The top 15 cities around the world where people get paid more to work less

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The French cities of Paris and Lyon rank in the top five for working less and earning more money. Charles Platiau/Reuters

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  • Paid vacation time allowance in the US, the only advanced country without a national vacation policy, is pretty miserable.
  • Americans take less vacation time than a medieval peasant, in fact.
  • Expert Market recently revealed the places around the world where workers have high salaries and a lot of vacation time.
  • New York City is the only US city to make the top 15.

 

Vacation time allowance in the US after one year of employment is, arguably, pretty miserable.

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In fact, the US is the only advanced country without a national vacation policy. The average American today takes less time off than a medieval peasant, who enjoyed anywhere from eight weeks to half the year off.

Just 18% of American workers receive at least 15 vacation days a year, 38% receive 10 to 14 vacation days, 30% receive five to nine vacation days, and 8% get less than five days off, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To make matters worse, only 36% of Americans plan to use all of their vacation days this year, reports Bankrate. But that's for those who even receive days off. One-fifth of private US employers still don't offer their employees paid vacation time, according to a new report by Expert Market that reveals the best cities around the world for taking time off and earning high salaries.

In the report, Expert Market cross-referenced data from the Deutsche Bank Markets Research report and UBS to determine the ranking of 69 cities. Data for monthly net salary, paid vacation time, and hours worked were ranked, and individual rankings from each of these factors were combined to determine the cities that offer the most money for the least work.

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New York City is the only US city that made the top 15, but failed to make it into the top 10. Those spots were dominated by Europe, making it the overall best place for working less and earning more money.

From Paris to London, see below for the top 15 cities around the world where workers get paid more to work less. All salaries are in US dollars.

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15. Geneva, Switzerland

geneva switzerland
bluejayphoto/iStock

Monthly net salary: $5,817

Working hours per year: 1,859

Paid vacation time per year: 27 days

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14. Moscow, Russia

moscow russia
MarinaDa / Shutterstock

Monthly net salary: $999

Working hours per year: 1,647

Paid vacation time per year: 31 days

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13. New York City, US

new york
turtix/Shutterstock

Monthly net salary: $4,304

Working hours per year: 1,847

Paid vacation time per year: 27 days

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12. Frankfurt, Germany

frankfurt germany
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Monthly net salary: $2,626

Working hours per year: 1,757

Paid vacation time per year: 28 days

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11. Vienna, Austria

vienna austria
VitalyEdush/iStock

Monthly net salary: $2,045

Working hours per year: 1,678

Paid vacation time per year: 27 days

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10. London, England

London England
Yolanta/Shutterstock

Monthly net salary: $2776

Working hours per year: 1,740

Paid vacation time per year: 25 days

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11. Oslo, Norway

oslo norway
Marina_89/Shutterstock

Monthly net salary: $3,154

Working hours per year: 1,744

Paid vacation time per year: 25 days

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8. Dublin, Ireland

dublin ireland
Aitormmfoto/Shutterstock

Monthly net salary: $2,603

Working hours per year: 1,770

Paid vacation time per year: 31 days

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7. Rome, Italy

rome italy
Luciano Mortula/Shutterstock

Monthly net salary: $1,791

Working hours per year: 1,736

Paid vacation time per year: 32 days

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6. Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen Denmark
S-F/Shutterstock

Monthly net salary: $2,958

Working hours per year: 1,697

Paid vacation time per year: 25 days

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5. Lyon, France

lyon france
Sander van der Werf/Getty Images

Monthly net salary: $2,269

Working hours per year: 1,631

Paid vacation time per year: 29 days

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4. Helsinki, Finland

helsinki finland
Oleksiy Mark/Shutterstock

Monthly net salary: $2,620

Working hours per year: 1,659

Paid vacation time per year: 29 days

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3. Paris, France

paris france
neirfy/iStock

Monthly net salary: $2,583

Working hours per year: 1,604

Paid vacation time per year: 29 days

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2. Munich, Germany

munich germany
Vlada Photo / Shutterstock

Monthly net salary: $3,180

Working hours per year: 1,721

Paid vacation time per year: 29 days

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1. Luxembourg

luxembourg
Wolfgang Staudt/Flickr

Monthly net salary: $4,292

Working hours per year: 1,703

Paid vacation time per year: 32 days

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