In which US and European cities can you save for a deposit the quickest?
Saving for a deposit on your first home can often take a while, regardless of where you live, or which type of new build home you’re planning to buy.
But in which of the world’s biggest cities can you save for a deposit the quickest? From London to Venice, and Los Angeles to New York, we’ve explored the easiest and most difficult locations to climb the property ladder.
Using statistics from the Numbeo global index, we calculated the average cost of living, including average rent, utilities, internet, and monthly travel passes, along with the average salary in 47 European cities and 50 US states. We then combined this with the average property price in each city, including the cost of a house and a one-bedroom apartment.
Calculating the maths, we were able to determine how long it could potentially take to save enough money for a 10% deposit.
Whilst many may assume Copenhagen is an expensive place to live, property prices are reasonable in comparison to other European cities. The estimated price of a house the same size as the UK average is £260,000, whilst the average monthly salary is £2,857. After deducting living costs, savers could bundle together a 10% deposit in just one year and seven months.
The average salary in Croatia, however, could make it difficult for residents to get on the property ladder, as it comes in at £784.00 per month. And, whilst apartments here cost an average of £119,186, houses are much more expensive at around £400,000, meaning it could take over 25 years to save up without any additional funding.
Copenhagen, Denmark
1 year, 7 months
Average
8 years, 2 months
Zagreb, Croatia
25 years, 11 months
Saving for a one-bedroom apartment
Taking a close look at the largest of a selection of European cities, our research shows that Vaduz, Liechtenstein is the quickest city to save up a 10% deposit for a one-bedroom apartment. Located between Austria and Switzerland, famous for its medieval castles, Vaduz is quickly becoming increasingly popular with tourists. According to Numbeo, those who live there earn an average monthly salary of £4,761 which makes it easy to save for an apartment, which on average costs around £179,538.
In comparison, property prices in luxurious Monaco are sky high, with the average apartment costing over £2 million. A famous celebrity getaway, it is no surprise that the cost of living here is also higher than average, meaning that after subtracting rental costs, utilities, and travel, there is not much left to save.
Vaduz, Liechtenstein
6 months
Average
4 years, 9 months
Monaco
25 years, 9 months
How does the UK compare to other European cities?
The average house price in the UK currently stands at average of £256,00 which is lower than 18 of the locations we analysed, including Belgium, Paris, and Berlin.
Focusing on London, those who earn the average salary of £2,819 a month, and are currently renting, could afford a 10% percent deposit on a house in around 4 years. This could be massively reduced if Government Help to Buy schemes are accounted for, which allow first-time buyers to secure a new build home with a 5% deposit.
If you reside in Rome it will take around three years longer than in London to save a deposit for a house
The average salary in London is £2,819 which is higher than Rome and Madrid
Those living in London have more free income to save than those living in Madrid and Dublin
The 10 easiest and most difficult European cities to save a deposit
Alongside Vaduz, Bern in Switzerland is also one of the quickest places to save a deposit for a one-bedroom apartment, thanks to a high average salary of £4,617 and a lower proportionate cost of living, estimated at around £1,317 per month. Brussels, Belgium also makes the top 10 list, alongside Berlin where it takes just one year and nine months on average to save for a deposit for a one-bedroom apartment.
When it comes to saving for a house, Helsinki and Oslo, along with Bern in Switzerland are amongst the quickest locations, with an estimated saving time of less than two years.
Explore the map below to see the 10 easiest and most difficult places to save for a property around Europe, using the icons in each corner to switch the property type and currency.
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The full data breakdown
To see the data behind the map, explore the table below to see a full breakdown for each of the cities in our study.
Use the arrows to filter by the number months to save, average monthly salary, cost of living, spare monthly income, and average property prices.
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In the USA
Saving for a house
Billings in Montana is the quickest place to save for a house. House prices here are significantly lower than any of the 50 US locations we analysed, with a property the same size as an average UK home costing just £78,765. Those who live in Billings and earn the city’s average salary could save a 10% deposit in around 8 months.
In comparison, saving for a home in the harmonious Honalulu takes the longest, with savers needing to secure a deposit of £55,600. When considering living costs and average salary there, it would take a local first-time buyer almost five years to save.
Billings, MT
6 months
Average
15 months
Honalulu, HI
4 years, 11 months
Saving for a one bedroom apartment
Our data reveals Cheyenne, Wyoming is amongst the easiest places in the United States to save for a one-bedroom apartment, taking an estimated three months in total if you’re savvy. The average monthly salary of £3,359 is notably high in comparison to the cost of living which tallies up to £789. Alongside this, the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment (£66,746) is particularly low, especially when compared to New York City which comes in at £552,782.
Alongside, Cheyenne, Charlseton in West Virginia, Sioux Falls in South Dakota, and Little Rock in Arkansas also sit on the list of the easiest places to save, also taking an estimated three months.
Unsurprisingly, of the 50 cities we studied, New York is the most difficult location to save for an apartment, mainly due to the high property prices and cost of living.
Cheyenne, WY
Charleston, SC
Sioux Falls, SD
Little Rock, AR
3 months
Average
8 months
New York City, NY
2 years, 10 months
The 10 easiest and hardest cities to save a deposit
Use the map below to see how long it takes to save a deposit for a property in the 10 easiest and most difficult cities. Use the icons in the left-hand corner to switch between house and apartment, and the tab to view the locations where it takes the longest and shortest number of months.
SWITCH DATA
SHORTEST TIME
LONGEST TIME
= months to save up a deposit
Shortest time to save
Longest time to save
The full data breakdown
Search or filter by city or state to see the average monthly salary, cost of living, spare monthly income and average property prices for each of the 50 cities across every US state.
Utilising statistics from the Numbeo global index, we calculated the average cost of living and salary in Europe and the US’s biggest cities. Cost of living was calculated by adding up the following; 1 bedroom apartment rent, utilities (energy, water), broadband costs and a monthly travel pass. Food costs were not included in our study.
We then worked out the cost of an average apartment by taking the listed cost per square meter on Numbeo and multiplying this by 46m2 (the average apartment size). To work out the deposit we assumed a 10% deposit would be necessary. We didn’t account for any additional schemes (i.e. Government Help to Buy) as data was inconsistent across countries. House prices were sourced locally for each city from a range of real estate and property websites.
We looked at 47 capitals in Europe, and the capital of each of the 50 states in the US, some smaller cities were omitted as insufficient data was available. Numbeo data is calculated by averaging out user submitted figures. Figures are updated on a daily basis. Data accurate as of 26th October 2020. Some cities were identified as statistical outliers and eliminated based on un-realistic estimates for the time to save for a deposit, these include Warsaw, Newark, Podgorica & Minsk. Where cities had a total negative monthly income (i.e. living costs outweighed salary after tax), these cities were removed from our study.
