Young French households reach 90.1% of national median income

Young people in France lived in households with median equivalised disposable income of €23,850 in 2025, above the EU average of €21,482, Eurostat data cited in an Oct. 26 Euronews article showed.

France ranked 11th among 34 European countries, but the same measure put French 18-to-24-year-olds at 90.1% of the national median, €23,850 versus €26,459.

The figures have gained political relevance as protests over living costs, housing affordability, low wages and pressure on public services have spread across several European countries in recent weeks. Euronews said students and young people have been prominent in France’s protests.

Equivalised disposable income measures household income after taxes and deductions, including social benefits, adjusted for household size. Eurostat’s data for 18-to-24-year-olds show the income of the households they live in, not their individual earnings.

Anne Brunner, director of studies at Observatoire des inégalités, told Euronews Business that France’s figure has limits. “In France, the indicator does not capture students living on their own or in collective housing such as university halls of residence (excluded from the sample),” she said.

Brunner said the 18-to-24 age group includes students living with parents as well as young workers, including people with few or no qualifications who may be in unstable jobs and at risk of poverty.

The European Youth Forum secretariat told Euronews Business that income data can understate the difficulty of becoming independent. “The paradox is that young people can look better off when they depend on their families for longer, and poorer when they go out on their own,” the secretariat said.

Switzerland had the highest median equivalised household income for young people among the countries covered, at €52,206 in 2025. Luxembourg followed at €43,028 and Austria at €37,299. Among the EU’s four largest economies, Germany led at €26,330, while Italy at €20,315 and Spain at €19,338 were below the EU average.

At the other end of the table, North Macedonia recorded €4,640, followed by Albania at €5,736 and Turkey at €5,987. The measure was also less than half the EU average in Hungary at €8,576, Bulgaria at €8,680, Serbia at €7,754 and Romania at €7,237.

In 28 of the 34 countries, young people lived in households with lower median income than the full population. Across the EU, the 18-to-24 group was at 93.6% of the overall median, with €21,482 compared with €22,939.

Ilari Ilmakunnas, senior researcher at the Finnish Centre for Pensions, told Euronews Business the gap reflects several factors. “Overall, less work experience and a lower level of education (often young people are still studying) than older adults. Additionally, being a student is often associated with a lower level of income.

Also, housing arrangements can matter [as the Nordic countries],” he said.

Finland showed the widest gap, with young people’s household median income at €22,277 against €29,740 for the whole population, or 74.9% of the national median. Denmark followed at 78.3%, Norway at 82.7%, Luxembourg at 86.0% and Sweden at 88.2%.

Brunner told Euronews Business that Nordic policy promotes earlier youth autonomy, which means young people are more likely to live independently and be measured on their own resources rather than combined family income. “A low ratio in these countries should therefore not be read as a sign of greater hardship,” she said.

Alberto Alemanno, an EU law expert, told Euronews that describing the protests as a “teenage revolution” is deeply misleading and that youth protests across Europe are multifaceted.

Source: news article, Euronews, Oct. 26, 2026