Data study
Where it’s easiest to find a home in Europe
Housing is the biggest worry for anyone moving to a European city. Here is how residents of 83 cities answered one simple question: is it easy to find good housing at a reasonable price here?
The short answer
Aalborg, Denmark, is where residents find it easiest to get good housing at a reasonable price: 68.1% agree. Oulu (67.8%) and Skopje (64.7%) follow. At the other end, only 7.8% agree in Geneva, and about one in ten in Istanbul and Munich. In the median city just 33.4% agree, so most Europeans in big cities say good, affordable housing is hard to find.
Smaller cities lead: Aalborg, Oulu, Newcastle, Palermo and Piatra Neamț all make the top six, along with Skopje. Wealthy hubs such as Geneva, Munich, Stockholm, Hamburg and Paris are near the bottom.
All 83 cities
Click a column to sort.
| City | Country | Easy to find good housing at a reasonable price | Satisfied to live in the city |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aalborg | Denmark | 68.1% | 92.4% |
| Oulu | Finland | 67.8% | 90.9% |
| Skopje | North Macedonia | 64.7% | 72.3% |
| Newcastle (Tyneside) | United Kingdom | 64.5% | 93.3% |
| Palermo | Italy | 62.7% | 62.0% |
| Piatra Neamţ | Romania | 61.4% | 92.5% |
| Oviedo | Spain | 60.3% | 90.3% |
| Białystok | Poland | 58.0% | 91.8% |
| Podgorica | Montenegro | 54.7% | 76.8% |
| Belfast | United Kingdom | 53.8% | 89.3% |
| Ostrava | Czechia | 52.9% | 83.5% |
| Málaga | Spain | 51.6% | 89.2% |
| Naples | Italy | 50.3% | 65.9% |
| Sofia | Bulgaria | 49.9% | 81.3% |
| Athens | Greece | 49.0% | 65.0% |
| Diyarbakir | Türkiye | 48.8% | 83.8% |
| Braga | Portugal | 48.4% | 94.2% |
| Burgas | Bulgaria | 47.3% | 88.5% |
| Valletta | Malta | 46.1% | 81.7% |
| Cardiff | United Kingdom | 45.1% | 94.0% |
| Rennes | France | 44.2% | 93.8% |
| Heraklion | Greece | 44.2% | 80.9% |
| Verona | Italy | 44.0% | 89.0% |
| Turin | Italy | 43.8% | 82.4% |
| Antalya | Türkiye | 43.6% | 91.2% |
| Bucharest | Romania | 43.0% | 82.3% |
| Miskolc | Hungary | 42.7% | 74.2% |
| Leipzig | Germany | 42.0% | 95.0% |
| Glasgow | United Kingdom | 41.6% | 90.2% |
| Manchester | United Kingdom | 41.6% | 89.2% |
| Groningen | Netherlands | 40.1% | 95.5% |
| Nicosia | Cyprus | 39.7% | 86.2% |
| Vilnius | Lithuania | 38.5% | 92.8% |
| Zagreb | Croatia | 38.0% | 86.4% |
| Gdańsk | Poland | 36.5% | 95.5% |
| Liège | Belgium | 36.1% | 89.5% |
| Malmö | Sweden | 36.0% | 91.5% |
| Madrid | Spain | 35.9% | 82.0% |
| Ankara | Türkiye | 35.6% | 81.6% |
| Essen | Germany | 35.3% | 90.0% |
| Dortmund | Germany | 34.1% | 91.4% |
| Cluj-Napoca | Romania | 33.4% | 94.3% |
| Rotterdam | Netherlands | 32.7% | 89.8% |
| Belgrade | Serbia | 32.5% | 69.3% |
| Lille | France | 31.8% | 86.5% |
| Strasbourg | France | 31.7% | 92.2% |
| Tallinn | Estonia | 30.6% | 91.5% |
| Tirana | Albania | 30.5% | 65.9% |
| Antwerp | Belgium | 29.7% | 91.8% |
| Marseille | France | 29.5% | 79.0% |
| Krakow | Poland | 28.7% | 88.0% |
| Barcelona | Spain | 28.5% | 83.7% |
| Rome | Italy | 27.9% | 71.1% |
| Riga | Latvia | 27.2% | 80.1% |
| Ljubljana | Slovenia | 26.2% | 90.2% |
| Graz | Austria | 26.0% | 90.4% |
| Prague | Czechia | 25.3% | 92.8% |
| Bordeaux | France | 24.0% | 91.6% |
| Bologna | Italy | 23.7% | 86.8% |
| Budapest | Hungary | 23.4% | 83.6% |
| Vienna | Austria | 22.9% | 88.0% |
| Oslo | Norway | 22.7% | 93.7% |
| London | United Kingdom | 21.7% | 84.7% |
| Košice | Slovakia | 21.4% | 92.0% |
| Warsaw | Poland | 20.8% | 90.4% |
| Reykjavík | Iceland | 19.7% | 90.5% |
| Rostock | Germany | 19.4% | 94.3% |
| Berlin | Germany | 19.1% | 86.2% |
| Dublin | Ireland | 17.9% | 89.8% |
| Brussels | Belgium | 17.5% | 86.5% |
| Helsinki | Finland | 16.5% | 91.1% |
| Amsterdam | Netherlands | 16.2% | 91.2% |
| Lisbon | Portugal | 15.8% | 89.2% |
| Bratislava | Slovakia | 15.2% | 90.8% |
| Copenhagen | Denmark | 14.3% | 95.7% |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 14.0% | 93.4% |
| Paris | France | 12.0% | 79.9% |
| Zurich | Switzerland | 11.3% | 97.1% |
| Hamburg | Germany | 10.9% | 92.4% |
| Stockholm | Sweden | 10.9% | 94.7% |
| Munich | Germany | 10.2% | 92.0% |
| Istanbul | Türkiye | 10.2% | 64.9% |
| Geneva | Switzerland | 7.8% | 94.6% |
How we built this
Residents were asked how far they agree that “it is easy to find good housing in my city at a reasonable price.” We show the share who strongly or somewhat agree, leaving out people who did not know or did not answer. The second column is the share satisfied to live in their city.
Source: European Commission, Survey on the Quality of Life in European Cities 2023, run by Ipsos with about 850 residents in each of 83 cities in the EU, EFTA, the UK, the Western Balkans and Türkiye. We used the Commission’s aggregated city file (revised September 2024). Last checked October 15, 2026.
For rents and monthly budgets in the cities we cover, see our cost of living tool and city guides.
Frequently asked questions
Where in Europe is it easiest to find affordable housing?
In the EU’s 2023 survey, Aalborg (68.1%), Oulu and Skopje had the highest share of residents agreeing it is easy to find good housing at a reasonable price.
Which European city is hardest for housing?
Geneva had the lowest share (7.8%), followed by Istanbul and Munich.