Young Czechs pay more of their wages for rent than people in Western Europe

Czechs aged 25 to 35 will pay more of their wages for rent than in most selected Western European countries. They spend less than 40 percent of their median gross wage on renting a 60-square-metre apartment. This is half as much as young people pay in Germany, Austria or France. However, the ratio can vary by location, for example, rents are significantly higher in capitals and large cities. Young people in Italy, for example, spend more of their earnings on housing than Czechs. This is based on available data from selected companies, foreign servers and the findings of the CTK.

In the Czech Republic, the median wage for the 25-34 age group is CZK 46,000, according to Platy.cz. Some experts have previously said that a similar amount last year was the so-called decent wage, which covers the needs of an adult with a child. However, two-thirds of people in the Czech Republic did not reach this amount. According to the latest data from technology consultancy Deloitte, the average rent in the Czech Republic in the first quarter of this year was CZK 295 per square metre. The monthly rent of a 60-square-metre apartment would thus cost CZK 17,700 without the fee. The net salary of young people without children is around CZK 36,000 and they would pay less than half of it for housing.

In Germany, the median wage for young people was CZK 102,000 per month, according to Paylab, which also runs the Platy.cz server. In the first quarter of this year, the average rent for a 70-square-metre, two-room apartment in Germany, excluding fees, was EUR 599 (CZK 15,000), according to Der Speigel. Fees can then be as high as another €200, but even so, young Germans would still pay around a fifth of their gross earnings for housing. The situation is similar in Austria. There, the median wage for young Austrians is around 90,000 crowns, while the average rent was 634 euros (about 15,850 CZK) at the end of last year, according to Statistik.at. Young people in Austria thus pay around 18 percent of their gross income for housing.

Young French people pay more than a fifth of their gross earnings for housing. The median wage there is approximately CZK 77,700. The rent excluding fees in France for smaller unfurnished apartments is just under CZK 17,000 in May, according to the real estate portal SeLoger. In Paris, for example, rental prices are significantly higher. Le Monde wrote at the end of March that high rent prices and the general unaffordability of housing there are driving more and more young couples to move in together earlier than they had originally planned. Sharing costs is the only way for many of them to financially reach an apartment of acceptable size or in a more appealing neighbourhood.

The Italians are in a similar position to young Czechs. The median wage is roughly CZK 59,000 and an apartment under 50 square metres cost them more than CZK 29,000 at the end of last year, according to Idealista, about half of their gross income.