Mapped: Europe’s Housing Cost Burden by Country 🏠

Key Takeaways

• Housing cost burden refers to the share of people who spend more than 40% of their income on housing.
• Among European countries, Greece faces the highest rate of urban residents under this strain, with 29% of its population affected. 
• Denmark and Norway rank next in line, with 22.7% and 21% of the population being overburdened.

A Mixed Picture of Affordability

With the third-lowest wages in the EU paired with rising home prices, the share of overburdened residents in Greece is nearly triple the EU average.

By contrast, this share drops to 13.1% in Germany, as higher wages cushion the impact of higher living costs.

Meanwhile, just 2.6% of residents in Malta are overburdened, largely driven by lower costs of living.