More than 34 million EU residents spend over 40% of their income on housing

Who in Europe pays too much for housing

Eurostat classifies as 'housing cost overburden' a situation where a household spends more than 40% of its disposable income — that is, income after taxes and social contributions, including pensions and other social benefits — on housing. The costs themselves include rent or mortgage interest, utilities (water, electricity, gas, heating), as well as insurance, maintenance, repairs and taxes. On average across the EU in 2025, 7.7% of the population had this level of burden, which corresponds to more than 34 million people, Euronews reports, citing Eurostat data.

Greece — the worst record, Cyprus — the best indicator

Among the countries with available data — 27 EU members, two EFTA countries and five candidate countries — Greece has the highest figure: 26.4% of its residents live in households spending more than 40% of income on housing, more than three times the EU average. Among EU countries, Denmark (14.7%), Germany (11.2%) and Sweden (10.8%) follow; Estonia (8.8%), Czechia (8.2%) and Luxembourg (8.1%) are also above average. Outside the EU, Switzerland (15.3%) and Norway (13.5%) show high figures, and among candidate countries — Turkey (10%), Montenegro (8.7%) and Serbia (7.9%). The lowest level is in Cyprus — 2.4%, followed by Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia (3.2–3.5% each). Among the largest EU economies, Spain (7.2%), France (6.4%) and Italy (5.0%) are below average, while Germany ranks fifth in the overall ranking.

Absolute numbers and the burden on poor households

In terms of the number of affected people, the picture is different: Germany leads with 9.4 million people, followed by Turkey (8.6 million), France (4.4 million), Spain (3.5 million) and Italy (2.9 million); Greece, with its relatively small population, ranks sixth with 2.7 million. For people on low incomes, the burden is noticeably higher: in the EU, among those at risk of poverty (income below 60% of the national median equivalised disposable income), the figure reaches 29.1%. With the median EU income in 2025 at €22,939 per year (€1,912 per month), the threshold was €1,147 per month. In Greece, the figure among this group reaches 82.6% — more than four out of five people; followed by Denmark (59.8%) and Switzerland (56.1%), while the lowest level is in Cyprus (7.6%).

Why countries differ and what comes next

Housing prices in the EU have risen by an average of 69% from 2015 to the second quarter of 2026, in some countries by more than double; rents and energy costs also continued to rise. According to Hanna Widmer of ETH Zürich, differences between countries are explained by a combination of housing tenure structures (private-market tenants usually bear the greatest burden), social protection systems and the overall economic situation; at the same time, she cautions that direct comparison between countries is difficult, since 'overburden' in Switzerland and in Greece means different living conditions. Rikke Skougaard Nielsen of Aalborg University adds that the explanations and consequences for Greece, Switzerland and Denmark differ, since the income remaining after rent and the cost of living in these countries are not comparable. Marietta Haffner of TU Delft noted that when prices for housing, rent, energy and interest rates rise faster than incomes, the share of housing expenditure inevitably increases, and in her assessment, energy costs will be the main driver of rising housing costs next year.