Sardinians' average incomes rank fifteenth in Italy. Only those living in Campania, Basilicata, Sicily, Puglia, Molise, and Calabria are poorer. The "good" news is that in one year, the island recorded a 4.2% increase (from €20,557.29 to €21,421.88), placing it eighth in the national rankings.
This is what emerges from the data relating to tax returns filed in 2025 on income accrued in 2024, published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Department of Finance. Lombardy takes first place with an average taxable income of €29,151.43, €7,700 higher than that of Sardinia, followed by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (€28,221.99), Lazio (€26,873.88), and Emilia-Romagna (€26,831.48).
"The average taxable income in Sardinia is 86% of the national average. This figure slightly improves on last year's situation; there are some faint signs of hope," comments Mauro Carta, president of the Sardinian Regional ACLI.
"It was a predictable result," he continues. "The analyses by the Guglielmo Tagliacarne Study Center and Unioncamere on the 2024 estimates of disposable income for consumer households, published last March, showed Sardinia, with its 19,869.36 euros of disposable income per capita, stable in 14th place out of 20 regions. A standardized figure shows that while a resident of Trentino Alto-Adige has 127 euros available, a resident of Sardinia has 86 euros available. At the provincial level, we see that while a resident of the province of Milan has 156 euros available, a resident of the province of Nuoro has just 73."
Looking at the main types of income, Sardinia ranks 15th in Italy for income from employment, with 54% of tax returns referring to this type. This is a gain, even though the figure is down 2% compared to 2023. This is a positive result, but far behind the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano, where 60% and 65% of taxpayers, respectively, earn income from employment, which, however, are also experiencing a percentage decline.
Sardinia, however, remains in ninth place for pension income, with 35% of 2024 tax returns including this type of income, a slight decrease compared to the previous year (-3%).
