Greece has the highest share of people overburdened by housing costs in Europe

Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, has published 2025 data showing where in Europe housing costs weigh most heavily on household budgets. Greece has the highest rate: 26.4% of its residents live in households that spend more than 40% of their disposable income on housing. The EU average is 7.7%. Eurostat calls this the housing cost overburden rate.

Eurostat figures show that house prices in the EU rose by 69% on average between 2015 and the second quarter of 2026, and more than doubled in some member states. Rents and energy costs have also kept climbing. The European Council says Europe faces a crisis driven by rising house prices and housing costs.

What counts as housing costs

Eurostat includes rent or mortgage interest, utilities such as water, electricity, gas and heating, and regular charges such as insurance, maintenance, repairs and taxes. Disposable income is a household's total income after taxes and social contributions, including benefits such as pensions.

Country comparison

Among EU countries, Denmark follows Greece (14.7%), then Germany (11.2%) and Sweden (10.8%). Estonia (8.8%), Czechia (8.2%) and Luxembourg (8.1%) are also above the EU average. Outside the EU, the rate is 15.3% in Switzerland and 13.5% in Norway. Cyprus has the lowest rate (2.4%), followed by Croatia (3.2%), and Slovenia and Slovakia (both 3.5%). Spain stands at 7.2%, France at 6.4% and Italy at 5.0%.

More than 34 million people in the EU live in such households. Germany has the most affected people, at 9.4 million, followed by Turkey with 8.6 million and France with 4.4 million.

Low-income people hit hardest

Among people at risk of poverty, the EU average rate is 29.1%. In Greece it reaches 82.6%, in Denmark 59.8% and in Switzerland 56.1%. Researchers quoted by Euronews Business say incomes are growing more slowly than housing costs, especially for lower earners, and that comparing countries is complicated by differences in welfare systems and housing quality.