In some cities, young people spend up to 76% of their salary on rent: where housing is the most expensive

Young Ukrainians in the largest cities have to spend a significant part of their income on housing rentals. In Uzhhorod and Lviv, a one-room apartment takes about three-quarters of the median salary of a young worker. This is reported by Delo.ua citing a study by OLX Real Estate.

For calculations, the median salary from job vacancies on OLX Work marked 'suitable for students / candidates under 18 years' was used. In July 2026, it amounted to 29,306 UAH.

Uzhhorod and Lviv became the most expensive for rent

The highest budget burden was recorded in Uzhhorod. The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment costs 22,404 UAH, or 76.4% of the salary. In Lviv, housing will cost 22,248 UAH, which corresponds to 76% of income.

In Ivano-Frankivsk, the rent amounts to 17,707 UAH, or about 60% of the salary, while in Kyiv it's 17,000 UAH, or 58%. In Chernivtsi and Lutsk, the average rent is 15,000 UAH, taking about half of the income.

In Ternopil, the rent costs 14,800 UAH, in Vinnytsia - 14,000 UAH, in Odesa - 13,000 UAH, in Khmelnytskyi - 12,500 UAH. In Zhytomyr, the median rate is 11,000 UAH, or about 38% of the salary of a young worker.

The lowest expenses were recorded in Kherson, where a one-room apartment can be rented for an average of 4,000 UAH. This is about 14% of the median income. In Sumy, this figure is approximately 22%, in Mykolaiv - 23.2%, in Zaporizhzhia - 24%, and in Kharkiv - 26%.

Young people will have to save for their own apartment for up to 10 years

The research also showed a significant gap in the affordability of purchasing real estate. The calculation is conditional: the authors assumed that a person saves the entire median salary of 29,306 UAH every month.

Under these conditions, to buy a one-room apartment on the secondary market in Kyiv, Lviv, or Uzhhorod, one needs to save for about 10 years. In Vinnytsia and Chernivtsi, it would take about eight years, while in Lutsk, Rivne, and Ternopil - seven.

To purchase housing in Zhytomyr, Odesa, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Ivano-Frankivsk, it would take about six years. In Poltava - five, in Dnipro, Kropyvnytskyi, and Chernihiv - approximately four years.

The shortest conditional accumulation period was recorded in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - about two years. Thus, the difference in the affordability of purchasing a one-room apartment for youth between Ukrainian cities reaches about five times.