Milan is the most expensive city in Italia; the cost of living there is almost double that of Naples
The gap is widest when it comes to services. Across the 13 categories considered – dentists, car washes, cafés, cinemas and vets – it costs 491 euros in Milan, compared with 452 in Aosta and Bolzano
Key points
Buying the same basket of goods and services in Milan costs almost twice as much as in Naples: 693 versus 402 euros. This is the finding that emerges from the latest Codacons survey, based on prices recorded by the Mimit Observatory for a basket comprising 20 food products and 13 everyday services: from the dentist to the vet, from the cinema to the café.
After Milan come Bolzano, Aosta and Bologna
Milan therefore remains the most expensive city in Italia in 2026 as well, ahead of Bolzano (652 euros), Aosta and Bologna (just over 640 euros). At the other end of the scale, alongside Naples, are Palermo (€464) and Catanzaro (€474).
Wider gap in services
The gap is widening, particularly when it comes to services. Across the 13 categories considered – dentists, car washes, cafés, cinemas and vets – it costs 491 euros in Milan, 452 in Aosta and Bolzano, whilst 292 euros is enough in Palermo and 262 in Naples.
But the gap is narrower for food
When it comes to food, the differences are narrowing: spending on fruit, vegetables, meat and fish is just over 200 euros in six cities (Milan, Bolzano, Trieste, Bologna, Genoa, Florence), falls to around €170 in Bari and Palermo, and is lowest in Pescara (€154), Catanzaro (€149) and Naples (€140).
