A Quarter of Greeks Spend More Than 40% of Income on Housing
Silver Data Lab Research Desk · Statistical analysis · Published on 11 June 2026
- Data source
- Eurostat
- Reference period
- 2025
- Last updated
- 11 June 2026
Key estimates
- 7.7% of the EU population spent more than 40% of disposable income on housing in 2025.
- Greece records 26.4% and Denmark 23.4% — more than one person in four in both.
- Cyprus records 2.4%, Croatia 3.2% and Slovakia 3.5%.
- Only seven Member States are above the EU rate, so the average sits above the great majority of them.
- Greece and Denmark reach similar rates through opposite mechanisms: low incomes in one, high rents and a large rental sector in the other.
A threshold, not a scale
The housing cost overburden rate counts people whose housing costs exceed 40% of their disposable income, after housing allowances are deducted. It is a threshold measure: someone at 39% is not counted and someone at 41% is.
Across the EU in 2025, 7.7% of the population was above it.
Two countries at the top for opposite reasons
Greece records 26.4% and Denmark 23.4%. Together they are far ahead of Germany in third at 11.2%.
They arrive there differently, and the difference matters more than the similarity.
Greek housing costs are not high by European standards; Greek incomes are low. The Greek at-risk-of-poverty rate is among the Union's highest, wages have grown more slowly than anywhere else in the Union — Greek unit labour costs rose 8.5% over five years against an EU average of 19.6% — and a moderate housing cost against a low income crosses the 40% line easily.
Denmark is the reverse. Danish incomes are among the highest in the Union, and Danish housing costs are higher still. Denmark also has a large rental sector, and renters at market prices are the group this indicator picks up: owners with a paid-off mortgage have low housing costs by construction, so a country of owner-occupiers records a low rate almost automatically.
The home ownership study on this site records the tenure split that sits underneath this.
An average above almost everyone
Only seven of twenty-seven Member States are above the EU rate of 7.7%. Twenty are below it.
That distribution means the EU figure is not a typical national value. It is pulled up by Greece, Denmark and Germany — the last of which has both a large population and the Union's largest rental sector.
Anyone reading 7.7% as the European norm is reading an average dominated by three countries.
The low end and what it conceals
Cyprus records 2.4%, Croatia 3.2%, Slovakia 3.5% and Slovenia 3.5%.
These are Member States with very high home ownership and, in several cases, high rates of ownership without a mortgage. A household that owns its home outright has almost no housing cost in this measure, whatever the house is worth.
That is the indicator's main blind spot. It measures the flow of housing payments, not the difficulty of acquiring housing in the first place. A country where young people cannot buy and stay with their parents instead will record an excellent overburden rate, and the overcrowding study on this site shows what that looks like from the other side.
Housing cost overburden rate, 2025
| Country | % of population | Gap to EU averagepercentage points, derived |
|---|---|---|
| Greece | 26.4 | +18.7 |
| Denmark | 23.4 | +15.7 |
| Germany | 11.2 | +3.5 |
| European Unionaggregate | 7.7 | — |
| Slovakia | 3.5 | −4.2 |
| Croatia | 3.2 | −4.5 |
| Cyprus | 2.4 | −5.3 |
What these figures cannot tell you
- A threshold measure
- The rate counts people above 40% of disposable income and ignores how far above. Two countries with the same rate can have very different depths of housing stress, and someone just below the line is not counted at all.
- Outright owners have almost no housing cost
- Households owning without a mortgage record minimal costs by construction, so countries with high outright ownership score well regardless of how expensive housing is to acquire. This is the indicator's largest blind spot.
- It measures payments, not access
- A young adult who cannot afford to form a household and remains with their parents contributes nothing to this rate. The overcrowding and home ownership studies on this site cover that side.
- Net of housing allowances
- Housing costs are measured after housing benefits are deducted, so the rate reflects the generosity of national housing support as well as the cost of housing itself.
Frequently asked questions
- How many Europeans are overburdened by housing costs?
- 7.7% of the EU population spent more than 40% of disposable income on housing in 2025. Only seven Member States are above that figure, so it is not a typical national value.
- Which EU country has the worst housing cost burden?
- Greece, at 26.4% in 2025, with Denmark close behind at 23.4%. Germany is third at 11.2%, well behind both.
- Why do Greece and Denmark both score badly?
- For opposite reasons. Greek housing costs are moderate but Greek incomes are low, so a modest cost crosses the 40% threshold. Danish incomes are among the Union's highest and Danish housing costs higher still, with a large rental sector — and renters at market prices are the group this measure picks up.
- Why do some countries score so well?
- Cyprus at 2.4%, Croatia at 3.2% and Slovakia at 3.5% have very high home ownership, much of it without a mortgage. A household owning outright has almost no housing cost in this measure, whatever the property is worth, so a low rate can coexist with housing being hard to acquire.
Methodological note
Eurostat publishes the housing cost overburden rate from EU-SILC as the share of the population living in households where total housing costs, net of housing allowances, exceed 40% of total disposable household income, also net of housing allowances.
This study uses the total population, both sexes, all ages, regardless of poverty status. Values are for 2025 and cover all 27 Member States.
The count of Member States above and below the EU rate is derived by Silver Data Lab. The comparisons with income levels, unit labour costs, home ownership and overcrowding draw on companion studies on this site, each with its own extraction.
Source data
The underlying series can be inspected and re-downloaded from the Eurostat data browser. The filters below are the ones applied.
Housing cost overburden rate
ilc_lvho07a
- Filters applied:
- freq=A · unit=PC · rskpovth=TOTAL · age=TOTAL · sex=T · time=2025
- Extracted:
- 2026-08-11
- Source last updated:
- 2026-06-08
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