In the 2 May 2026 snapshot, Italy’s most affordable apartment markets were led by Alessandria, where the median asking price equalled 1.4 years of 2024 median personal income. Terni followed at 1.5 years, while Genova, Torino and Taranto clustered at 1.6 years. For first-time buyers, the notable takeaway is that the cheapest entry points by income multiple span both large urban markets and smaller provincial cities rather than forming a single regional bloc.

The affordability leaders combine low price tags with incomes that still clear the entry threshold

In the 2 May 2026 snapshot using 2024 income data, the lowest income multiples sat between 1.4 and 1.6 years. Alessandria ranked first with a median apartment asking price of €118,651 against median personal income of €38,600, producing an affordability reading of 1.4 years. Terni came next at €109,862 and €32,500, equal to 1.5 years.

Genova and Torino then shared the same median asking price of €136,230, but their income bases differed slightly: €39,100 in Genova and €38,600 in Torino. Both still landed at 1.6 years. Taranto also posted 1.6 years, but through a much lower price point of €86,425 paired with median personal income of €24,300.

That pattern matters for buyers because affordability can improve through two different routes: either prices are modest in absolute terms, or local incomes are high enough to keep the price-to-income multiple contained. In most housing markets, buyers experience these as distinct entry profiles even when the headline affordability ratio looks similar.

Large cities are not absent from the affordable end of the ranking

In the 2 May 2026 snapshot, two of the country’s largest cities by population appeared near the top of the affordability ranking. Torino, with 841,600 residents, recorded 1.6 years, while Genova, with 560,688 residents, matched that same affordability reading.

For buyers, this is a useful corrective to the common assumption that affordability always improves only by moving into smaller or thinner markets. Large cities often retain more varied apartment stock, and that diversity can keep median asking prices from rising in lockstep with the prestige attached to the city name.

The contrast with smaller cities in the same ranking is still important. Alessandria, with 91,528 residents, and Terni, with 105,018 residents, were cheaper on the headline multiple. But the presence of Torino and Genova so close to the top suggests that scale alone does not push a market out of reach. In practical terms, buyers comparing mortgage options may find that some bigger labour markets remain competitive on entry pricing, at least at the median apartment level.

Taranto also stands out here. With 188,098 residents, it is not a small town, yet its median asking price of €86,425 was the lowest in the top five. That kept its affordability reading aligned with much larger northern cities despite a lower income base.

The middle of the ranking shows two distinct affordability profiles

In the 2 May 2026 snapshot, the cities ranked from sixth to tenth ranged from 1.8 to 2.0 years, but they arrived there through very different combinations of price and income. Varese posted the highest median personal income in the list at €50,400, yet its median apartment asking price of €197,753 pushed affordability to 1.8 years. Messina reached the same 1.8 years with a far lower price point of €95,214 and a much lower income figure of €23,400.

Latina followed at 1.9 years, with a median asking price of €180,175 and median personal income of €43,200. Reggio Calabria and Ferrara both came in at 2.0 years, though again through different structures: Reggio Calabria paired €95,214 with €21,800, while Ferrara paired €194,823 with €44,500.

This is an important reading for household planners. A city with a higher nominal price is not automatically less affordable if incomes are also stronger, while a low-ticket market can still consume a similar number of income years when local earnings are weaker. In housing markets generally, affordability rankings are most useful when they are read as a balance between earnings power and purchase cost rather than as a simple list of the cheapest homes.

Northern and southern cities both appear, but the ranking is not a pure regional story

In the 2 May 2026 snapshot, the top ten included cities from northern, central and southern Italy. Northern entries included Alessandria, Genova, Torino, Varese and Ferrara. Central entries included Terni and Latina. Southern and island markets included Taranto, Messina and Reggio Calabria.

For readers considering relocation, that spread suggests the affordability map is broader than a simple north-south divide. Some southern cities do appear with very low absolute prices, such as Taranto at €86,425 and Messina at €95,214, but northern cities also place strongly when incomes are comparatively high, as seen in Alessandria at €38,600, Genova at €39,100 and Varese at €50,400.

The same period also coincides with "Il conto alla rovescia per la Direttiva Case Green spinge i mutui “verdi”" from MutuiOnline, published on 2026-04-28, a reminder that affordability for buyers is being discussed alongside financing structure as well as sticker price. That does not alter the ranking itself, but it fits the wider buyer focus on total access to ownership.

What first-time buyers can take from this ranking

In the 2 May 2026 snapshot built on 2024 income data, the practical affordability band in this top ten ran from 1.4 to 2.0 years of median personal income. Alessandria and Terni offered the lightest income burden in the list, while even the tenth-ranked city, Ferrara, remained at 2.0 years.

For first-time buyers, the biggest insight is that the strongest affordability positions are not all ultra-cheap markets with weak income bases, nor are they all high-income cities with expensive housing. Instead, the ranking mixes several buyer profiles: low-price entry markets such as Taranto, balanced large-city options such as Torino and Genova, and higher-income markets such as Varese where stronger earnings partly offset higher prices.

Because the income reference year is 2024 while asking prices are from 2 May 2026, this ranking is best read as a current price snapshot set against the latest income baseline provided here. Even so, the ordering clearly identifies where apartment buyers face the lowest price-to-income hurdle among the cities in this slice.

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Published: May 6, 2026