Turin Cost of Living vs Salary

Urban Stress Index: 49.12

Is Turin an affordable place to live? A typical resident spends around 31.8% of income on rent and 17.3% on food. That leaves approximately 50.9% of income available for savings and daily expenses.

The Urban Stress Index (USI) provides a structured way to evaluate cost-of-living pressure in Turin. By combining housing and essential food costs, it highlights how much income is required to maintain a basic standard of living relative to local wages.

Cost Breakdown

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Cost Structure Analysis

Turin records a USI of around 49, placing it in the high burden category but below most major Italian cities. In absolute terms, Turin remains relatively affordable. Rent accounts for around 32% of income, while food adds approximately 17%, leaving a comparatively strong remaining income share.

The city benefits from a more balanced cost-to-income relationship compared with other Italian cities. Turin’s economy, historically linked to manufacturing and industry, provides relatively stable wages. Compared with Milan, Turin has significantly lower housing costs, resulting in a lower overall burden. Compared with Bologna, it also shows a more favorable affordability profile.

Within Italy, Turin represents one of the more balanced northern cities, where income levels are sufficient to offset moderate living costs. This contrasts sharply with southern cities such as Naples, where affordability is constrained by lower wages.

Internationally, Turin aligns with cities where moderate costs are supported by relatively stable income levels. Overall, it is best understood as one of the more affordable major cities in Italy, though still within a high-cost-to-income environment by global standards.

Methodology

The Urban Stress Index (USI) measures how much of a typical income is spent on housing and essential food.

USI = Housing burden + Food cost share.

See full methodology here.

Sources

Income, rental, and food cost data for Italy are compiled from national statistics, rental market data, and consumer price datasets.

• Income data: ISTAT (Italian National Institute of Statistics) – Average annual earnings by province (2023). Annual earnings are converted to monthly income and adjusted to 2025 levels using inflation data.
• Rental data: City-level rent estimates are based on aggregated rental listings for 1-bedroom apartments in city centre locations.
• Food cost estimates: Based on Numbeo data for an inexpensive meal, used as a proxy for essential food expenditure.

In major tourist cities, restaurant-based price proxies may slightly overestimate actual food costs for residents, as dining prices can reflect tourism demand rather than everyday consumption patterns.

For full methodology and assumptions, see Methodology.

See Related Cities & Comparisons

Other cities in Italy:

• Compare with Bologna (USI: 60.3)
• Compare with Milan (USI: 68.0)
• Compare with Rome (USI: 73.3)
• Compare with Naples (USI: 88.4)

Cities with similar affordability outside Italy:

• Compare with Geneva, Switzerland (USI: 49.0)
• Compare with Vilnius, Lithuania (USI: 49.3)
• Compare with Hololulu, USA (USI: 49.5)
• Compare with Quebec City, Canada (USI: 48.6)