In 2024, the average expenditure of Italian families was 2,755 euros per month, a figure substantially stable compared to 2023 as reported by ISTAT. The most significant data, however, is the median one: half of Italian families spent at least 2,240 euros per month, approximately 46 euros more than the previous year. This indicator better captures daily reality because it is not influenced by higher incomes. Let’s see in this article what the data tells us and what Italians spend the most on.
How much a family spends in Italy: Istat data
Half of Italian families spend at least 2,240 euros per month (2,243 euros in 2023). The higher average reaches 2755 euros: a difference that shows how much some high incomes raise the average value. The highest average expenses are recorded in the North-East (3,032 euros), in the Center (2,999 euros) and in the North-West (2,973 euros), while they are more contained in the Islands (2,321 euros) and in the South (2,199 euros). At a regional level, the highest average monthly expenditure is in Trentino-Alto Adige (3,584 euros) and Lombardy (3,162 euros), while Calabria and Puglia are those with the lowest expenditure, around 2,000 euros per month.
Living in the city increases expenses: families living in metropolitan areas spend 2,999 euros a month, while in municipalities with less than 50 thousand inhabitants the figure drops to 2,638 euros, around 12% less.
Those who live alone spend an average of 1,932 euros per month, i.e. more than two thirds of the expenditure of a family of two because many expenses (such as housing, bills, services) are not easily scalable.
Families made up exclusively of Italians then spend around a third more than those with foreign members, who are more thrifty especially in spending on leisure, culture and catering.
What Italians spend on: the cost of housing comes first
Expenditures on food and non-alcoholic drinks remain stable compared to 2023, despite the increase in prices: around a third of families declared they had reduced the quantity and/or quality of food purchases. However, the average expenditure on oils and fats (€18/month) and fruit (€45/month) has increased.
Approximately 80% of total expenditure concerns non-food goods and services, for an average total of 2,222 euros per month. The largest item remains housing: almost one in 5 families lives in rent, paying an average of 423 euros per month. Around 3.8 million families, however, pay a mortgage: this item is not counted in consumer spending (being a medium-long term loan aimed at increasing real estate assets), but represents a substantial outlay, equal to an average of 581 euros per month.
Among the increasing non-food expenses, those for catering and accommodation services stand out (€162/month). On the contrary, the expenditure item that families have reduced the most is that for clothing and footwear but also for information and communication.
Spending priorities change a lot along the peninsula. In the South, spending is concentrated more on primary needs, such as food costs, because economic availability is lower. In the North, however, the highest shares of expenditure are recorded for catering and accommodation services, transport and recreation, sport and culture. In particular, in Lombardy there are the highest expenses for catering and accommodation (7.5%), in Trentino-Alto-Adige those for the home (42%), while in Calabria there is the record for food expenditure (28%).
