Zurich couples keep €9,140 after rent in Deutsche Bank gauge

Zurich couples had €9,140 a month left after rent in Deutsche Bank Research Institute’s Mapping the World’s Prices 2026 report, the Euronews article published Oct. 16 showed.

Across 28 European cities, the report’s measure ran from €253 in Lisbon to €9,140 in Zurich, highlighting how rent levels can outweigh salary differences in urban affordability.

The measure assumes two people each earn the local monthly net salary and pay rent for a three-bedroom apartment in the city centre. The remainder is disposable income after rent, before food, bills, transport and other costs.

Swiss cities led the European table. Zurich combined the highest rent among the 28 cities, at €5,502 a month, with the highest net salary, at €7,321. Geneva followed with €8,783 left after rent, supported by a net salary of €6,516.

Luxembourg ranked third at €5,890 a month after rent, with a net salary of €4,548 and rent of €3,206. Birmingham followed at €5,238, just ahead of Copenhagen at €5,233.

The gap between Birmingham and London showed how rent can dominate the calculation. A Birmingham couple had €2,090 more left each month than a London couple, despite lower salaries, because rent was €1,949 in Birmingham compared with €4,362 in London.

Several northern and western European cities remained above €4,000 after rent, including Oslo at €4,936, Frankfurt at €4,786, Munich at €4,575 and Amsterdam at €4,431. Amsterdam’s rent, at €3,542, was among the five highest, but the report’s salary figure was €3,986.

The comparison between Berlin and Paris pointed in the same direction. Paris had a higher net salary than Berlin, at €3,171 versus €2,946, but Berlin households retained €3,554 after rent compared with €3,336 in Paris because rent was lower in Berlin.

Southern European cities clustered near the bottom of the European ranking. Lisbon couples had €253 left after rent, with a net salary of €1,408 and rent of €2,561. Milan stood at €697, Rome at €1,265 and Athens at €1,148.

Istanbul was second-lowest in Europe at €353.

Rent exceeded one net salary in 11 cities: Athens, Barcelona, Budapest, Dublin, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Prague and Rome. In Lisbon, rent was 82% above one net salary, according to the Euronews summary of the Deutsche Bank report.

Europe performed better in the global comparison of 69 cities. Zurich and Geneva topped the overall list, ahead of San Francisco at €7,992, while no European city appeared in the bottom 10. Manila, at minus €882, and Bangkok, at minus €759, ranked last.

The figures cover rent only and do not show full living standards after other household costs. Euronews said younger Europeans have lower homeownership rates than earlier generations, while house prices and rents continued to rise across Europe in 2026.

Source: report-based article, Euronews, Oct. 16, 2026