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Pistoia: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Pistoia

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: Via Modenese 1, Pistoia.

Pistoia, the plant nursery city

The countryside around Pistoia is dotted with plant nurseries: growing ornamental plants and trees is what the local economy is best known for, at the foot of the Apennines and roughly halfway between Florence and Lucca. The historic centre revolves around Piazza del Duomo, with its baptistery and bell tower, and still has the old Ospedale del Ceppo hospital with its glazed terracotta frieze.

The population has barely moved: 89,054 residents at the end of 2023 against 89,101 at the 2011 census. Pistoia is the largest municipality in the province and home to 30.7% of its people. The estimated average age, 48.2, is above the provincial average of 47.5, and 27.6% of residents are over 65. The average household has 2.17 people.

The seismic classification here needs a careful read. Pistoia is in zone 2, whereas most of the province (14 of its 20 municipalities) is in zone 3: only 6 municipalities, the city among them, fall into the highest class found in the province. The expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is estimated at about 0.163 g, a medium-high value. For a buyer, that makes the building's design date, structural surveys and any seismic upgrading details to ask for before signing.

Services are close to the provincial norm. The Ministry of Health lists 27 pharmacies, 0.30 per 1,000 residents against 0.31. Healthcare facilities are denser in Overture Maps data, with 82 in total (0.92 per 1,000 against 0.65).

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps are available, so the report reaches the sheet and parcel numbers (foglio and particella) from an address. Between the nursery-covered plain and the hills rising towards the Apennines the land varies a lot, so landslide and flood hazard and local prices are checked at the address rather than averaged over the municipality.

Key points

  • Home of Italy's ornamental plant nurseries, between Florence and Lucca.
  • Population almost identical to 2011: 89,054 residents.
  • Seismic zone 2, while 14 of the province's 20 municipalities are in zone 3.
  • Pharmacies per resident in line with the province.

Overview

Pistoia is the capital of the province of Pistoia, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 89,054 residents, the most populous municipality in the province. 31% of the province's residents live here.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Pistoia is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 6 of 20 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.163 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Pistoia, 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 number of residents is nearly unchanged. The estimated average age is 48 years, in line with the province. 28% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 9.4% of the population. On average, a household has 2.2 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Pistoia declared an average taxable income of 25,159 euros, above the provincial average (23,480 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Pistoia is in climate zone D, with 1,885 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 67 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Pistoia has 73 schools and 27 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 36 grocery shops and supermarkets, 82 healthcare facilities, 90 sports facilities and 11 parks and green areas.

There are 0.9 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more 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 11.1% of the land in Pistoia, compared with 10.3% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land shrank by 1.9 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Pistoia is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Toscana in 2025. 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 11 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Pistoia, and 23 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 Pistoia: 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 Pistoia 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 1,102 inhabited census areas in Pistoia. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 or more.

Residents by band

  • poor 0.0%
  • modest 6.6%
  • fair 63.8%
  • good 29.5%

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 047014. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.