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Sassuolo: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Sassuolo

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 Radici in Piano 2, Sassuolo.

Sassuolo, Italy's tile district at the foot of the Apennines

Sassuolo gives its name to Italy's ceramic tile district: around the town, and in the neighbouring municipalities between Modena and Reggio Emilia, are the factories of the country's best-known ceramics district. Sassuolo lies on the right bank of the Secchia, where the plain meets the first Apennine hills, and its centre keeps the Palazzo Ducale, the summer residence of the Este dukes.

For decades factory jobs drew people from other regions and from abroad, and the town has districts built in a hurry next to the industrial areas. For buyers, the position relative to the factories and the lorry routes matters, because heavy traffic in the district is noticeable. Trains on the Modena-Sassuolo line run to Modena, and there is also a railway to Reggio Emilia. Along the Secchia and on the lower hillsides, the report checks flooding and landslides for the address.

There are 40,996 residents (2023), up 2.8% since 2011 according to Istat, the national statistics office, which is 5.8% of the province of Modena. Foreign residents make up 14.2%. Schools, healthcare and sports facilities are more plentiful than elsewhere in the province, sport especially, with 1.39 facilities per 1,000 residents against 0.89. Average declared incomes are slightly above the provincial figure.

Sassuolo is one of only 7 municipalities in the province in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection classification; the other 40 are in zone 3. Expected ground acceleration is about 0.162 g. The Modena plain was hit by the 2012 earthquake, which struck mainly the lowlands around Mirandola, and since then warehouses and apartment blocks have been viewed more carefully. Here too, ask for seismic assessments, especially for warehouses converted into homes or offices and for 1960s and 1970s blocks.

Key points

  • Italy's tile capital, on the Secchia at the foot of the hills.
  • 40,996 residents, 14.2% foreign residents.
  • Seismic zone 2, like only 7 municipalities in the province.
  • Expected acceleration about 0.162 g: ask for assessments.

Overview

Sassuolo is a municipality in the province of Modena, in Emilia-Romagna. At the end of 2023 it had 40,996 residents, the third most populous in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Sassuolo is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Only 7 of 47 municipalities in the province are in zone 2.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.162 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Sassuolo, 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 2.8%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 23% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 25%). Foreign residents make up 14.2% of the population. On average, a household has 2.3 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Sassuolo declared an average taxable income of 28,219 euros, in line with the province (27,632 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Sassuolo is in climate zone E, with 2,447 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 121 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Sassuolo has 38 schools and 12 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 26 grocery shops and supermarkets, 35 healthcare facilities, 57 sports facilities and 9 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 30.8% of the land in Sassuolo, compared with 11.1% in the province and 9.0% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 2.0 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Sassuolo is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Emilia-Romagna in 2026. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 3 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Sassuolo, and 9 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 Sassuolo: 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 Sassuolo 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 485 inhabited census areas in Sassuolo. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 65 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 0.4%
  • fair 48.9%
  • good 50.8%

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 036040. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.