OVER HALF OF A PAYCHECK GOES JUST TO HOUSING: Belgrade Among the Five Most Expensive Cities to Live in Europe!

Belgrade has ranked among the European capitals where the gap between average salaries and the real cost of living is the widest, according to a 2026 study conducted by the British financial portal Tradingpedia.

Analyzing affordability indicators across 37 European capitals, economist Michael Fisher’s report placed Serbia among the countries where a “comfortable life” remains a luxury beyond the reach of most residents, raising serious questions about the country’s actual purchasing power.

When discussing living expenses, the key issue is not only how much you earn, but how much of that income disappears before you even buy food. The latest Tradingpedia research precisely calculated the percentage of an average salary that a single person in European capitals must allocate solely to renting a furnished 45-square-meter apartment and covering basic utilities such as electricity, heating, and internet.

Belgrade occupies fifth place on this unfavorable list. The data show that the average resident of Serbia’s capital spends as much as 61.53 percent of their salary simply to keep a roof over their head.

According to the study, Belgrade ranks fifth in Europe by the share of average income required to cover rent and utility costs. Tradingpedia’s analysis found that only four of the 37 surveyed capitals had a worse ratio between wages and housing expenses.

Ahead of Belgrade are Rome, where housing costs consume 63 percent of the average salary, Tirana with 66 percent, and Warsaw with 69 percent. At the very top of the list is Lisbon, where rent and utilities account for a staggering 91 percent of the average local income. On the other hand, Brussels ranks as the most affordable capital in this category, with housing expenses consuming only 30 percent of an average salary, followed by Copenhagen at 32 percent, and Stockholm, Sofia, and Bern at 35 percent.

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A Serious Gap Between Housing Prices and Purchasing Power

The fact that housing expenses in Belgrade consume around 62 percent of an average salary points to a significant disparity between rising property prices and the purchasing power of local residents, placing the Serbian capital among Europe’s least affordable cities for single individuals.

These figures are not merely a theoretical warning, as many citizens face these challenges daily on the domestic housing market. Living in the capital and finding a sustainable balance between rent and other life necessities has become a major struggle.

D.S., who has been renting an apartment in Belgrade for the past three years, says she spends €450 per month on rent alone, excluding utility bills. However, she shares the apartment with a roommate and believes she would not be able to survive financially on her own.

“I think it’s very difficult to ‘get by.’ If I wanted to move into my own place right now, I would have to pay the same amount for a much smaller apartment. Besides the high prices, there is also a shortage of available apartments. It’s almost impossible to find a decent place to live,” she says.

She adds that entertainment, recreation, and sports are the areas where she saves the most money.

“I need at least 1,000 dinars if I want to go cycling at Ada Ciganlija. A day pass for the swimming pool is nearly 1,000 dinars. Basically, wherever I want to go, I spend at least 1,000 dinars. If it’s the theater, cinema, a musical, or even a cocktail bar, the costs are much higher. The average cocktail costs around 900 dinars. Every time you leave the house, it costs you at least 1,000 dinars. If you don’t have money, you simply can’t live,” D.S. explains.

Similar financial difficulties are experienced by J.V., who says life is much harder today than it was four years ago when she first moved to Belgrade.

“It’s definitely difficult. You can clearly see the difference in prices and living costs because everything has become much more expensive. Fortunately, my utility bills are not too high because I don’t have central heating, so I manage to save a bit compared to some other people I know who also live in Belgrade,” J.V. says.

Economic Illusion

According to economist Božo Drašković, former director of the Institute of Economic Sciences and member of the Board of Serbia’s Anti-Corruption Agency, Serbia is experiencing what he calls an economic illusion in which living standards appear to improve when purchasing power is expressed in euros.

“There is a fixed exchange rate, while prices and wages continue to rise in dinars. When those figures are converted using a fixed exchange rate, it creates the illusion that people are living better because their purchasing power appears higher in euros. However, the real indicator is the structure of consumption—what people actually spend their income on and what the minimum necessities for survival are,” Drašković explains.

According to him, economic statistics showing GDP growth, often highlighted by officials, do not accurately reflect the real situation on the ground, while Serbia is effectively stagnating. The key issue is that the at-risk-of-poverty rate has remained largely unchanged for years and still exceeds 20 percent.

“That means roughly a quarter of the population is at risk of poverty because their income does not provide sufficient resources for normal household maintenance. When spending on food, household hygiene, medicine, internet, and heating exceeds 60 percent of income, it indicates that low-income citizens have very little left for a normal life,” the economist emphasizes.

According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the average salary in Serbia in March 2026 was slightly above 120,000 dinars, while more than 50 percent of citizens earn around 90,000 dinars per month.

Compared with other cities on the same list, where comfortable living is also becoming a luxury, the average monthly net salary ranges between €1,200 and €1,600 in Lisbon, around €1,900 in Warsaw, approximately €600 in Tirana, and between €2,000 and €2,500 in Rome.

“Someone earning 120,000 dinars may still have some money left after paying basic housing expenses of around 70,000 dinars. However, citizens earning 60,000 dinars do not have enough purchasing power even to satisfy their basic existential needs, which essentially constitutes poverty,” Drašković concluded.