University graduates entering the Polish job market in 2012 had better financial prospects in Warsaw than in any other big city in the country, according to a nationwide study of earnings carried out by Sedlak & Sedlak.

In 2012 Warsaw offered its employees with MA diplomas the highest earnings, with a median salary of about zł.6,778. Three cities – Gdańsk, Poznań and Wrocław – came in second with a median pay of zł.5,000. Łódź ranked last among the six cities examined in the report, with a median salary of zł.4,150 monthly.

College graduates in Gdańsk, Kraków and Wrocław had to work on average nine hours and 20 minutes every day to earn as much as their peers made in Warsaw in only eight hours. Poznań came in fifth with 10 hours of work. Among the major Polish cities included in the study, Łódź offered the lowest pay, with graduates having to put in 11 hours and 12 minutes of work to keep up with their Warsaw-based peers.

Marta Mardosz