Economy, jobs and prices in Messina (Sicily, Italy): official figures
GDP per person was 23,300 purchasing power standards (PPS) in 2023, 61% of the EU average (98% for Italy); 89th highest of 107 provinces in Italy.
How big is the economy of Messina?
The local economy produced €13.5 billion of output (GDP) in 2023.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people work in Messina?
About 205,800 people worked in Messina in 2023 (employment by place of work).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat is the employment rate in Messina?
The employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 in Messina was 50.2% in 2024 (38.4% for women), below the national figure of 67.1% and 11th lowest among provinces.
Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copyWhat is the average income in Messina?
Households in Messina had €17,818 of disposable income per person in 2023 (32nd lowest in Italy).
Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copyWhat is the average salary in Messina?
Private-sector employees (outside farming) in Messina earned an average of €15,684 gross a year in 2023, against €23,630 nationally; that is 10th lowest of 107 provinces.
Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copyWhat is the average pension in Messina?
Pensioners in Messina received an average of €19,495 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 Messina?
Taxpayers in Messina declared an average income of €21,166 for 2024, 28th lowest among the 107 provinces; 395,083 returns were filed (national average €25,816).
Source: Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Dipartimento delle Finanze · saved copyHow many high earners live in Messina?
3.9% of taxpayers in Messina declared more than €55,000 for 2024 and 0.43% 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 Messina?
The largest part of the economy of Messina in 2023 was public administration, education, health and other services, at 30.6% of gross value added, followed by finance, property and business services (26.2%).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow industrial is Messina?
Factories, mines and energy produced 8.3% of the value added in Messina in 2023, against 20.3% for Italy.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow fast is the economy of Messina growing?
Gross value added rose from €9.7 billion in 2015 to €12.1 billion in 2023 in current prices, an increase of 25% before inflation.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat jobs do people do in Messina?
Of the 205,800 jobs located in Messina in 2023, 37% in public services, education, health and other services, 8% in industry and 5.7% in farming, forestry and fishing.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyAre jobs growing in Messina?
The number of people working in Messina rose by 4.5% between 2015 and 2023, to 205,800.
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 Messina was 31.1% in 2024, above the national figure of 13.3%. Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copy
- Among young people aged 15 to 29 in Messina, 26.3% were employed in 2024 and the youth non-participation rate was 48.8% (national figures: 34.4% and 25.7%). Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copy
- Employees in Messina were paid for 68.7% 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 16.4 fatal or permanently disabling workplace accidents per 10,000 workers in Messina in 2022 (above the national figure of 11.0). Source: Istat (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) · saved copy
- In 2024, 53% of taxpayers in Messina declared employment income (average €19,713) and 37% declared pension income (average €20,167). Source: Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Dipartimento delle Finanze · saved copy
How Messina compares with other provinces in Italy
Disposable household income per person (€) (2023)
Messina ranks 76 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Disposable household income per person (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 73 | Sassari | €18,568 |
| 74 | Matera | €18,412 |
| 75 | Latina | €18,034 |
| 76 | Messina | €17,818 |
| 77 | Campobasso | €17,656 |
| 78 | Ragusa | €17,654 |
| 79 | Salerno | €17,645 |
Average gross annual pay, private-sector employees (€) (2023)
Messina ranks 98 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Average gross annual pay, private-sector employees (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 95 | Catanzaro | €15,992 |
| 96 | Benevento | €15,983 |
| 97 | Salerno | €15,846 |
| 98 | Messina | €15,684 |
| 99 | Lecce | €15,676 |
| 100 | Barletta-Andria-Trani | €15,666 |
| 101 | Ragusa | €15,590 |
Average declared income per taxpayer (€) (2024)
Messina ranks 80 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Average declared income per taxpayer (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 77 | Chieti | €21,936 |
| 78 | Teramo | €21,824 |
| 79 | Catania | €21,240 |
| 80 | Messina | €21,166 |
| 81 | Taranto | €20,804 |
| 82 | Siracusa | €20,781 |
| 83 | Potenza | €20,738 |
Employment rate, ages 20-64 (%) (2024)
Messina ranks 97 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Employment rate, ages 20-64 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 94 | Agrigento | 50.7% |
| 95 | Vibo Valentia | 50.7% |
| 96 | Siracusa | 50.3% |
| 97 | Messina | 50.2% |
| 98 | Barletta-Andria-Trani | 50.1% |
| 99 | Trapani | 49.8% |
| 100 | Crotone | 49.2% |
Share of output from industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) (2023)
Messina ranks 99 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) |
|---|---|---|
| 96 | Catanzaro | 8.6% |
| 97 | Grosseto | 8.5% |
| 98 | Trapani | 8.4% |
| 99 | Messina | 8.3% |
| 100 | Enna | 8.2% |
| 101 | Agrigento | 8.1% |
| 102 | Nuoro | 8.0% |
Share of output from finance, property and business services (2023)
Messina ranks 59 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from finance, property and business services |
|---|---|---|
| 56 | Novara | 26.4% |
| 57 | Caltanissetta | 26.3% |
| 58 | Parma | 26.3% |
| 59 | Messina | 26.2% |
| 60 | Latina | 26.2% |
| 61 | Padova | 26.2% |
| 62 | Teramo | 26.0% |
Share of output from public administration, education, health and other services (2023)
Messina ranks 8 of 107, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from public administration, education, health and other services |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Palermo | 31.0% |
| 6 | Trapani | 31.0% |
| 7 | Oristano | 30.9% |
| 8 | Messina | 30.6% |
| 9 | Agrigento | 30.4% |
| 10 | Cagliari | 29.7% |
| 11 | Rieti | 29.7% |
More on Messina: overview · health · education and schools · poverty and living standards · government budget · government and politics · Sicily · 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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