home around 1,691 BGN a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 10,320 BGN, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 30,840 BGN 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 safety officer 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.
How safety officer pay ranges in Bulgaria
A good way to think about salary in Bulgaria is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all safety officers in Bulgaria earn less than 19,360 BGN 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 13,700 BGN (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 23,080 BGN (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of safety officers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.
The very lowest reported salaries sit around 10,320 BGN. The highest stretch to 30,840 BGN, 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.
Safety officer pay by experience in Bulgaria
Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a safety officer in Bulgaria, 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 safety officer salary changes as you move through the career ladder.
- 0-2 Years12,300 BGN
- 2-5 Years+3% from previous12,620 BGN
- 5-10 Years+50% from previous18,900 BGN
- 10-15 Years+25% from previous23,660 BGN
- 15-20 Years+10% from previous25,940 BGN
- 20+ Years+11% from previous28,820 BGN
The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 50%. That is the point at which a safety officer 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.
Safety officer pay by education in Bulgaria
Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving safety officer pay in Bulgaria. 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 safety officer salary in Bulgaria broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.
- Certificate or Diploma14,540 BGN
- Bachelor's Degree+62% from previous23,500 BGN
Safety officer gender pay gap in Bulgaria
The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Bulgaria is no exception. Male safety officers in Bulgaria earn an average of 18,280 BGN a year, while female safety officers earn around 19,200 BGN. That works out to a 5% 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.
Safety Officer gender pay gap
5%
Men earn this much less than women on average in Bulgaria.
Pay raises for a safety officer in Bulgaria
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 Bulgaria sees a raise of about 9% every 20 months, which works out to roughly 5% 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 Bulgaria, the national average raise is around 7% every 20 months.
By industry
Industries with the highest pay raises in Bulgaria:
- Banking
- Energy
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- 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 Level3% - 5%
- Mid-Career
- Senior Level
- Top Management
Safety officer bonus rates in Bulgaria
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.
27% of safety officers in Bulgaria reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a safety officer 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 73% of safety officers reported no bonus at all over the same period.
Which careers pay bonuses in Bulgaria
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
Safety officer: public vs private sector pay
Public-sector pay in Bulgaria is about 2% 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
2%
Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Bulgaria on average.
Safety officer salary by city in Bulgaria
Safety officer pay is not even across Bulgaria. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.
- Sofia
- Plovdiv
- Varna
- Rousse
- Burgas
- Stara Zagora
| Location | Type | Average | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sofia | City | 21,020 BGN | 23,520 BGN | 8,100-34,080 BGN |
| Plovdiv | City | 20,120 BGN | 18,280 BGN | 9,440-27,480 BGN |
| Varna | City | 19,360 BGN | 20,300 BGN | 7,820-27,480 BGN |
| Rousse | City | 18,780 BGN | 19,020 BGN | 8,960-29,840 BGN |
| Burgas | City | 18,780 BGN | 17,620 BGN | 9,440-26,080 BGN |
| Stara Zagora | City | 16,400 BGN | 16,720 BGN | 7,300-24,860 BGN |
Safety Officer in Bulgaria: FAQs
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How much does a safety officer make per month in Bulgaria?
A safety officer in Bulgaria earns about 1,691 BGN a month before tax, based on an annual average of 20,300 BGN.
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What's the salary range for a safety officer in Bulgaria?
Entry-level safety officers in Bulgaria start near 10,320 BGN. Top-end pay reaches around 30,840 BGN. The middle 50% of earners sit between 13,700 and 23,080 BGN.
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Is the median safety officer salary in Bulgaria higher or lower than the average?
The median is 19,360 BGN, lower than the average of 20,300 BGN. Half of safety officers in Bulgaria earn below the median, half earn above it.
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What's the gender pay gap for safety officers in Bulgaria?
Men working as a safety officer in Bulgaria earn around 5% less than women on average (18,280 vs 19,200 BGN a year).
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Do safety officers in Bulgaria get bonuses?
About 27% of safety officers in Bulgaria reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary.
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Do safety officers earn more in the public or private sector in Bulgaria?
In Bulgaria, the public sector pays a safety officer about 2% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.
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How often do safety officers in Bulgaria get a pay raise?
A safety officer in Bulgaria sees a raise of around 9% every 20 months, equivalent to roughly 5% a year.