News brief · Cost of living
Europe: income left after rent, from Lisbon to Zurich
According to Deutsche Bank Research Institute's Mapping the World's Prices 2026 report, picked up by Euronews, the gap between European cities is very wide. A couple of employees is left with €253 in Lisbon after rent, compared with €9,140 in Zurich.
By Editorial team · on October 16, 2026
- Countries concerned
- Switzerland, Luxembourg, Portugal
- Source
- euronews.com
- Writing
- Brief written with the help of AI from the cited source, published without human review.
What the report measures
The Mapping the World's Prices 2026 report, published by Deutsche Bank Research Institute, takes two people earning a local net salary and deducts the rent for a three-bedroom apartment in the city centre. The balance is the household's disposable income after rent.
Across 28 European cities, this balance ranges from 253 € in Lisbon to 9 140 € in Zurich. The source specifies that rent is the only cost taken into account: food, bills and transport still have to be paid.
Differences between cities
Zurich is the most expensive city for rent (5 502 €), but also the one with the highest net salary (7 321 €). Geneva follows with 8 783 € left over, then Luxembourg with 5 890 €. Birmingham (5 238 €) is slightly ahead of Copenhagen (5 233 €).
In Birmingham, 5 238 € is left per month compared with 3 148 € in London, i.e. 2 090 € more, because rent there is 1 949 € compared with 4 362 € in London. Berlin is ahead of Paris (3 554 € versus 3 336 €) despite a lower net salary (2 946 € versus 3 171 €), thanks to rent of 2 339 € versus 3 005 €.
Dublin offers a net salary of 3 455 €, but only 3 038 € is left after rent of 3 873 €.
Southern Europe at the bottom of the ranking
In Lisbon, the net salary is 1 408 € and rent is 2 561 €, leaving 253 €. Istanbul follows with 353 €, then Milan with 697 €. Madrid shows 1 905 €, Barcelona 1 832 €, Rome 1 265 € and Athens 1 148 €.
In 11 cities, rent exceeds a net salary: Athens, Barcelona, Budapest, Dublin, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Prague and Rome. In Lisbon, it is 82 % higher than a salary.
The global ranking
Out of 69 cities, Zurich and Geneva take the top two places, ahead of San Francisco (7 992 €). Seven of the top ten cities are European. No European city appears among the bottom ten, where Manila (-882 €) and Bangkok (-759 €) come last. For an expatriate, these figures are based on local salaries, not those of a newcomer.
Please note