Bologna, June 6, 2026 – An apartment of 70 square meters, in the Felsinean city, costs an average of 1,250 euros. A staggering figure that places Bologna in fourth place in Italy for rental costs, preceded in the ranking only by Milan (1,820 euros per month) Florence and Rome (1,340 euros).
Results that thus turn the spotlight back on a highly topical issue and show an even more worrying ranking if one observes the incidence of rent on average salaries. In this case, the Learned City even rises to third place: to pay rent under the Two Towers, in fact, an average of 58% of the salary goes, compared to 73% in Milan and 62% in Florence.
The survey: a 45% increase recorded in six years
These are the results emerging from a study by national CNA on data from the Real Estate Market Observatory of the Revenue Agency and on the trend of net wages in the same period.
In detail, the analysis also indicates how the situation has “particularly worsened” in recent years, as in 2019 under the Two Towers the same 70-square-meter apartment cost 860 euros per month: a calculation that shows how the cost of rent in Bologna has increased by 45% in six years. In this ranking too, the Felsinean city is in third place, always preceded by the usual Milan and Florence, both with a 49% growth.
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Bologna wins in the ranking of salary increases. “But it’s not enough”
But that’s not all. Bologna “wins” in the ranking of salary increases between 2019 and 2025: in six years, the growth is indeed 12%, the highest in Italy along with Turin. “But if you compare the increase in salary (+12%) with that of rent (+45%) – CNA points out – it is easy to understand how the task has become increasingly complicated for those who have to pay rent in Bologna.”
Director Claudio Pazzaglia: “It’s a social issue and an economic emergency”
“By now, the problem of rent and housing in general is not only a social issue – explains Claudio Pazzaglia, General Director of CNA Bologna – but it is also an economic emergency that ends up hindering growth, investments, and local development. CNA and its businesses complain about the shortage of labor, but often this difficulty is linked to the problem of finding workers willing to move to a city with such high rental costs. In short, the cost of housing is a real obstacle to professional mobility, employment, and the attractiveness of more dynamic territories like Bologna.”
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