Young Europeans’ household income: France above EU average but below neighbours

Recent protests across Europe over living costs, housing, wages and public services have put a spotlight on young people’s economic situation. Eurostat data on the median equivalised disposable income of households containing young people aged 18 to 24 shows significant variation across the continent. France, where students and young people have been at the forefront of demonstrations, ranks 11th out of 34 European countries with a median of €23,850 in 2025, above the EU average of €21,482.

Anne Brunner, director of studies at Observatoire des inégalités, cautions that the indicator has limitations. It measures the income of the household in which a young person lives, not what that person earns individually. In France, students living on their own or in collective housing such as university halls of residence are excluded from the sample. The 18-24 age group is heterogeneous, including both students living with parents and young workers, many with few or no qualifications, in precarious employment and at risk of poverty.

Wide gaps across Europe

Switzerland tops the ranking with a median equivalised household income of €52,206 for young people, followed by Luxembourg (€43,028) and Austria (€37,299). Among the EU’s ‘Big Four’, Germany records €26,330, while Italy (€20,315) and Spain (€19,338) fall below the EU average. At the bottom are North Macedonia (€4,640), Albania (€5,736) and Turkey (€5,987), with several Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Romania below half the EU average.

The European Youth Forum secretariat stresses that income is only part of the equation. In some countries, young people may appear better off on paper because they stay in the parental home longer. “The paradox is that young people can look better off when they depend on their families for longer, and poorer when they go out on their own,” the secretariat said. Behind the figures, a generation cannot afford to move out, rent or buy a home, or build a life independently.

Young people earn less than the overall population

In 28 of 34 countries, young people live in households with a lower median income than the overall population. Across the EU, young people have 93.6% of the median income of the whole population (€21,482 versus €22,939). In France, the ratio is 90.1%, with young people’s households earning €2,609 less than the national median of €26,459.

The widest gaps are found in Finland, where young people’s median is 74.9% of the national median, followed by Denmark (78.3%), Norway (82.7%), Luxembourg (86.0%) and Sweden (88.2%). Brunner explains that Nordic public policy actively promotes the autonomy of young people, who leave the parental home earlier and are far more likely to live independently. “Their household income is then measured on their own, often modest, resources rather than pooled with that of their parents, which mechanically widens the gap with the overall population. A low ratio in these countries should therefore not be read as a sign of greater hardship,” she said. Only six countries show young people living in households with higher income than the overall population: Croatia (105.7%), Malta (105.5%), Slovenia (105.4%), Lithuania and Austria (both 102.1%), and Switzerland (100.5%).

Purchasing power and the ‘social wage’

When adjusted for purchasing power standards (PPS), Austria leads with 33,052 PPS, followed by Luxembourg (32,391) and Switzerland (29,989). France ranks 13th with 21,446 PPS, slightly above the EU average, while Germany records 24,237 PPS, Spain 21,272 and Italy 20,883, with relatively small gaps. The European Youth Forum calls for looking beyond income to the ‘social wage’ – affordable housing, public services, education, healthcare and social protection – that determines how far incomes actually go. “A decent life should not depend on a good salary alone, or on having family wealth to fall back on. It requires decent wages alongside strong public services that make the essentials affordable,” the secretariat said. Ilari Ilmakunnas, senior researcher at the Finnish Centre for Pensions, notes that factors such as less work experience, lower education levels, student status and housing arrangements contribute to lower incomes for young people, particularly in Nordic countries.