A new economic study was introduced which shows that the average monthly salary of people working for companies located in the fast-growing Ülemiste City in Tallinn rose above 2000 euros last year, making it 70% higher than the average Estonian salary.

In 2017, the average gross salary was 1221 euros in Estonia and 1383 euros in Tallinn. But the new study shows that at the same time, the average monthly salary in the Ülemiste City reached 2077 euros. The average salary in the Estonian IT sector for the same period was 2613 euros while in the Ülemiste City, it reached 2940 euros.

According to Mainor Ülemiste Supervisory Board member Raivo Vare, today, nearly 400 enterprises are actively operating in Ülemiste City – the first smart city in Estonia. More than 10 000 people work there on a daily basis, a number similar to the population of a town the size of Haapsalu.

“Ülemiste City is spearheading entrepreneurship in Estonia and this new study shows that the companies here create about 50% more added value than average companies. The creation of added value is the key component here as that is the main challenge for Estonia to overcome,” said Vare. He also explained that the reason behind the above-average salaries being paid by the campus’ companies is the fact that employees who create more added value need to be paid a higher salary.

The study also took a closer look at the local IT sector. According to the study, 1.4% of all Estonian IT companies operate in Ülemiste City and at the same time, those companies hire 18% of all Estonian IT sector employees, pay for 26% of the sector’s labour costs, produce 25% of the added value created by the sector and form 27% of Estonia’s total IT export.

The smart city study conducted by the Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences also shows that the 2017 turnover of the companies operating in Ülemiste City totalled 1.15 billion euros, of which export constituted 500 million euros. The companies earned a combined total annual operating profit of 75 million euros and their assets formed an end-of-year total of 1.6 billion euros.

Tauno Õunapuu from Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences said that the long-term tenants of Ülemiste City have seen a greater-than-average rate of growth in their sales revenue, export, added value and net profit. “In Estonia and in Tallinn, Labour costs have generally followed the same trend that was seen in the previous years’ studies, but the absolute level of the company labour costs in Ülemiste City continue to be significantly higher than elsewhere in Estonia,” said Õunapuu.