Overview
- Berlin’s Senate Social Report 2025 finds about 19.7–20% of residents at risk of poverty, up from 15.7% in 2015 and above Germany’s 2025 rate of 16.1%, with “at risk” defined as income below 60% of the median, or about €1,446 net per month for a single person.
- Poverty risk is uneven across the city, with Neukölln at 26.3% and Lichtenberg at 26.2% among the highest, while Pankow at 12.6% and Steglitz‑Zehlendorf at 14.3% are the lowest.
- Housing strain is pronounced, as the median rent burden is about 27% of income and roughly one in five households spends at least 40%, with more than one in ten people living in cramped space below half the average per‑capita area.
- The picture diverges by age, with child poverty trending down to 25.1% in 2023 yet still high, while poverty in retirement edged up to around 7–7.3% and stands well above the federal level.
- Wealth is sharply skewed, with half of Berliners holding €5,620 or less in assets, average wealth near €57,000, about 9% classed as high income, and million‑euro earners nearly doubling by 2021, prompting calls for tougher rent rules and more affordable housing.