Investment startup Virgil conducted a study and found out how much income you need to have in order to buy an apartment in Paris and its suburbs. The conclusion: it is almost unthinkable for the average employee and for executives.

“We can all see that it is becoming impossible to afford to live in Paris,” emphasizes Saskia Fiesel, co-founder of Virgil. Based on analytics, we see that in 20 years, the minimum income required to buy an apartment in the capital has already more than doubled.

For example: in 2002, a household with an income of €42,047 gross per year could still qualify for ownership in the capital, while today this requires at least €81,598 (in the 19th district) and up to €136,616 (in the 1st district). In other words, you have to earn between €5501 and €9035 per month.

In his analysis, Virgil relied on real estate prices published by the Paris Notary Public in the Paris region and by the district. As for interest rates, Virgil refers to data from the Observatoire du Crédit Logement for 2002 and Guideducrédit.com for 2007, 2012, 2017, and 2022.

Here's what Virgil's visual infographic on the districts and communes of Paris' inner suburbs looks like. Hovering your cursor over the desired district, you can see what the annual income must be in euros before taxes to buy an apartment there, and the required amount per month is indicated at the bottom.

Based on these inputs, housing in the capital is increasingly bought by couples—now they account for 31% of the market—as it is increasingly difficult to do it alone. Another popular decision is to consider an option outside the capital. In the suburbs, prices are also increasing (+160% over 20 years compared to +194% in Paris), but the impact on the wallet is still much less. For example, buying a small apartment in the suburbs is now possible with a gross income of €50,743 (in 2002 it was €24,733).