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What It Costs to Live in Italy: Real Figures by Region

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What It Costs to Live in Italy: Real Figures by Region

The short answer: the average Italian household spends about €2,170 a month, and that runs from about €1,500 in Puglia to about €2,780 in Trentino-Alto Adige. One person living alone spends about €1,530, a couple about €2,230. Those are ISTAT's figures for 2025, without the rent owners "pay" themselves in the official average. Rent is the big variable: the tax agency's estimates put a typical 80 square meter home in the center of one of our towns at about €320 a month.

Todi. Households across Umbria spend about €2,310 a month.

Nobody can honestly give you one cost of living figure for a small town. Nobody measures one. What does exist is the town's own rates and spending, which each town page shows, and the region's household spending, which is below. These are averages over households of every size and income, so read them as a starting point for your own budget.

What a household spends, by region

Euros a month, 2025. "Housing and bills" is rent, utilities, condominium fees and repairs, averaged over renters and owners, so a renter pays more than this and an owner less. The 18% of households that rent pay an average of €438 a month. Mortgage payments are not included, because ISTAT does not count them as spending: households with a mortgage pay an average of €565 a month on top.

Region All spending Food Housing and bills
Trentino-Alto Adige €2,779 €553 €583
Aosta Valley €2,568 €526 €592
Emilia-Romagna €2,497 €560 €487
Marche €2,482 €619 €436
Tuscany €2,408 €539 €438
Lombardia €2,406 €508 €445
Friuli-Venezia Giulia €2,352 €520 €453
Veneto €2,312 €557 €402
Umbria €2,309 €545 €356
Lazio €2,266 €576 €365
Piemonte €2,236 €580 €482
Liguria €2,232 €494 €463
Abruzzo €2,124 €543 €344
Molise €2,054 €569 €290
Basilicata €1,885 €583 €269
Sicily €1,817 €576 €263
Campania €1,796 €646 €297
Sardinia €1,788 €528 €267
Calabria €1,618 €589 €255
Puglia €1,495 €444 €295
Italy €2,171 €552 €389

The size of the household moves the number less than you might expect: €1,530 a month for one person, €2,230 for two, €2,640 for three, €2,930 for four.

Households in towns of up to 50,000 people spend about €2,140 a month, about €140 less than in the centers of the big metropolitan areas. That is what they spend, not what things cost.

Rent and buying

The tax agency estimates what homes rent and sell for in each comune's center, as a range. We took the midpoint for each of our towns that has one, then the middle town of each region. These are ordinary homes in normal condition, so a restored apartment on the main square costs more, and these towns are not a random sample of Italy.

Region Rent per m² a month To buy, per m²
Trentino-Alto Adige €9.05 €2,625
Liguria €8.30 €2,850
Aosta Valley €6.40 €1,825
Lombardia €6.40 €1,450
Veneto €6.00 €1,525
Tuscany €5.35 €1,450
Emilia-Romagna €5.00 €1,350
Lazio €4.75 €875
Friuli-Venezia Giulia €4.25 €1,040
Piemonte €3.90 €1,075
Puglia €3.75 €900
Campania €3.65 €1,055
Marche €3.55 €855
Umbria €3.35 €825
Molise €3.00 €575
Abruzzo €2.50 €685
Sardinia €2.45 €800
Calabria €2.35 €615
Sicily €2.30 €635
Basilicata €1.85 €560

Across all our towns the middle figure is €4.00 per square meter a month to rent and €1,050 to buy. Each town page has its own range.

Bills

Water. A family of three using 182 cubic meters pays €528 a year on the national average, from €274 in Molise to €770 in Tuscany. This is the consumer group Cittadinanzattiva's estimate for 2025, and tariffs differ inside a region: among provincial capitals, Milan paid €203 and Frosinone €973.

Electricity and gas. These do not vary by town. They depend on your supplier and your contract, so there is no town figure to give. As a reference, the regulator ARERA puts the typical vulnerable customer's electricity at €665 across all of 2026, but the price rose 37.3% on October 1, to 43.43 cents per kWh with tax, so a full year at that price would cost more. Its reference price for gas was 162.02 cents per cubic meter in September, for a typical customer using 1,100 cubic meters a year, and it moves every month and rose 9.1% in October. Both are the regulated prices for vulnerable customers, so read them as an order of magnitude.

Heating depends on where you are as much as on the price. Italy's climate zones run from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and a house in zone F burns far more than one in zone C. Each town page gives its zone.

Waste. The middle town among ours spends €219 a year per resident on waste, and the middle comune in Italy about €171. Your bill, the TARI, depends on your floor area and household size. A tourist town reads high, because a summer's waste is spread over few residents.

Fuel. €2.01 a liter for self-service petrol and €2.24 for diesel, the national averages on November 2, 2026. These move week to week. A car is close to unavoidable in many small towns, which belongs in your budget.

The taxes that depend on the town

Property tax. IMU is charged on a home's cadastral value, not its price. A main home pays none, unless it is in a luxury category (A/1, A/8, A/9). Any other home pays the comune's rate, and in 56% of our towns that rate is 1.06%. Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trento and South Tyrol have their own versions of the tax.

Income tax surcharge. Each comune can add its own percentage to your income tax, often with a floor of income under which nothing is due. In 68% of our towns with a surcharge on record, it reaches 0.8%. It comes on top of national and regional income tax.

The 7% tax on foreign pensions applies only in certain towns. Each town page says whether it qualifies.

This is information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.

Weighing all this against a real town is the harder part. The moving year is a call with us and a written review of up to five towns on your shortlist.

What things cost day to day

Average prices in September 2026, from the Ministry of Enterprise and ISTAT, in the 64 provinces they survey. The figures come mostly from each province's capital, and not every province has every item.

Lowest Typical Highest
An espresso at the bar €1.06 (Messina) €1.28 €1.55 (Pescara)
A cappuccino at the bar €1.41 (Rome) €1.70 €2.30 (Bolzano)
A meal in a pizzeria €9.47 (Reggio Calabria) €12.27 €17.81 (Siena)
A cinema ticket €6.29 (Ascoli Piceno) €9.12 €11.12 (Arezzo)
A man's haircut €14.53 (Bari) €22.13 €28.82 (Treviso)
A woman's haircut €15.42 (Naples) €25.06 €42.13 (Macerata)
A city bus ticket €1.20 (Trento) €1.80 €3.77 (Venice)
Fresh bread, 1 kg €2.50 (Naples) €4.14 €7.33 (Bolzano)
Chicken breast, 1 kg €9.38 (Avellino) €13.81 €16.49 (Rome)
Beef, 1 kg €13.11 (Avellino) €24.81 €33.18 (Rimini)
Parmigiano Reggiano, 1 kg €20.23 (Pescara) €26.00 €29.57 (Lucca)
Apples, 1 kg €1.90 (Naples) €2.50 €3.53 (Trieste)
Zucchini, 1 kg €1.92 (Naples) €2.80 €3.75 (Trieste)
A blood test €6.34 (Venice) €10.18 €21.58 (Cosenza)
A filling at a private dentist €70.39 (Naples) €125.94 €184.05 (Siracusa)
A private pediatrician visit €50.00 (Rovigo) €87.11 €144.53 (Padua)

Frequently asked questions

How much money do you need to live in Italy?

The average household spends about €2,170 a month, and one person alone about €1,530, by ISTAT's 2025 figures. That average mixes renters and owners, so add your rent if you rent. If you need a visa, the consulate has its own floor: about €31,000 a year per person for elective residence.

Is the south of Italy cheaper?

Yes. Households in Puglia spend about €1,500 a month against about €2,780 in Trentino-Alto Adige. Part of that gap is lower incomes rather than lower prices, so your own budget will not fall by the full amount.

What does it cost to rent in a small Italian town?

In our towns, the tax agency's middle estimate is about €4.00 per square meter a month in the center, so about €320 for 80 square meters. The tax agency's ranges for each town are on its page, and tourist towns run well above that.

How much are utilities in Italy?

There is no town figure for electricity or gas, because they depend on your supplier. Water averages €528 a year for a family of three. The regulator's reference for a typical vulnerable customer's electricity was about €665 for 2026, before the rise in October.

Do I pay property tax on my home in Italy?

Not on your main home, unless it is in a luxury category. Any other home pays the comune's rate, 1.06% in most of our towns, charged on the cadastral value and not the price.

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