Young Copenhageners priced out as fewer move to the city

Fewer young adults are moving to Copenhagen due to soaring housing costs and long waiting lists, a trend expected to continue, reports Danish broadcaster **DR**.

Caithlin Hunt, 23, lives in a 55-square-metre apartment in Albertslund, a 20-minute train ride from central Copenhagen, paying 7,400 kroner (€995) per month. Though she appreciates the space, she feels disconnected from city life and her studies on Amager.

*”I want the spontaneity of the city—being able to make last-minute plans,”* she told DR. *”It takes me an hour to get to campus, so I miss out on a lot. I feel a bit cut off.”*

Hunt had hoped to follow in her parents’ footsteps by living in Copenhagen as a young adult, but high rents and limited availability have kept her in the suburbs.

**Declining youth migration**
Copenhagen Municipality’s latest population forecast shows a steady decline in the number of 18–29-year-olds moving to the city from other areas. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, around 4,000 fewer young people relocate to the capital annually. High housing costs are cited as a key factor.

Frederik Partsch, another young resident, abandoned his search for affordable housing in Copenhagen after discovering he was *number 1,000 on a waiting list*. He now also lives in Albertslund.

**City plans more student housing**
Sisse Marie Welling, Copenhagen’s lord mayor from the Socialist People’s Party, acknowledged the challenge, stating that young people *”should have the option to live near their studies.”* The municipality is working to increase student housing, co-op apartments (*andelsboliger*), and owner-occupied units, though no timeline for improvement was given.

Despite the drop in youth migration, Copenhagen’s overall population continues to grow—a trend the forecast expects to persist.