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Economy

Italy's Richest and Poorest Towns: The Income Map

From the highest average income to the lowest: the ranking of Italian municipalities by declared wealth and the economic divide between North and South.

Average declared income is the most direct snapshot of a territory's wealth. Ministry of Economy data reveals a deeply unequal Italy: between the richest and poorest municipality, average income can vary more than threefold.

The geography of wealth follows known lines, with surprises. The richest towns cluster around Milan, the Lombard lakes and a few Alpine and coastal enclaves; the poorest are almost all in the inland South and the islands.

The richest towns

MEF
Source
7,896
Municipalities covered
>3x
Max gap
Average income
Indicator

The 15 richest towns in Italy

Average declared income — MEF data

Source: DatiItalia — data from ISTAT, MEF, ISPRA, EEA

The poorest towns

At the opposite end, the lowest average incomes reflect the economic fragility of the southern inland areas: small towns where stable employment is rare and where depopulation and falling incomes feed each other.

The 15 towns with the lowest income

Average declared income — the lowest values

Source: DatiItalia — data from ISTAT, MEF, ISPRA, EEA

The income map

Average income map by municipality

Average declared income — zoom to explore the North-South divide

Source: DatiItalia — data from ISTAT, MEF, ISPRA, EEA

Explore the full income ranking in the Income section, filter by region and province in the Explore section, and compare up to 4 towns in the Compare section. The income gap drives much of Italy's other inequalities.