Household costs across the European Union continued to show sharp contrasts in 2025, with consumer price levels ranging from significantly above to well below the EU
average, according to new data released by Eurostat.
The figures, based on Price Level Indices for household final consumption expenditure, reveal a clear geographic divide in the cost of living. At the top end, Denmark recorded the highest price level in the EU at 140% of the average. It was followed by Ireland at 136% and Luxembourg at 132%, underscoring the persistent premium paid by consumers in some of the bloc’s wealthiest economies.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, households in Bulgaria faced the lowest price levels, at just 63% of the EU average. They were closely followed by Romania at 65% and Poland at 73%, highlighting the ongoing affordability gap between Western and Eastern member states.
Housing and education drive the widest gaps
The data show that price disparities are not uniform across spending categories.
Housing, the largest component of household expenditure in the EU, exhibited the most extreme variation. Prices ranged from 190% of the EU average in Ireland to just 41% in Bulgaria, reflecting deep differences in property markets, demand pressures, and income levels.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages, by contrast, were far more consistent across the bloc. Luxembourg again ranked highest at 122% of the EU average, while Romania recorded the lowest level at 80%, suggesting a relatively narrower gap for essential goods.
Education costs showed the most dramatic divergence of all categories. In Luxembourg, prices reached 334% of the EU average, while in Romania they fell to just 42%, illustrating how national policy structures and funding models can heavily distort cross-border comparisons.
A fragmented single market in everyday costs
Taken together, the findings highlight a European Union that remains economically integrated in principle, but still highly fragmented in everyday living costs. For households, the data underscore a simple reality: where you live in Europe continues to determine how far your money goes. Photo by OS2Warp, Wikimedia commons.