Lisbon is the fifth most expensive city in Europe in which to rent a house on a single salary, according to the UK Economist’s ‘Carrie Bradshaw Index’, an indicator that cross references average rental data with the cost for a single person of renting an apartment in large European cities.
The use of the name of one of the leading actors of “Sex and the City”, Carrie Bradshaw, symbolises the growing difficulty many people face in achieving residential independence in European cities.
This index calculates how much a tenant would have to earn for the cost of rent not to exceed about 30% of their monthly salary, a limit frequently used to define a sustainable rental. Cities that clearly exceed this threshold are classified as inaccessible for an average worker to live alone.
According to the Carrie Bradshaw Index, some of Europe’s largest and most dynamic cities remain particularly difficult for those renting an apartment alone.
London, for example, stands out as one of the most unbalanced markets, where an average renter can spend more than 40% of their monthly income on rent, well above the threshold considered healthy.
Cities like Dublin, Stockholm, and Prague have also seen rental prices rise faster than wages, placing them high in the inaccessibility ranking.
In the chart published by The Economist, Lisbon clearly appears on the ‘least affordable’ side for tenants. The scale compares the average wage in the city with the typical cost of rents: when the value is less than 1, it means that the average salary is not enough to cover the cost of rent without significant financial pressure.
Lisbon is well below the 1 threshold, closer to cities such as Sofia, Riga or Stockholm than to metropolises considered affordable. This indicates that, on average, workers’ incomes in Lisbon do not keep pace with the cost of rents, making the city one of the least affordable in Europe to rent.
Top 10 least affordable cities for solo renters:
The 10 most expensive cities to rent (least affordable) have a salary/rent ratio of less than 1, meaning that the average salary is not enough to comfortably cover the cost of rent.
- Tbilisi: The city with the most critical situation in the index, with rents well above average wages.
- Prague: strong tourist and international demand drives up prices.
- Belgrade: uneven economic growth compared to rising rents.
- Budapest: popular with digital nomads, which puts pressure on the local market.
- Lisbon: low wages and rents at European levels.
- Sofia: a rapidly appreciating market, but wages remain among the lowest in the EU.
- Stockholm: despite high wages, the shortage of supply makes renting difficult.
- Riga: price increases without equivalent wage growth.
- London: one of the most expensive markets in the world, with rents well above the average wage.
- Dublin: the strong presence of multinationals and limited supply drive up prices.
The 10 most affordable cities
These cities have a salary/income ratio of more than 1, which means that the average salary is sufficient to cover the cost of rent with some money to spare. Although the last two are still on the other side of the fence, they are very close to the more affordable side.
- Luxembourg: Very high salaries make renting relatively affordable.
- Vienna: the robust public housing model keeps prices under control.
- Helsinki: regulated market and high salaries.
- Brussels: stable rents and competitive salaries.
- Bern: high purchasing power of residents.
- Lyon: balanced market and salaries above the French average.
- Bonn: German city with moderate rents and good salaries.
- Berlin: despite recent pressure, it remains more affordable than other capitals.
- Copenhagen: high salaries offset the high cost of rents.
- Geneva: one of the highest average salaries.
Sources: Essential Business/Jornal Económico/The Economist
