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Rho: what to know before buying a home

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

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Rho

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 Europa 11, Rho.

Rho, the trade fair, the metro and the trains to Milan

Rho is the trade fair town: the Fiera Milano exhibition centre lies between Rho and Pero, next to the site of Expo 2015, which is now being turned into the MIND innovation district. The old centre, with the sanctuary of the Addolorata, is crossed by the river Olona, and around it are residential districts and industrial areas, some disused and redeveloped.

Few towns around Milan are as well connected. The red metro line ends at Rho Fieramilano, where suburban trains also stop, and the station in the centre is served by lines to Milan, Novara, Varese and Lake Maggiore. In open transport data the municipality has 63 stops, with 6 rail lines and 7 bus lines. The price of all this is traffic: motorways and ring roads pass close to homes, and most of the land is built up.

At the end of 2023 Rho had 50,848 residents, up 1.6% since 2011. It is slightly older than the metropolitan city, with an average age of 46.5 against 45.6 and over-65s at 25.0%. Foreign residents make up 11.8%. Declared incomes are high by Italian standards, though below the Milan provincial average. Schools and healthcare per resident are above the provincial rate.

Seismic hazard is minimal: zone 4 on the Civil Protection map, like 72 other municipalities in the metropolitan city, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.043 g. In a block from the post-war boom, heating, insulation and service charges (spese condominiali) matter far more.

The Olona has burst its banks several times in the low-lying parts of town, so the report checks the official flood maps for the individual address. Using the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) cadastral maps, it also finds the plot.

Key points

  • End of the red metro line, plus 6 rail lines.
  • Fiera Milano and the former Expo site next to town.
  • 50,848 residents, up 1.6% since 2011.
  • Seismic zone 4; check low-lying areas near the Olona.

Overview

Rho is a municipality in the province of Milano, in Lombardia. At the end of 2023 it had 50,848 residents, among the most populous in the province (5 of 133).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Rho is in seismic zone 4, the lowest-risk zone, where strong earthquakes are very rare. Most municipalities in the province (73 of 133) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.043 g, a low value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

In zone 4 the risk is low, but for an older building it is still worth asking about the state of the structure.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has grown by 1.6%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 11.8% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Rho declared an average taxable income of 28,693 euros, below the provincial average (33,635 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Rho is in climate zone E, with 2,631 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 October to 15 April, for up to 14 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 158 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Rho has 38 schools and 16 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 21 grocery shops and supermarkets, 51 healthcare facilities, 49 sports facilities and 10 parks and green areas.

There are 1.0 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.8).

Public transport

Within the municipality there are 63 public transport stops, served by 7 bus lines, 6 train lines, 1 metro line. That is about 1.2 stops per 1,000 residents.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 52.1% of the land in Rho, compared with 32.0% in the province and 12.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 2.0 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Rho is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Lombardia in 2023. 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 Rho, and 27 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 Rho: 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 Rho 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 283 inhabited census areas in Rho. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 76 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.0%
  • fair 10.8%
  • good 64.9%
  • very good 22.7%
  • excellent 1.5%

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 015182. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.