When choosing a country for immigration, it is essential to consider various factors: the cost of living, the level of local salaries, the level of security, and much more. Sure, you can compare the climatic conditions and the possibility of legalizing in the country, but still, the issue of the cost of living will be decisive when choosing a new place to live. That is why we decided to publish a series of articles on the WithPortugal website, where we are going to compare countries similar to Portugal in terms of climate. Our analysis will be based exclusively on factual and statistical data, which will help you compare different countries more objectively and choose the one that best suits you in terms of the cost of living.
In the first article of this series, we compared Portugal and Spain, and in our new material, you will find a comparative analysis of salaries and the cost of living in Portugal and Italy.
Basis for comparative analysis
The source of information for this article was the report "Cost of living, living Wages, and Minimum Wages in EU-27 countries", assembled for one of the parties of the European Parliament. This report compares 27 EU countries in terms of minimum and real salaries, as well as the total cost of living in the country. Although this report was assembled in 2021, and the new report for 2022 is not yet ready, we can safely rely on this data with one small correction.
In 2022, there is quite a strong inflation and price increase in Europe, so feel free to add 200-500 euros to the total calculation of living expenses in a particular country. However, since inflation is observed in all European countries, it is crucial to understand that the proportions remain unchanged in terms of a comparative analysis of the two countries. If, for example, 1 adult could live on 600-800 euros per month in Bulgaria in 2021, and one person needed at least 1200-1500 euros for life in Luxembourg (that is, exactly two times more than in Bulgaria), then the cost of living in both countries will increase in 2022, but the proportion of 1 to 2 will remain the same.
Cost of living in Portugal and Italy
Beautiful beaches, delicious seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, good weather and friendly locals - this description could perfectly fit both Portugal and Italy.
Only an expert can understand where the beach is from the picture below, and although this is a trendy place in Portugal (Praia do Portino da Arrábida), we could find many similar places in Italy.
It would seem that these countries should be absolutely identical in terms of the cost of living and salaries. Is it so? Let's check.
Below you can see a screenshot from the report of the EU Parliament with a summary table of monthly expenses per person (Single adult) and for a standard family of 2 adults and 2 children (Standard Family) in Portugal.
I will instantly leave a vital remark that they take a slightly lower example for rental housing in all countries in this report. I think this is because the statistics were generally considered throughout the country, not just in large cities. Therefore, the rental values in the table below are the arithmetic average between Lisbon and a remote Portuguese village. Thus, if you still want to live in a large city, I would safely add at least 300-400 euros to this value, considering inflation and current prices for 2022. So keep this in mind and add 300 euros to the cost of living in any country in this report.
In this article, we will automatically add 300 euros to the total cost of living in a particular country, adjusted for inflation in 2022.
In total, considering inflation, it turns out that the approximate cost of living in Portugal, including rent, transport costs, education costs, visiting restaurants, etc. in 2022 will be equal to:
- from 1679 to 2177 euros for a family of 2 adults and 2 children;
- from 857 to 1010 euros for one person living separately and renting a room or studio.
It is essential to understand that this report's lifestyle is considered the most basic. For example, it is assumed that you will dine in cafes or restaurants only a couple of times a month, buy the most uncomplicated products in the supermarket, etc. If you eat in restaurants every day and buy only shrimp and expensive veal in supermarkets, then such a report won't be relevant for you because you will most likely spend 2-5 times more than the amounts indicated in the table above.
However, as a person who has lived in Portugal for 8 years, I can confirm that 1 person can live for 1000 euros and a family for 2200 in the county in 2022. Sure, you won't live in the center of Lisbon, where you can pay one or two thousand euros just to rent an apartment. However, it is important to remember that many cities in the country have affordable rent and living costs.
Let's now compare the cost of living in Italy. You can see a summary table with it in the picture below:
In total, considering inflation for 2022, it turns out that the approximate cost of living in Italy, including rent, transport costs, spending on education, visiting restaurants, etc., will be equal to:
- from 1875 to 2346 euros for a family of 2 adults and 2 children;
- from 1000 to 1146 euros for one person living separately and renting a room or studio.
Well, we see that the cost of living in Italy is generally 100-200 euros more expensive than in Portugal. However, this difference is minimal, so it is essential to check how much Portuguese salaries differ from Italian ones.
Salary levels in Portugal and Italy
The approximate salaries in Portugal are in the table below.
Unfortunately, inflation affected only prices in the country but not salaries. According to the law, the minimum salary in Portugal is 705 euros (before taxes) per month in 2022. In 2023, the minimum salary will be raised to 760 euros, and taxes will need to be deducted from this amount. In the picture below, this value is slightly higher than the minimum salary because, most likely, 13 and 14 salaries are considered.
According to these statistics, low-skilled workers in Portugal acquire about 700-800 euros, corresponding to the country's minimum salary. On the other hand, medium-skilled workers will get about 1,000 euros, and highly qualified specialists can only get over a thousand euros per month (approximately from 1,400 to 2,000 euros per month).
If we compare the level of salaries in Portugal with the level of expenditure that we analyzed above, we get the following situation. If we are talking about a family with 2 adults and 2 children, if only one member works, he should acquire about 2000 euros. That is, he or she must be a highly qualified specialist (for example, an IT specialist). If he is not, both adults must work, and their qualifications must be average, so the sum of 2 salaries is at least 2000 euros per month. In both cases, the family will be able to live at a moderate level and pay the bills but not be able to save or show a luxurious life. This nuance is important to understand if you immigrate to Portugal.
Visually, the level of salaries in Portugal can be seen in the diagram below. The blue line shows the approximate level of the minimum salary in the country, and we see that the minimum salary is nearly the actual income level for people who live alone and don't have a family.
Let's now see the situation with salaries in Italy.
In the table below, we can see that there is no officially established minimum salary in Italy, but if we compare the actual salaries of medium-skilled workers, such employees generally acquire about 2042-2384 euros in Italy. On the contrary, in Portugal, the salary for the average level was about 785-951 euros. This is a huge difference, and it turns out that salaries in Portugal are almost 2.5 times lower than in Italy.
At the same time, if workers with low qualifications earn from 1877 to 2135 euros on average, with medium qualifications - from 2042 to 2384, then highly qualified specialists can count on a salary of 2302 to 2867 euros, which is an incredible salary for a Portuguese employee who is not a manager or leader.
If we consider a family of 2 adults and 2 children, then even for 1 salary of a mid-level specialist in Italy, you can live and make savings. If 2 people with average qualifications work, their total earnings will exceed 4,000 euros, and you can confidently pay bills and save money from this amount.
Conclusions
As a result of our brief analysis of salaries and the cost of living in Portugal and Italy, we can make the following conclusions:
- The cost of living in Portugal is lower than in Italy, but not by much (the difference is around 100-200 euros).
- At the same time, the salaries in Italy are much higher than in Portugal, by about 2.5 times. So, on average, you are likely to earn at least 1,000 euros more in Italy than in Portugal, regardless of your skill level.
Based on this, is it possible to conclude that immigration to Italy will be more profitable than to Portugal? I don't think so because, in the end, everything will depend on your specific situation.
If you are going to look for work in the country, then Italy will certainly be a more attractive option for you. On the other hand, if you want to work in the country and make savings, then the choice should also be made in favor of Italy.
But if you work as a freelancer, you already have a remote income, and it is essential for you to live in a country with the lowest cost of living and expenses, then Portugal will be a more interesting place for you to immigrate. Especially recently, Portugal started issuing visas for remote workers and digital nomads.
For example, the conditions for obtaining golden visas in Portugal (and EU citizenship later) are much more favorable than in Italy, so concerning the investors, Portugal will also be a more prosperous country to invest in.
Each situation is unique, and it will all depend on your budget, availability of work and objectives. Nevertheless, we hope our article has helped you navigate the main differences in the levels of income and expenses of residents in Italy and Portugal. Which next two countries would you like to see in a new article in this series? Write in the comments, and see you in the next article!
