A recent rolling survey conducted by the investment advisory website Tradingpedia has found that Athens is the third least affordable capital city in Europe for single-person households.
This finding aligns with the results of their previous survey from spring 2025, indicating that the high cost of living has persisted despite a slowdown in inflation.
Tradingpedia compared typical monthly expenses, including food, housing, transport, personal care, and entertainment, for both single-person households and four-member families. They drew their data from international platforms such as Expatistan and Numbeo, which are frequently used by “expatriate professionals” and digital nomads.
Athens is among least affordable European capitals
The analysis of affordability is based on the critical metric of how the average net monthly salary compares to basic monthly expenses. The survey highlights several European capitals where the typical cost of living actually exceeds the average local income.
Warsaw, Poland, holds the top spot as the least affordable. A single person’s estimated monthly expenses of €2,167 are a staggering 127% of the average net salary, resulting in a monthly deficit of €467.
Tirana, Albania, is the second least affordable, with typical living expenses calculated at 127.4% of the average monthly income. Even for families with two incomes, the margin for savings is incredibly slim, at just €42 per month.
Athens, Greece: The average net monthly salary is €1,017, but basic monthly expenses for a single person reach €1,149. This results in an income shortfall of €132 per month, or 113% of the average wage. Life is also tough for families, with monthly costs consuming 93.2% of a two-worker household’s average income.
The contrast: Cheapest vs. most affordable cities
It is important to differentiate between cities that are cheap in absolute price terms and those that are truly affordable due to high incomes.
In absolute terms, the most expensive cities for a single person are Reykjavik, Iceland (€2,939) and London, UK (€2,933). They are closely followed by Amsterdam (€2,620), Bern, Switzerland (€2,540), and Dublin, Ireland (€2,329).
The truly affordable capitals (high salary-to-cost ratio) include Luxembourg City, Bern, Switzerland, Brussels, Belgium, Helsinki, Finland, and Copenhagen, Denmark.
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