Where to live

Living in Italy as an American: What to Expect (2026)

By Giacomo AmendolaFacts checked October 24, 2026

US citizens resident in Italy

17,650 (ISTAT, January 1, 2025)

Average household spending

€2,782 a month nationally; €3,087 in the North-east, €2,215 in the South (ISTAT, 2025)

Public healthcare

Mandatory for workers and family permits; others insure privately or enroll voluntarily (at least €2,000 a year, €700 for students)

Foreign languages

32.1% of adults aged 25 to 64 report knowing none (Eurostat, 2022)

Paid leave for employees

At least 4 weeks a year by law

US driver's license

Usable until you have been resident for more than 1 year, with an international permit or official translation

US taxes

You still file; an FBAR is due if your foreign accounts exceed $10,000 combined

How many Americans live in Italy

On January 1, 2025, 17,650 people with US citizenship were residents of Italy, according to ISTAT (the Italian National Institute of Statistics). That is 9,856 women and 7,794 men.

The figure comes from ISTAT's census count of foreign residents by citizenship. It counts people resident in Italy, so it is not a count of every American in the country on a given day.

This guide covers daily life once you are there. For the visa, documents and order of steps, see moving to Italy from the US.

How costs differ between north and south

ISTAT's household budget survey is the clearest official picture of regional differences. In 2025, the average household spent €2,782 a month on consumption. The median was €2,338.

The gap between areas is wide. Households in the North-east spent €3,087 a month, 39.3% more than households in the South, at €2,215. By region, Trentino-Alto Adige was highest at €3,444 and Puglia lowest at €1,975.

Read these figures as spending, not price tags. ISTAT notes that households in the South and the Islands generally have lower incomes. Part of the gap reflects what people can afford.

City size matters as well. Households in the central cities of metropolitan areas spent €2,991 a month, against €2,704 in towns of up to 50,000 people.

For rents, groceries and budgets by city, see the cost of living guide. For how the regions compare beyond money, see north vs south Italy.

How healthcare works for foreign residents

Italy's Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN, national health service) is open to foreigners who hold a residence permit. How you join depends on the reason on your permesso di soggiorno (residence permit), under article 34 of the Immigration Consolidated Act.

• Enrollment is mandatory if you work as an employee or are self-employed, or hold a permit for family reasons, among other categories. You then have the same rights and contribution duties as Italian citizens.
• Everyone else must insure themselves, either with a private policy valid in Italy or by enrolling voluntarily in the SSN. Voluntary enrollment carries an annual contribution of at least €2,000 (as of October 2026).
• Students can enroll voluntarily for at least €700 a year.

Holders of an elective residence permit are not on the mandatory list, so they fall in the second group. Once enrolled, you are registered with the ASL (azienda sanitaria locale, local health authority) of the comune (municipality) where you live.

Coverage, costs and enrollment steps are in the healthcare in Italy guide.

Which office handles what

Four public offices handle the paperwork covered here. Each has a defined job.

By law, a permesso is issued or renewed within 90 days of the application. The Polizia di Stato (state police) says on its page, last updated January 2024, that it takes 60 days on average. In some cases you file the request through authorized post offices rather than at the questura.

Registering residence can trigger a check of the home's sanitary conditions by the comune's offices. Register at the address where you actually live.

Each step has its own guide: permesso di soggiorno, anagrafe registration and codice fiscale.

Driving has a deadline too. Under article 135 of the Highway Code, you can drive on a US license with an international driving permit or an official Italian translation. That stops once you have been resident for more than 1 year. See Italian driver's license.

Shop hours and the working week

National law lets shops, bars and restaurants set their own opening and closing hours. Since a 2011 reform, that freedom covers Sundays, holidays and weekly half-day closures, in every town rather than only tourist areas.

The result is variety. Hours differ by shop and by town, so check a business's posted hours before you plan around them.

For employees, Italian law guarantees at least 4 weeks of paid leave a year. Unless a collective agreement provides otherwise, at least 2 of those weeks must be taken in the year they are earned, consecutively if you ask. The rest can be taken within the following 18 months.

The minimum 4 weeks cannot be swapped for pay, except when the job ends.

How much English you will hear

Eurostat's Adult Education Survey asks people which foreign languages they know. In 2022, 32.1% of people in Italy aged 25 to 64 reported knowing none.

Of those who knew at least one, 14.6% rated themselves proficient in their best foreign language. Another 32.1% said good, and 53.3% said basic. Italy and Czechia had the lowest proficient shares in the EU, both about 15%.

Two limits apply. The answers are self-reported, and they cover any foreign language, not only English.

In practice, plan to deal with landlords, doctors and public offices in Italian. The learn Italian guide covers courses and the official certificates.

Climate from Turin to Palermo

Italy spans a wide climate range. ISTAT publishes long-term averages for each provincial capital.

Recent years run hotter than these averages. In 2023, all 6 cities were between 1.4°C and 2.4°C above their 1981 to 2010 figure.

ISTAT also recorded 2022 as the hottest year since 1971 in its data for provincial capitals. Factor summer heat into your choice of city and your housing search.

What the safety statistics show

ISTAT counted 327 homicides in Italy in 2024, a rate of 0.55 per 100,000 people.

For 2023, the latest year with EU comparisons, Italy's rate was 0.57 against an EU average of 0.91. Among the 26 countries reporting, only Malta was lower, with Slovenia level with Italy.

Homicide is one measure. It does not describe pickpocketing or scams, which are covered in scams in Italy.

Taxes in both countries

In the US. The IRS taxes US citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, and the filing rules are generally the same abroad. The foreign earned income exclusion and the foreign tax credit are only available if you file a return.

You cannot take the foreign tax credit on income you have excluded. If you live abroad on the regular due date and file on a calendar year, you get an automatic 2-month extension to June 15.

You must also file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if your foreign accounts exceed $10,000 combined at any point in the year. Form 8938 may apply too. See the FBAR guide and the foreign earned income exclusion guide.

In Italy. You are tax resident if, for most of the tax year, your residence, domicile or physical presence is in Italy. Registration in the anagrafe for most of the year creates a presumption of residence that you can rebut with evidence.

Residents are taxed on their income from everywhere. These rules come from the current income tax code (TUIR). From January 1, 2027, its residence article is replaced by a new consolidated code (Legislative Decree 117 of June 19, 2026).

The IRS publishes the US-Italy income tax treaty of 1999 with its technical explanation. See the US-Italy tax treaty and taxes in Italy for Americans.

What newcomers report finding harder

These come from recurring posts in Reddit's expat and city communities. They are reports from people who moved, not rules.

Building a social life takes longer than expected. Newcomers, several of them in small towns, describe loneliness in their first months. Several link it to arriving without Italian. Fix: start Italian before you move, and join something with a fixed schedule, such as a class, club or sports team.

Local pay is lower than many expect. People weighing Italian job offers regularly ask whether the salary covers living costs. Fix: compare an offer with ISTAT spending figures for that region, not with US costs.

Finding an apartment in a big city is slow. Big-city threads, especially in Rome, report long searches and competition for listings. Fix: book furnished short-term housing for your first weeks and search in person. The renting in Italy guide covers contracts and red flags.

What draws people, and what the data supports

People planning a move commonly cite a slower pace of life, a family-centered culture, food, climate and easy travel within Italy and Europe.

Some of that has a measurable basis. Employees get at least 4 weeks of paid leave by law. Italy's homicide rate is among the lowest in the EU. The South is warmer: Palermo's long-term annual average is 18.9°C, against 13.9°C in Turin.

Other parts depend on where and how you live: the city, the job and how much Italian you speak.

Choosing where to live

City guides cover neighborhoods, transport and local costs in detail: Rome, Milan and Florence.

To compare regions and smaller towns, start with the best places to live in Italy and north vs south Italy.

Do you need help settling in?

You can set up daily life in Italy on your own, especially in a big city and with some Italian. It gets harder in a small town, with limited Italian, or when housing, permit and healthcare deadlines overlap.