Economy, jobs and prices in Ferrara (Emilia-Romagna, Italy): official figures
GDP per person was 31,300 purchasing power standards (PPS) in 2023, 82% of the EU average (98% for Italy); 65th highest of 107 provinces in Italy.
How big is the economy of Ferrara?
The local economy produced €10.2 billion of output (GDP) in 2023.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people work in Ferrara?
About 134,000 people worked in Ferrara in 2023 (employment by place of work).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat is the employment rate in Ferrara?
The employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 in Ferrara was 74.6% in 2024 (66.9% for women), above the national figure of 67.1% and 30th highest among provinces.
Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copyWhat is the average income in Ferrara?
Households in Ferrara had €23,504 of disposable income per person in 2023 (35th highest in Italy).
Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copyWhat is the average salary in Ferrara?
Private-sector employees (outside farming) in Ferrara earned an average of €21,600 gross a year in 2023, against €23,630 nationally; that is 49th highest of 107 provinces.
Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copyWhat is the average pension in Ferrara?
Pensioners in Ferrara received an average of €22,072 a year in pension income in 2023, compared with €21,737 across Italy.
Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copyWhat is the average declared income in Ferrara?
Taxpayers in Ferrara declared an average income of €25,371 for 2024, 50th highest among the 107 provinces; 273,864 returns were filed (national average €25,816).
Source: Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Dipartimento delle Finanze · saved copyHow many high earners live in Ferrara?
5.2% of taxpayers in Ferrara declared more than €55,000 for 2024 and 0.69% more than €120,000, compared with 5.9% and 0.87% nationally.
Source: Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Dipartimento delle Finanze · saved copyWhat is the main industry in Ferrara?
The largest part of the economy of Ferrara in 2023 was finance, property and business services, at 30.0% of gross value added, followed by industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) (22.0%).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow industrial is Ferrara?
Factories, mines and energy produced 22.0% of the value added in Ferrara in 2023, against 20.3% for Italy.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow fast is the economy of Ferrara growing?
Gross value added rose from €8.0 billion in 2015 to €9.2 billion in 2023 in current prices, an increase of 15% before inflation.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat jobs do people do in Ferrara?
Of the 134,000 jobs located in Ferrara in 2023, 30% in public services, education, health and other services, 18% in industry and 7.4% in farming, forestry and fishing.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyAre jobs growing in Ferrara?
The number of people working in Ferrara rose by 3.2% between 2015 and 2023, to 134,000.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyMore figures
- The labour non-participation rate (the unemployed plus people available to work but not looking, as a share of the labour force) in Ferrara was 8.2% in 2024, below the national figure of 13.3%. Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copy
- Among young people aged 15 to 29 in Ferrara, 41.0% were employed in 2024 and the youth non-participation rate was 13.6% (national figures: 34.4% and 25.7%). Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copy
- Employees in Ferrara were paid for 78.7% of a full working year (312 days) on average in 2023, a measure of how stable jobs are (78.9% nationally). Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copy
- There were 12.8 fatal or permanently disabling workplace accidents per 10,000 workers in Ferrara in 2022 (above the national figure of 11.0). Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copy
- In 2024, 54% of taxpayers in Ferrara declared employment income (average €23,710) and 39% declared pension income (average €22,248). Source: Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Dipartimento delle Finanze · saved copy
How Ferrara compares with other provinces in Italy
Disposable household income per person (€) (2023)
Ferrara ranks 35 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Disposable household income per person (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | Livorno | €23,645 |
| 33 | Lucca | €23,617 |
| 34 | Treviso | €23,522 |
| 35 | Ferrara | €23,504 |
| 36 | Udine | €23,419 |
| 37 | Cagliari | €23,319 |
| 38 | Siena | €23,248 |
Average gross annual pay, private-sector employees (€) (2023)
Ferrara ranks 49 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Average gross annual pay, private-sector employees (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 46 | La Spezia | €21,892 |
| 47 | Sondrio | €21,772 |
| 48 | Pesaro e Urbino | €21,627 |
| 49 | Ferrara | €21,600 |
| 50 | Rovigo | €21,234 |
| 51 | Pistoia | €21,035 |
| 52 | Perugia | €21,014 |
Average declared income per taxpayer (€) (2024)
Ferrara ranks 50 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Average declared income per taxpayer (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 47 | Cagliari | €25,636 |
| 48 | Arezzo | €25,474 |
| 49 | Asti | €25,377 |
| 50 | Ferrara | €25,371 |
| 51 | Sondrio | €25,167 |
| 52 | Gorizia | €25,164 |
| 53 | Perugia | €24,889 |
Employment rate, ages 20-64 (%) (2024)
Ferrara ranks 30 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Employment rate, ages 20-64 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | Ravenna | 74.9% |
| 28 | Pesaro e Urbino | 74.7% |
| 29 | Biella | 74.6% |
| 30 | Ferrara | 74.6% |
| 31 | Varese | 74.6% |
| 32 | Perugia | 74.5% |
| 33 | Reggio nell’Emilia | 74.5% |
Share of output from industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) (2023)
Ferrara ranks 46 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) |
|---|---|---|
| 43 | Asti | 22.8% |
| 44 | Pavia | 22.3% |
| 45 | Ascoli Piceno | 22.1% |
| 46 | Ferrara | 22.0% |
| 47 | Perugia | 21.8% |
| 48 | Verona | 21.6% |
| 49 | Frosinone | 21.2% |
Share of output from finance, property and business services (2023)
Ferrara ranks 13 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from finance, property and business services |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Prato | 30.6% |
| 11 | Firenze | 30.4% |
| 12 | Rimini | 30.4% |
| 13 | Ferrara | 30.0% |
| 14 | Genova | 29.8% |
| 15 | Monza e della Brianza | 29.8% |
| 16 | Asti | 29.3% |
Share of output from public administration, education, health and other services (2023)
Ferrara ranks 55 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from public administration, education, health and other services |
|---|---|---|
| 52 | Massa-Carrara | 20.8% |
| 53 | Frosinone | 20.7% |
| 54 | Perugia | 20.4% |
| 55 | Ferrara | 20.4% |
| 56 | Trento | 20.3% |
| 57 | Bolzano-Bozen | 20.3% |
| 58 | Siena | 19.9% |
More on Ferrara: overview · health · education and schools · poverty and living standards · government budget · government and politics · Emilia-Romagna · Italy
Sources
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP per person, PPS (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3bf0fc662f56…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP, million euros (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 096e15e5fdb3…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment, thousand people (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 664e4e3a6dc0…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment (thousand persons) by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 222a97c302d3…)
- Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica): BES dei territori, edizione 2025: well-being indicators for the 107 provinces and metropolitan cities (Indicatori_per_provincia_sesso_ed.2025.xlsx), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 90f90043ad3d…)
- Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Dipartimento delle Finanze: Redditi e principali variabili IRPEF su base comunale, anno d'imposta 2024 (personal income tax returns by municipality), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 75cecc95d72b…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gva: Gross value added at basic prices by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c656e8563bdf…)
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