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Acerra: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Napoli, Campania. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Acerra

The report looks at the exact point: landslide and flood risk, seismic zone, price per square metre for the area, services and nearby stops.

For example: Corso Italia 1, Acerra.

Acerra, on the plain north-east of Naples

Acerra covers a flat stretch of the Campanian plain between Naples, Caserta and Nola, crossed by the Regi Lagni, a network of channels dug centuries ago to drain what was once marshland. Local tradition says Pulcinella, the masked character of Neapolitan comedy, was born here, and the baronial castle houses a museum devoted to him.

This is a young town. The average age is 40.2 against 43.2 for the province of Naples, over-65s are 14.8% and households have 2.77 members on average. At the end of 2023 Istat, the national statistics office, counted 58,507 residents, up 3.6% since 2011, with foreign nationals at 4.4%. Declared incomes are below the provincial average.

In recent decades the area has hosted industrial sites and the waste-to-energy plant that serves Campania, and Acerra has often appeared in news reports about the Terra dei fuochi, the name given to the countryside where waste was dumped and burned. For a buyer this means looking closely at the specific area: distance from plants, farmland and busy roads varies a great deal from one street to the next. Recorded services are also thin for the population, and the report measures from the address how far schools, pharmacies and shops are.

Acerra is in seismic zone 2 on the Civil Protection map, like 75 other municipalities in the province, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.167 g. Many blocks went up during the years of rapid building. Before signing, ask to see the structural design, the certificate of habitability and, if there was an amnesty for unauthorised work (condono), the completed file.

Cadastral maps from the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) are published and the report finds the plot from the address. On a plain criss-crossed by channels, flood hazard depends on where the property sits relative to the Regi Lagni and is checked address by address.

Key points

  • Flat land between Naples, Caserta and Nola, crossed by the Regi Lagni.
  • Young population: average age 40.2 against 43.2.
  • 58,507 residents, up 3.6% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.167 g.

Overview

Acerra is a municipality in the province of Napoli, in Campania. At the end of 2023 it had 58,507 residents, among the most populous in the province (8 of 92).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Acerra is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (76 of 92) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.167 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Acerra, the building matters a great deal: ask for the design year, whether it met the 2008 seismic standards, and whether any seismic retrofit has been carried out.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has grown by 3.6%. The estimated average age is 40 years, lower than the province average (43). 15% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 21%). Foreign residents make up 4.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.8 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Acerra declared an average taxable income of 19,770 euros, below the provincial average (21,545 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Acerra is in climate zone C, with 1,011 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 26 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Acerra has 48 schools and 14 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 32 grocery shops and supermarkets, 25 healthcare facilities, 23 sports facilities and 7 parks and green areas.

There are 0.4 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.6).

Public transport

We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 22.3% of the land in Acerra, compared with 34.9% in the province and 10.6% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 13.4 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

According to the ISPRA map, the estimated radon emission in the municipality is medium. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 12 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Acerra, and 3 more have been cleaned up or closed. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Acerra: the report checks the address against the ISPRA maps.

House prices

The Revenue Agency's price ranges per square metre (OMI) apply to zones, not to whole municipalities: the report gives the range for the address's zone.

Land registry

The cadastral maps for Acerra are public: from the address the report finds the sheet and parcel number.

Liveability area by area

The Vicinalia liveability index runs from 0 to 100 and looks at the place, not the people who live there: services within walking distance, transport, green space, natural hazards, air, quiet, buildings and connection. Here it is worked out at the centre of each of the 324 inhabited census areas in Acerra. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 69 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 2.3%
  • fair 29.1%
  • good 68.6%

Vicinalia index by census area, licence CC BY-SA 4.0. Data: IdroGEO ISPRA (2026), Istat, INGV, EEA, AGCOM, Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap.

The colour is the value at the centre of the area. For an exact address, search for it above: the free check looks at that exact point. How the index is worked out

Data sources

ISTAT code 063001. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.