Young Czechs pay a larger portion of their wages for rent than people in Western Europe

Prague – Young Czechs aged 25 to 35 pay more for rent from their salary than in most selected Western European countries. They spend just under 40 percent of the median gross salary on renting a 60-square-meter apartment. This is proportionally half more than young people pay in Germany, Austria, or France. However, the ratio can vary by location, for example, rents in major and large cities are significantly higher. More than Czechs, young people in Italy spend part of their earnings on housing. This is based on available data from selected companies, foreign servers, and CTK findings.

In the Czech Republic, the median salary for the age group between 25 and 34 years, according to the website Platy.cz, is 46,000 crowns. Some experts have previously noted that a similar amount last year also constituted the so-called decent wage, which covers the needs of an adult with a child. However, two-thirds of people in the Czech Republic did not reach this amount. According to the latest data from the technology consulting company Deloitte, the average rent in the Czech Republic in the first quarter of this year was 295 crowns per square meter. Monthly rent for a 60-square-meter apartment without fees would thus cost 17,700 crowns. The net salary of young childless people is around 36,000 crowns, and they would pay just under half of it for housing.

In Germany, the median salary for young people according to the website Paylab, which among other things also operates the website Platy.cz, was 102,000 crowns per month. In the first quarter of this year, the average rent for a 70-square-meter two-room apartment in Germany without fees was 599 euros (15,000 crowns) according to the website Der Spiegel. The fees can then amount to up to another 200 euros, even so, young Germans would pay approximately a fifth of their gross income for housing. The situation is similar in Austria. There, the median salary of young Austrians is approximately 90,000 crowns, while the average rent according to the website Statistik.at was 634 euros (about 15,850 crowns) at the end of last year. Young people in Austria thus pay approximately 18 percent of their gross income for housing.

Young Italians are in a similar situation to young Czechs. The median salary is about 59,000 crowns and a 50-square-meter apartment at the end of last year cost them more than 29,000 crowns according to the website Idealista, which is approximately half of the gross income.