Drop everything and don't breathe: in Mykolaiv you need 3 years' salary for a 'one-room apartment'

Ukrainians on average need from 5 to 7 years to save up for a one-room apartment if they save their entire monthly salary. These calculations were published by analysts from OLX Real Estate and OLX Jobs based on data for April 2026.

According to the study, housing remains most affordable in cities located closer to the front line. It is there that apartment prices are the lowest in Ukraine. But such “affordability” has an obvious reason — security risks, the war, and proximity to areas that are regularly under threat of Russian attacks.

The list of the most affordable cities also includes Mykolaiv. According to analysts’ calculations, the median price of a one-room apartment in the city is 855,759 UAH, and the median salary is 22,500 UAH. That means, if one were to theoretically save the entire salary with no living expenses, it would take about 3 years to afford an apartment.

The fastest place to save for a one-room apartment is Zaporizhzhia. There the median price of such housing is 661,160 UAH, the median salary is 22,500 UAH, and the estimated accumulation period is 2 years.

In Kherson a one-room apartment, according to the study, costs on average 636,366 UAH, the median salary is 20,000 UAH, and it takes about 3 years to save for housing. That is the same period as in Mykolaiv, although the apartment price in Kherson is lower.

Residents of Kharkiv and Sumy will need about 4 years. In Kharkiv the median price of a one-room apartment is 1,101,838 UAH, and the median salary is 25,000 UAH. In Sumy an apartment costs about 1,032,618 UAH, and the salary is 22,000 UAH.

In Dnipro, Kropyvnytskyi, Chernihiv and Khmelnytskyi the accumulation period reaches 5 years. In particular, in Dnipro the median price of a one-room apartment is 1,404,506 UAH, in Kropyvnytskyi — 1,265,447 UAH, in Chernihiv — 1,469,400 UAH, in Khmelnytskyi — 1,776,070 UAH.

It takes approximately 6 years to save for housing in Ivano-Frankivsk, Cherkasy and Poltava. In Ivano-Frankivsk the median price of a one-room apartment is 2,181,284 UAH, in Cherkasy — 1,971,054 UAH, in Poltava — 1,744,967 UAH.

In Odesa, Lutsk, Ternopil, Rivne, Zhytomyr and Vinnytsia the estimated accumulation period is about 7 years. In Odesa the median price of a one-room apartment is 2,174,730 UAH, in Lutsk — 2,356,387 UAH, in Ternopil — 2,381,407 UAH, in Rivne — 2,479,192 UAH, in Zhytomyr — 2,086,230 UAH, in Vinnytsia — 2,388,042 UAH.

The situation is even more difficult in Chernivtsi and Lviv. In Chernivtsi a one-room apartment costs on average 2,545,330 UAH, and the median salary is 26,500 UAH. In Lviv the price reaches 3,244,155 UAH, and the median salary is 32,700 UAH. In both cities it will take about 8 years to save for an apartment.

The most expensive places to buy housing remain Kyiv and Uzhhorod. In the capital the median price of a one-room apartment is 3,379,145 UAH, the median salary is 31,225 UAH, and the accumulation period is about 9 years. In Uzhhorod an apartment costs approximately 3,295,590 UAH, the salary is 30,000 UAH, and it also takes about 9 years to save.

At the same time these calculations are very conditional, as they assume that a person saves their entire salary — without spending on food, utilities, transport, medical care, rent, or helping family. Therefore the real accumulation period for most Ukrainians may be significantly longer.

Previously we wrote:

• 42 thousand dollars for a house: Mykolaiv ended up among cities with the cheapest housing
• Senkevych wants to build and rent out housing for Mykolaiv residents
• They are building even during the war: a new residential complex has been commissioned in Mykolaiv
• In Mykolaiv housing was given to only five IDP families, but hundreds remain without a home
• Mykolaiv region commissioned 556 apartments in 2025: growth — almost one and a half times