Average salary in Austria after taxes is something like 2k/month yet the country is full of flashy cars and houses costs from several hundreds of thousands to millions of Euros. How is that possible? You have mediocre EU salaries at San Diego house prices. Rents are reasonable but I don't see how people are gonna be able to also afford rent from retirement pensions.
No, average salary in Austria after taxes is about €3000, or about $3,700 after exchange rates and PPP. Which is less than the US, not hardly a poor place by world standards.
Combine that with the long-term wealth you get from being an early-to-industrialise European country that was on the capitalist side on the Cold War, and you've got your explanation.