Cost of Living in Germany

Rent in Germany

The 2022 census found an average net cold rent of €7.28 per m² a month across Germany. Net cold rent excludes heating and service charges. The census covers all existing leases, including long-running ones, so new contracts usually cost more. Rents ranged from €5.38 in Saxony-Anhalt to €9.16 in Hamburg. Among large cities, Munich had €12.89, Frankfurt am Main €10.58 and Berlin €7.67 per m².

Tenant households spent 27.9% of their net income on gross cold rent in 2022. For households with less than €1,500 a month, the share was 44.6%. In September 2026, net cold rents in the consumer price index were 1.9% higher than a year earlier. Destatis does not publish a national average rent for new leases, so we do not show one.

Consumer prices and inflation

Consumer prices were 2.8% higher in October 2026 than a year earlier, according to the provisional Destatis estimate, down from 3.3% in September. Energy was 12.2% dearer than a year earlier, while food rose 0.4% and services 2.5%. Inflation without food and energy was 2.1%.

Eurostat puts the German price level for household consumption at 109.1 in 2025, where the EU average is 100. That means prices about 9.1% above the EU average. Of the categories in the table, housing and energy are furthest above average, at 113.9. Food is close to the EU level, at 102.4.

What households spend

German households spent an average of €3,257 a month on consumption in 2024, up 14.4% from €2,846 in 2022. Housing, energy and home maintenance took €1,181, or 36.3%. The Destatis household budget survey (Laufende Wirtschaftsrechnungen) breaks it down as follows:

Transport

The Deutschlandticket covers buses, trams, subways and regional trains across Germany. It costs €63 a month in 2026 and rises to €66.80 on 1 January 2027, a rise of 6.0%. Employers can offer it as a Jobticket, priced at €63.46 a month for 2027. Local single tickets and city passes vary by transport association.

Energy and local costs

Households paid an average of 37.97 cents per kWh for electricity in the first half of 2026, 4.9% less than a year earlier. Natural gas cost 11.58 cents per kWh, down 4.5%. Both prices include network charges, taxes and levies. In September 2026, household energy prices overall were 0.5% higher than a year earlier, as heating oil rose 74.9% while electricity fell 5.5%. Property tax is set by each municipality and is usually passed on to tenants in service charges, so there is no single national figure.

What it means for pay and hiring

Full-time employees earned a median of €54,066 gross in 2025, about €4,506 a month, and a mean of €64,441. The statutory minimum wage is €13.90 an hour in 2026. Rent levels differ a lot by region, so pay for the same role does too: census rents in Munich were about 1.8 times the national average. See average salary in Germany and Germany minimum wage, and our city guides to cost of living in Berlin and cost of living in Munich.

Employers also pay about 21.15% in social security on top of gross pay in 2026, as our guide to hiring in Germany explains. Hiring in Germany? We do placement. We source, screen and interview remote professionals across Europe, then deliver a shortlist of 3 candidates within 21 days for a flat $6,500, or your deposit back. Prefer to run the search yourself? Post a job for $299. See how placement works or browse remote jobs in Germany.