Americans’ spending power towers over that of many Europeans — and one of the clearest comparisons can be found on the McDonald’s menu.
A new report found that the average US worker can afford 10,215 Big Macs a year after taxes.
That is more than double the number available to workers in France and Germany, and about 50% more than workers in Britain can buy.
The figures are drawn from the “Big Mac Index,” The Economist’s long-running, unconventional gauge for comparing economic conditions across countries.
The latest analysis looks at how much labor it takes to buy the same widely available product, sold across roughly 44,000 McDonald’s restaurants worldwide.
Big Mac prices vary by market because of differences in local ingredient costs and operating expenses. In the US, the burger averages $6.22, compared with $7.30 in France and Germany and just $3.12 in Japan, according to a separate price tracker.
By comparing the price of a Big Mac with average wages, the index offers a simple snapshot of how far workers’ pay goes in different nations.
In the United States, the average worker needs just 23 minutes on the job to buy one Big Mac — equal to roughly six burgers for every hour worked.
Americans continue to top the Economist McWages rankings on an annual basis, with a US worker earning nearly $60,000 after taxes — enough to buy 10,215 Big Macs.
That figure is almost twice the roughly 5,000 Big Macs that a worker in France can afford annually, and more than double the roughly 4,000 that can be afforded by German workers.
Switzerland and Australia are in second and third place, respectively, with New Zealand fourth and Israel fifth.
But Americans also work longer hours than many of their European counterparts — and one country has the advantage on Big Macs-per-hour.
Switzerland comes out on top — with Swiss earning the equivalent of seven Big Macs an hour.
Australia, with five burgers for every hour worked, comes third.
The index also tracks wealth growth and decline — because it expresses both wages and the cost of a basic food item.
Germans are not lovin’ it — becoming much poorer in the past two years, as wages have stagnated and prices soared.
However, other countries, such as Latvia, are significantly richer in Big Mac terms than they were two years ago, with the average worker now able to afford an additional burger for every two hours’ work.
