In the 9 May 2026 asking-price snapshot, Bragança and Alenquer were the most affordable Portuguese cities in this apartment ranking, each at 3.0 years of median income. Sintra followed at 3.3 years and Amadora at 3.5, while the least affordable city in this top-10 list was Loures at 5.2 years. The income side of the comparison comes from 2024, which matters for buyers because this is a price-to-income snapshot built from two clearly dated inputs rather than a live mortgage affordability calculator.

The cheapest entry points cluster at both low prices and relatively solid incomes

In the 9 May 2026 price snapshot paired with 2024 income data, the standout feature is how the most affordable cities reach that position through different combinations of price and earning power. Bragança sits at the bottom of the price ladder, while Alenquer achieves the same affordability ratio with a much higher apartment price because local income is also higher.

Bragança combines the lowest median apartment price in the ranking, at €153,808, with median income of €23,300. Alenquer, by contrast, carries a much higher median apartment price of €275,878, but median income of €42,300 keeps it level with Bragança on the affordability measure. That is a useful reminder for buyers: affordability rankings are not simply cheapness rankings, because a higher-priced city can still screen as accessible when incomes are stronger.

Lisbon-area cities still appear competitive when incomes are high enough

In the same 9 May 2026 and 2024 dataset pairing, several municipalities in the Lisbon orbit rank surprisingly well on years of income despite clearly higher apartment prices. That pattern is reader-relevant because large labour markets often support higher housing costs without automatically pushing them to the bottom of affordability tables.

Sintra posts a median apartment price of €310,058 and median income of €42,300, producing an affordability reading of 3.3 years. Amadora comes in at €329,589 on price and the same €42,300 on income, for 3.5 years. Alenquer, also on €42,300 median income, is cheaper at €275,878 and therefore shares the best affordability score in the ranking.

Loures shows the limit of that income support. Its median apartment price reaches €485,839, by far the highest in this list, and even with median income at €42,300 it lands at 5.2 years. The practical takeaway is that income strength can keep some higher-cost markets within reach, but only up to a point once asking prices move far enough ahead.

Mid-table cities show how similar incomes can still produce a wide affordability spread

In the 9 May 2026 snapshot, the middle of the ranking is dominated by cities sharing the same median income level of €27,100, which makes the price differences easier to read. For buyers comparing secondary cities, that creates a cleaner like-for-like view of where the purchase burden is lighter.

Castelo Branco is the cheapest among this group, with a median apartment price of €251,464 and an affordability reading of 4.2 years. Santa Maria da Feira follows at €266,112 and 4.5 years. Águeda rises to €280,760 and 4.7 years, while Caldas da Rainha reaches €295,409 and 5.0 years.

Because the income input is identical across these four cities, the ranking effectively tracks how much more capital is needed to buy a typical apartment in each market. This is often the clearest part of an affordability table for first-time buyers: when incomes are held constant, even moderate price gaps can shift the years-of-income burden noticeably.

Population size does not map neatly onto affordability

In the 9 May 2026 snapshot, city size and affordability do not move in lockstep, which is useful for readers trying to narrow a search by both budget and urban scale. Large municipalities can still rank well, while smaller ones do not automatically dominate the cheapest end.

Amadora is the largest city in this list by population, at 175,136, yet it still posts a relatively low affordability reading of 3.5 years. Loures is larger still at 199,494 and sits at 5.2 years, showing that scale alone does not determine accessibility. Sintra, with 86,780 residents, remains near the top at 3.3 years, while smaller cities such as Caldas da Rainha, at 51,729, and Águeda, at 47,729, sit further down the ranking at 5.0 and 4.7 years respectively.

At the lower-population end, Bragança has 33,353 residents and leads the table at 3.0 years, but Castelo Branco, with 52,858 residents, is less affordable at 4.2 years. For cross-border movers and domestic relocators alike, the implication is straightforward: buyers should not assume that moving to a smaller city automatically delivers the lowest price-to-income burden.

The spread from 3.0 to 5.2 years defines this affordability shortlist

In the 9 May 2026 asking-price snapshot with 2024 income data, the full span of this top-10 ranking runs from 3.0 years to 5.2 years of income. That is a compact but meaningful range for mortgage-shopping households deciding where a typical apartment looks most manageable relative to local earnings.

Four cities come in below 4.0 years: Bragança, Alenquer, Sintra and Amadora. Another four sit between 4.2 and 5.0 years: Castelo Branco, Santa Maria da Feira, Águeda and Caldas da Rainha. The final two, Barcelos and Loures, both register 5.2 years, though they arrive there from very different price and income combinations: Barcelos at €266,112 with €23,300 median income, and Loures at €485,839 with €42,300 median income.

That split matters because households often shop with both an income ceiling and a location preference. A city near the top of an affordability ranking may still involve very different cash requirements at purchase, even when the years-of-income metric looks similar.

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Published: May 12, 2026