The housing access crisis continues to push young people in Spain further away from the possibility of living independently. The youth emancipation rate fell in 2025 to 14.5% of 16- to 29-year-olds, the lowest level since comparable records began, according to the latest data from the Emancipation Observatory of the Spanish Youth Council (CJE).
The report (source in Spanish), published on Friday, notes that a young employee would have to allocate 98.7% of their net salary to rent a home on their own in Spain. The estimated average age for leaving home is now over 30.
It also highlights that the difficulty of accessing housing is currently one of the main factors behind youth impoverishment in Spain: "Among young people who rent, the risk of poverty rises from 25.9% before paying for housing to 43% afterwards."
"For young people, moving out means becoming poorer," says Andrea Henry, president of the CJE. "The labour market and the housing market no longer speak the same language for young people," Henry warns.
According to data from the Observatory, the average net salary of a young person is around 1,190 euros a month, while the average rent for a home has reached 1,176 euros. The CJE warns that access to housing has become "one of the main drivers of inequality" between generations.
