In Germany it is still rare for women to bring in more income to a shared household than their male partners. According to statistics released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Tuesday, only 9.9 % of couples have a female partner whose net income exceeds that of her husband or partner.
In 55.8 % of couples living together, the situation is reversed: the man is the primary earner. In about one‑third of households (34.3 %), the two spouses earn roughly the same amount. A “primary earner” is defined as the person whose personal net income accounts for 60 % or more of the couple’s total income.
For couples without children, the gap is smaller but still pronounced. In 11.4 % of childless households the woman earns more, whereas in 50.1 % of them the man does. A comparable share (38.5 %) have almost equal incomes.
In families with children, women are even less often the main earner. Only 7.7 % of these households have a higher female income, while in 64.6 % of them the man is the primary earner. About one‑third (27.7 %) of couples with children earn similar amounts.
The larger gender inequality seen in families with children can be partly explained by the fact that mothers work part‑time far more often than employed women in general, whereas fathers work part‑time less frequently than their male counterparts.
Over recent years the gender gap in household income distribution has changed only marginally. The share of women who are primary earners fell slightly from 10.5 % in 2021 to 9.9 % in 2025. Likewise, the proportion of male primary earners dropped from 58.8 % to 55.8 %. Consequently, the proportion of households with nearly equal incomes rose from 30.7 % to 34.3 %. The same trend is visible both in households with and without children.