In Italy a typical consumer would have to set aside an average of 17 months’ salary to clear the residual debt (including mortgages and other loans) and in some cities, such as Rimini, this exceeds 29 months. This is the average ratio between wages and indebtedness of the population with active credits, elaborated by Sole 24 Ore, published in the Monday newspaper by crossing the gross provincial wages of Italian employees (full-time, divided into 13 monthly payments, Istat 2023) and the values of the credit map extracted from Crif in June 2025.
The simulation starts from the hypothesis that the entire salary is allocated to the closure of the pending matters: a sustainability indicator emerges, it being understood that the installment – by general criterion – should not exceed one third of the net salary. The monthly payments needed to pay off the capital – according to the economic newspaper – can reach up to almost 30 in the province of Rimini (29.8 monthly payments), or 27 in Prato and Grosseto. On the other hand, 13 are enough for Frosinone and Biella.
Such marked differences – it is highlighted – reflect a geography of variable indebtedness. The average residual exposure (i.e. the sum of active loans still to be repaid) is higher, for example, in areas where mortgages are more widespread or house prices are higher. In Trentino Alto Adige the average debt reaches 49,226 euros, in Lombardy it stands at 40,294 euros.
At the other extreme, the citizens of Calabria appear to have an average debt equal to less than half that of the Trentinos (19,292 euros), by virtue of lower house prices and a below-average weight of mortgages (for example, in Reggio Calabria they represent only 10% of active credits). Even in Sicily and Molise the amount to be reimbursed does not exceed 22 thousand euros.
In addition to the different incidence of mortgages – it is explained in the article – the provincial indebtedness map also reflects the different propensity to resort to financing and the different income and saving capacity of families; the tendency to lengthen the stay in the parental home, the ability of the family circle to provide financial support and the different intensity of the economic recovery in the area also have an impact.
Observing, however, the share of the adult population with at least one active credit relationship, the highest percentage is found in Livorno (76.9% of the total) and remains above 70% in Massa, Cagliari, Lodi, La Spezia, Pisa and Rome. On the opposite side is Bolzano, where only 28.3% of the population is in debt, preceded by Trento (36.6%) and Sondrio (39.6%).
