Vol. III · No. 47 · Q1 2026 EditionUpdated Weekly · ECB FX

WorthOf

A global ledger of salary, tax & the price of living

City Report·Updated 31 May 2026·Reading time 8 min

IT · EUR

Bologna, in figures— what 50,000 is really worth

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Median Gross Salary
€43,000
3.4% YoY
Cost of Living Index
55.8
NYC = 100
2.1% YoY
Rent · 1BR Centre
€1,180
monthly
5.8% YoY
Effective Tax · €50k
34.3%
0.4% YoY
§ 01
Net Salary

What the state takes — and what is left

Gross Annual Salary
Social Security−€4,595
Income Tax−€12,532
Net Annual€32,873
Net / month (12×)€2,739
Effective Rate34.3%
Open in full calculator →
Full Schedule of Brackets · Single Filer · 2025
#FromToRateTax in band
01€0€28,00023%€6,440
02€28,000€50,00035%€6,092
03€50,00043%
§ 02
Cost of Living

A monthly ledger, line by line

Monthly Spend ·
Rent · 1BR Centre
€1,180
Groceries
€285
Eating Out (15 meals)
€173
Utilities
€145
Internet
€34
Transport Pass
€60
Gym
€32
Total Indicative Monthly€1,909
RentFoodFixed costs
Versus the Reference Set
CityCOLRent 1BR
Tokyo72.4¥1,780
BolognaYou55.8€1,180
Istanbul42.4₺880
São Paulo38.8R$720
Bangkok35.8฿680
Mumbai32.8₹680
Jakarta32.4Rp580
Bangalore30.4₹540
Delhi28.8₹480
§ 03
Purchasing Power

What the salary actually buys

PPP Index · 50k gross
4909

Relative to a NYC baseline of 100. Higher means your net stretches further here.

Monthly net
€2,739
After centre rent
€1,559
Months of rent / month net
2
COL index
55.8
§ 04
Methodology

How we count, and from whom

Taxation

From statute, not estimate

Brackets reflect the published 2025 single-filer schedule. Social security is applied as a flat charge against gross before progressive bands.

Source · OECD Taxing Wages 2025· CC-BY-4.0
Cost of Living

Aggregated, then audited

Crowdsourced consumer prices are blended with Eurostat HICP indices, then sanity-checked against rental listings and municipal data.

Source · Numbeo Cost of Living· CC-BY-4.0 (aggregated)
Exchange Rates

ECB reference, daily

Cross-currency comparisons use the European Central Bank's daily reference rate against the euro, fixed at 14:15 CET.

§ 05
FAQ

Frequently asked, quietly answered

How much is €50,000 after tax in Bologna?+

On a €50,000 gross salary in Italy, the effective rate is 34.3%, leaving approximately €32,873 net per year — about €2,739 per month across 12 payments.

What is the average rent for a 1-bedroom in Bologna?+

In the city centre, expect roughly €1,180 per month for a one-bedroom flat; outside the centre this falls to about €860.

Is Bologna expensive compared to other European cities?+

Bologna sits at a cost-of-living index of 55.8 (NYC = 100), placing it below the European median.

How are tax brackets applied in Italy?+

Italy uses progressive income tax with 3 bands. Social security (9.2% of gross) is deducted first; the remainder is taxed band-by-band, not as a single rate on the whole salary.

Does Italy pay 14 monthly salaries?+

No. Salaries in Italy are paid across 12 monthly instalments.

How often is this report updated?+

Figures are refreshed quarterly, with FX rates updated weekly against the ECB reference rate. Tax schedules update each January for the new fiscal year.

Where does WorthOf source its data?+

We blend European Central Bank — Reference Rates, European Central Bank (via Frankfurter), Eurostat HICP and other public datasets. Every figure is dated and traceable in §04 above.

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