Resource context
This Euronews Business article by Servet Yanatma examines housing affordability across European cities by comparing typical net monthly salaries with the cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment in the city centre. It draws on Eurostat’s findings that housing is taking an increasing share of household budgets in Europe, and uses figures from Deutsche Bank Research Institute’s “Mapping the World’s Prices” report, which compares salaries and rents across 69 cities worldwide, including 28 European cities.
Housing costs taking a larger share of budgets
The article frames affordability as a growing pressure point, particularly in city centres and for low-income earners and minimum-wage workers. It notes that in some places rent can consume nearly an entire salary, and in certain cities average net incomes are not sufficient to cover the rent of a centrally located one-bedroom apartment. To quantify this, it uses the rent-to-salary ratio (the share of income required for rent) as a practical indicator of how much disposable income remains after paying for accommodation.
Salary levels across European cities
Net monthly salaries vary sharply in the dataset. Among the European cities highlighted, Geneva has the highest average net salary at €7,307, with Zurich close behind at €7,127, making Switzerland the highest-paying country in the comparison. At the other end, Istanbul has the lowest average salary in Europe at €855, followed by Athens at €1,044. The article also points out that many Northern and Western European cities have average net salaries above €4,000, including Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Frankfurt. Within the largest European economies, it reports that Rome has the lowest capital-city average at €2,046, while Madrid is slightly higher at €2,193. Berlin (€3,565), Paris (€3,630), and London (€3,637) cluster around the mid‑€3,000 range.
City-centre rents and the spread in affordability
Rents for one-bedroom city-centre apartments also vary widely. In Europe, London records the highest rent at €2,732, while Athens is the lowest at €595. Several cities exceed €2,000 per month for a one-bedroom in the centre, including Zurich, Dublin, Amsterdam, and Geneva. By contrast, rents remain below €900 in Istanbul and Budapest. These rent levels set the context for whether local earnings can realistically cover basic urban housing costs without additional income or household sharing.
Rent-to-salary ratios: where rent is out of reach
The rent-to-salary ratio is presented as the core affordability metric. Across the broader global list it ranges from 24% (Bangalore) to 125% (Cairo); values at or above 100% indicate a salary that is fully consumed by rent (or insufficient to pay it). In Europe, the ratio spans from 29% in Geneva to 116% in Lisbon, meaning Lisbon’s average net salary does not cover the city-centre rent for a one-bedroom apartment. Istanbul is also above 100% at 101%. The article reports that single earners spend around three-quarters of their income on rent in London (75%), and similarly high shares in Barcelona and Madrid (both 74%), with Milan at 71%. It also notes multiple cities where more than half of income goes to rent, including Rome (65%), Dublin (62%), Athens (57%), Warsaw (56%), Prague (54%), and Budapest (52%).
Where ratios are lowest and what that implies
Geneva is the only European city in the list with a rent-to-salary ratio below 30% (29%). The next group of comparatively “lower burden” cities still requires a substantial share of income: Luxembourg and Frankfurt (34%), Zurich and Helsinki (35%), and Vienna (38%). The article stresses that these lower ratios do not necessarily indicate cheap rents; instead, higher salaries reduce the percentage of income devoted to rent. Among capitals of the five largest European economies, Berlin has the lowest ratio at 40%, while Paris is 45%.
Disposable income after rent and broader comparisons
Using disposable income after paying rent as another lens, the article notes that the highest remaining amounts are in Geneva (€5,174) and Zurich (€4,638). The lowest is Lisbon at –€202, indicating a deficit after rent, and in Istanbul the shortfall is €13. Beyond the Swiss cities, disposable income after rent exceeds €2,000 in Luxembourg (€3,725), Frankfurt (€2,726), Copenhagen (€2,421), Amsterdam (€2,194), Oslo (€2,140) and Helsinki (€2,021). It also mentions other global cities where salaries do not cover rent (e.g., Bogota at 120%, Mexico City at 118%, São Paulo at 102%), and references an OECD finding that larger cities tend to have higher housing costs, with housing and utilities spending rising over the past 20 years in the EU.