That sounds ...very low, right? Given that it will be very easy to get twice that(and more) in northern Europe.

Well yes, and no, in most cities in Spain* with 35k€ you would probably be in the top 5-10%. Average salary in many cities is 15-20k€, so with 35k€ you'd be relatively very well off. Of course compared to international dev salaries it's low, but that's not relevant for all.

As a funny data point, my first salary ever as a developer in Valencia, Spain was 12k €/year (6k € part time), and I was very happy with it since it was while I was in college so it was all for fun and savings. Some day I should share my salary evolution, it's just crazy.

*I'd say on average if you exclude Madrid/Barcelona

You can get more than 35k in east europe. South europe is not much tech developed and pay is indeed low. In northern europe you get more but pay more in tax so its not really much higher.

Yep - the decent companies tend to pay like €60-70k though.

It's really bimodal, like in OP's post. The big multinationals tend to pay decent wages and the others pay a pittance.

I make about 24K euros a year after tax in Finland as a (full stack-ish) PHP dev. It's my 3rd year at the company. Is that a bit low then?

You are better off in east europe to be honest.

Yes. Shop around. Hint: you could probably double that.

I keep getting calls from recruiters offering 30k€ in North Spain, but they are hurting, as nowadays everybody is getting better deals thanks to remote work.

so I guess this is annual, not monthly? Or is there some other division of salary that I haven't thought of?

Yes, this is annual.

I've always wondered about this. You'll see cities with very high real estate prices and rents, and the median salary will not be sufficient to afford either. It makes me wonder why this is sustainable?