Poverty and living standards in Odense, Denmark: official figures
Cash benefits (kontanthjælp) reached 4.0% of residents aged 15+ in Odense in 2025 (2nd highest of 7 large municipalities covered here; Denmark: 3.1%), down from 6.7% in 2015.
How many people get housing benefit in Odense?
Housing benefit (boligstøtte) was paid to 20.5% of people aged 15+ in the municipality of Odense in 2025, above the national figure of 13.6% (3rd highest of 7 large municipalities covered here).
Source: Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik) · saved copyHow many people are unemployed in Odense?
5.9% of people aged 15+ in the municipality of Odense drew unemployment insurance benefit (dagpenge) at some point in 2025, above the national figure of 4.6%; that ranks 3rd highest of 7 large municipalities covered here.
Source: Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik) · saved copyHow many people live on benefits in Odense?
Pensions, benefits and other public transfers made up 20.0% of all pre-tax income in the municipality of Odense in 2025, above the national figure of 16.7%; that is the highest of 7 large municipalities covered here.
Source: Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik) · saved copyHow many pensioners live in Odense?
25.7% of people aged 15+ in the municipality of Odense received the state old-age pension or a disability pension (førtidspension) in 2025, below the national figure of 28.1% (3rd highest of 7 large municipalities covered here).
Source: Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik) · saved copyHow many people live alone in Odense?
42% of the 94,272 households in Odense were people living alone in 2012, and 6.4% were lone parents with children under 18.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people own their home in Odense?
42% of households owned their home in 2012.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow Odense compares with other cities in Denmark
Share of people aged 15+ receiving cash benefits (kontanthjælp) during the year (%) (2025)
Odense ranks 2 of 7, highest first.
| Rank | City | Share of people aged 15+ receiving cash benefits (kontanthjælp) during the year (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ålborg | 4.5% |
| 2 | Odense | 4.0% |
| 3 | Århus | 3.5% |
| 4 | Vejle | 3.3% |
| 5 | Esbjerg | 3.2% |
| 6 | Kobenhavn | 3.1% |
| 7 | Frederiksberg | 2.6% |
Share of people aged 15+ receiving housing benefit (%) (2025)
Odense ranks 3 of 7, highest first.
| Rank | City | Share of people aged 15+ receiving housing benefit (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ålborg | 21.2% |
| 2 | Århus | 20.6% |
| 3 | Odense | 20.5% |
| 4 | Esbjerg | 15.8% |
| 5 | Vejle | 14.2% |
| 6 | Kobenhavn | 12.6% |
| 7 | Frederiksberg | 12.4% |
Share of people aged 15+ receiving unemployment benefit during the year (%) (2025)
Odense ranks 3 of 7, highest first.
| Rank | City | Share of people aged 15+ receiving unemployment benefit during the year (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kobenhavn | 6.9% |
| 2 | Århus | 6.2% |
| 3 | Odense | 5.9% |
| 4 | Ålborg | 5.8% |
| 5 | Frederiksberg | 5.7% |
| 6 | Vejle | 4.3% |
| 7 | Esbjerg | 4.2% |
Public transfer income as a share of total pre-tax income (%) (2025)
Odense ranks 1 of 7, highest first.
| Rank | City | Public transfer income as a share of total pre-tax income (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Odense | 20.0% |
| 2 | Esbjerg | 19.3% |
| 3 | Ålborg | 18.3% |
| 4 | Århus | 16.8% |
| 5 | Vejle | 16.1% |
| 6 | Kobenhavn | 11.8% |
| 7 | Frederiksberg | 11.1% |
More on Odense: overview · economy and jobs · health · education and schools · all cities in Denmark
Sources
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset urb_clivcon: Urban Audit: living conditions (cities), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bc58ab68d418…)
- Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik): Income of persons by province and municipality, sex and type of income (StatBank table INDKP101), 2015-2025, read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 6677ce260d4f…)
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