Rents have grown more than incomes: Milan and Florence lead the increases

Milan remains the most expensive city in Italy. Bologna, Florence and Rome are among the capitals where the gap between rents and incomes increased more. In the most dynamic centers it is increasingly difficult to attract workers and young people.

From 2019 to 2025, rents in the main Italian capitals grew much faster than wages, worsening the problem of access to housing for young people, families and workers. This is what emerges from aCna processing on the data ofReal Estate Market Observatory of the Revenue Agency and on the trend of net wages in the same period.

On average, in all the provincial capitals analysed, rents for a standard 70 square meter apartment increased between 19% (Potenza) and almost 50%, while salaries recorded much smaller increases, generally between 7% and 15%.

The price increases ranking: Milan and Florence at the top

Milan and Florence lead the price increases with a 49% increase compared to 2019: today for an average apartment you need over 1,800 euros per month in the Lombardy capital and 1,340 in Florence. Bologna, Padua, Venice and Naples follow with increases of over 40%, while Rome records growth of around 37%, surpassed by Bari and Verona with 39%.

Among the cities where rents have grown the least are Potenza, Campobasso, Catanzaro and Perugia, with increases generally between 19% and 23%.

The impact on income: how much does rent weigh on your salary

The CNA analysis also highlights the growing impact of rent on average net salaries, especially in university cities and large production hubs. The situation is particularly critical in university cities and in areas with greater economic and tourist attractiveness, where housing demand continues to grow much faster than available supply. A dynamic that produces direct effects on the job market and on the competitiveness of the territories.

Milan boasts the record where the average rent absorbs 73% of the net salaryin Florence 62%. The fee exceeds 50% of the average wages in Bologna, Venice, Rome, Padua, Verona and Pisa.

On the other hand, L’Aquila is the capital where rent has the least impact, only 30% of the salary, followed by Catanzaro, Isernia, Caltanissetta and Enna with 31-32%.

CNA’s alarm: housing as an economic obstacle

Micro and small businesses report growing difficulties in finding qualified workers willing to move to big cities. The cost of housing is becoming a concrete obstacle to professional mobility, employment and the attractiveness of the most dynamic territories.

“The issue of housing no longer represents just a social issue – states the president of the Cna Dario Costantini – but a real economic emergency that risks slowing down growth, investments and local development. Structural interventions are needed to increase the supply of housing at sustainable rents, recover unused real estate, promote urban regeneration and support the balance between economic development and social sustainability”.

An effective housing plan and adequate incentives for real estate redevelopment represent the tools to provide responses to the emergency. The alternative is to have cities that are increasingly expensive, less accessible and incapable of retaining young people, workers and the skills essential to the growth of the country.