Rich Prague, poor Silesia

The purchasing power per capita in Prague and its surroundings is significantly above the average for the whole Czech Republic. On the contrary, the residents of the Moravian-Silesian and Ústí nad Labem regions have to do with much lower budgets. In some municipalities – especially in the periphery of the Czech Republic – even have a purchasing power of about 70% of the Czech average.

There are still large regional differences in the level of effective demand among Czech households. This is confirmed by the results of a recent study by INCOME GfK called “Purchasing Power in Districts and Municipalities of the Czech Republic 2009”, which surveyed the differences in the purchasing power of Czech settlements.

Apart from districts adjacent to Prague, the average purchasing power level is largely exceeded by the districts of Mladá Boleslav, Plzeň City and Brno City. The other end of the ranking is dominated by the “poorer” districts of Bruntál, Karviná, Frýdek Místek and Znojmo. Prague exceeds the national average by over 31%, and the districts of Říčany, Čelákovice and Mladá Boleslav also boast a high purchasing power index. To the contrary, the lowest average incomes among cities with a population of over 10,000 were identified in Karviná, Orlová, Studénka, Krupka and Bohumín. In practice, these differences mean that for example a resident of Říčany has a net amount of EUR 7,799 per year, while a resident of Karviná only EUR 5,338 per year. At least some consolation for people from towns with a lower purchasing power, the life in “richer” cities is usually associated with higher costs of living.

1.	City of Prague	131.3
”RICHEST” DISTRICTS (CR=100.0)
2.	Prague-East	118.2
3.	Prague-West	118.1
4.	Plzeň City	111.7
5.	Mladá Boleslav	107.9

73.	Znojmo	87.6
”POOREST” DISTRICTS (CR=100.0)
74.	Frýdek-Místek	87.2
75.	Hodonín	87.1
76.	Karviná	86.2
77.	Bruntál	85.5

1.	Prague	131.3
„RICHEST“ CITIES WITH A POPULATION OF OVER 10,000 (CR=100.0)
2.	Říčany	123.0
3.	Čelákovice	122.0
4.	Brandýs n.L.-Stará Boleslav	120.7
5.	Mladá Boleslav	114.3