If you think Milan is the highest-paid place in Italy, new tax data published by the Italian government will bring a surprise. The title of "richest comune in Italy" now belongs to... Maccastorna, a village in the province of Lodi with only 76 taxpayers, where the average declared income reached an impressive 72.684 Euros Per inhabitant.
The Top 20 of wealth
The "supercontributor effect"
Why do such small towns outperform global cities? The explanation is mathematical, but with famous names. When a town has few inhabitants, the income of a single ultra-wealthy person can cause the average to skyrocket.
- Lajatico:It is the tenor's residence. Andrea Bocelli, which has kept the city at the top for years.
- Portofino: where Pier Silvio Berlusconi He settled there after receiving his inheritance from his father, Silvio Berlusconi.
- Maccastorna: With only 76 taxpayers, the entry of just one or two large estates into the tax registry was enough to secure first place in 2026.
And what about the major capital cities?
Italian metropolitan areas appear much lower in the overall ranking, highlighting the gap between the cost of living and the average declared income:
- Bologna: 115th position (€31.448)
- Rome: 124th position (€31.223)
- Florence: 209th position (€30.016)
- Naples: 2.449th position (€24.332)
For those planning to live in Italy, this data shows that "real" wealth is often hidden in... villages and in the satellite cities (like Basiglio and Cusago, on the outskirts of Milan)and not in the historic tourist centers.
While Milan dropped two positions this year, Southern Italy shows a higher percentage growth than the North, although the absolute income difference is still striking: in Milan, people earn, on average, 21.000 euros more than in Foggia, in Apulia, for example.
The data comes from the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, which published income figures for 2025, relating to the 2024 fiscal year.
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