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Prato: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Prato

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 Pistoiese 0, Prato.

Prato, textile city next to Florence

Prato is Tuscany's second city by population after Florence, only a few kilometres away. Its name is bound up with textiles: the Prato district has been spinning and weaving for centuries, and in recent decades a large garment-making sector has grown up alongside. Inside the old walls, the historic centre holds the Castello dell'Imperatore and the cathedral with its outdoor pulpit by Donatello and Michelozzo. The river Bisenzio runs through the city.

What stands out most in Prato is who lives there. Foreign nationals make up 25.3% of residents, one in four, including one of the largest Chinese communities in Europe. It is also young by Tuscan standards: 22.2% of residents are over 65 against 26.5% in the region, the estimated average age is 45.4, and households average 2.40 people. In 2023 the population was 197,088, up 6.3% from 185,456 in 2011.

The province, created in 1992 when it split from Florence, has just 7 municipalities, and Prato alone accounts for 75.8% of its residents. Services reflect that size. Overture counts 131 education sites, the same number of healthcare sites, 57 officially registered pharmacies and 784 cafés and restaurants, with rates per resident close to the provincial average.

For earthquakes Prato is in seismic zone 3, like 2 other municipalities in the province, while 4 are in zone 2. Expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.140 g, a mid-range value. In a city with buildings of very different ages and types, what matters for a purchase is the construction date and structure of the individual block.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the municipality, and the report finds the land parcel from the address. On the plain crossed by the Bisenzio and other watercourses, as in the hills, landslide and flood risk is verified address by address.

Key points

  • 197,088 residents in 2023, up 6.3% since 2011.
  • Foreign nationals at 25.3%: one resident in four.
  • 75.8% of the province's population lives in the city.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected ground acceleration about 0.140 g.

Overview

Prato is the capital of the province of Prato, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 197,088 residents, the most populous municipality in the province. 76% of the province's residents live here.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Prato is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Only 3 of 7 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.140 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has grown by 6.3%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 22% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 25.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Prato declared an average taxable income of 23,538 euros, in line with the province (23,681 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Prato is in climate zone D, with 1,668 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 61 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Prato has 131 schools and 57 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 48 grocery shops and supermarkets, 137 healthcare facilities, 135 sports facilities and 21 parks and green areas.

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 33.3% of the land in Prato, compared with 14.3% in the province and 6.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 3.7 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Prato is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Toscana in 2025. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 10 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Prato, 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 Prato: 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 Prato 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 1,403 inhabited census areas in Prato. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 67 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.6%
  • fair 37.4%
  • good 62.0%

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 100005. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.