Romania's average wage close to covering revenues needed by families with two kids

The minimum wage, however, accounts for roughly half of the average wage – hence half of what is necessary for a decent living.

Notably, the necessary revenues are calculated for families that do not own a house – which is the case for, according to Eurostat, only 5.7% of the Romanian population.

For the reference family, consisting of two adults and two children, the monthly requirement increased from RON 11,370 in 2025 to RON 11,668 this year, respectively by 2.6%.

The largest component of the budget is housing, estimated at RON 3,105 per month. However, in Romania, 94.3% of the population lived in personal property (according to Eurostat/INSSE data for 2024), which places the country in first place in the European Union in terms of the share of homeowners.

Food costs RON 2,429, and clothing and footwear, RON 1,143, according to the same analysis.

The rise in consumer goods’ prices was partly offset by the lower financial cost of housing. The expenses for the purchase of a home decreased by 1.9% due to the decrease in the average effective annual interest rate from 7.55% in September 2025 to 6.35% in September 2026. This decrease in interest was more than sufficient to compensate for both the significant increase in the purchase price of homes (12.1% on average, according to Eurostat) and the devaluation of the national currency against the euro (3.4%, according to BNR data).