Gdańsk vs Kraków: the split in plain numbers
The sharpest gap is on the secondary market: in 2026-Q1, Gdańsk averaged PLN 13,870/m², while Kraków was at PLN 15,110/m². That is a PLN 1,240/m² difference, or 8.2%. Rent is closer, but still tilted toward Kraków: a typical 2-bedroom ran PLN 3,600 in Gdańsk and PLN 3,800 in Kraków in the official NBP rent series.
These are transaction prices from NBP BaRN for the housing side, and the rent figures are from the official NBP rent series. The two cities are close enough to compare, but not identical markets: Kraków is bigger, denser, and more expensive on almost every headline metric here.
Side-by-side: what the data says
| Metric | Gdańsk | Kraków | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary-market price, PLN/m² | 13,870 | 15,110 | -1,240 |
| Price gap | — | — | -8.2% |
| QoQ change in price | 2.62% | 0.31% | +2.31 pp |
| Typical 2-bedroom rent, PLN | 3,600 | 3,800 | -200 |
| Rent per m², PLN | 72 | 76 | -4 |
| Price-to-income ratio | 9.3 | 7.2 | +2.1 |
| Avg gross wage, PLN | 7,481 | 10,455 | -2,974 |
| GDP per capita, PLN | 59,444 | 144,383 | -84,939 |
What the price gap means for buyers
For buyers, the first read is simple: Kraków is more expensive on the transaction side, but Gdańsk is not a cheap alternative. At PLN 13,870/m², Gdańsk sits below Kraków and above Wrocław’s PLN 12,632/m² in the national ranking shown in the data.
The pace matters too. Gdańsk rose 2.62% quarter-on-quarter in Q1, while Kraków moved 0.31%. That does not mean one market is “hot” and the other is not; it just means the latest quarter moved more sharply in Gdańsk.
The price-to-income ratio adds a different angle. Gdańsk sits at 9.3, compared with 7.2 in Kraków. That gap reflects a much lower wage base in Gdańsk: PLN 7,481 average gross pay versus PLN 10,455 in Kraków. So even with a lower price per square metre, Gdańsk can look heavier relative to local earnings.
Rent is closer than prices, but still not equal
The rental gap is narrower than the sales gap. A 2-bedroom costs PLN 200 less in Gdańsk than in Kraków, and the per-square-metre rent difference is PLN 4. That is not a dramatic spread.
For renters, the key point is that the two cities are separated more by income and market depth than by rent alone. Kraków’s rent level is higher, but not by the same margin as its purchase price. Gdańsk still looks a bit cheaper on monthly housing outgoings, yet the edge is modest.
City profile: different engines, different pressure points
The broader city picture helps explain why the markets do not move in lockstep.
Gdańsk is described in the data as a Baltic port city with tourism, logistics, and the Trójmiasto metro area. It has a population of 650,290, 234,052 dwellings, and net migration of 5,205 a year. Foreign tourist arrivals are listed at 26,368. Density is 130.5 people per square kilometre.
Kraków is a historic university city with strong rental demand and tourism. It has 816,610 residents, 466,649 dwellings, and 3,271 annual net migration. Foreign tourist arrivals are far higher at 1,635,953. Density is 2,498.4 people per square kilometre.
Those are not just trivia points. Kraków’s much higher density and tourist volume point to a tighter urban market, while Gdańsk’s port and logistics role suggest a different demand mix. The data does not prove cause and effect, but it does show the two cities are under different kinds of pressure.
Transit, city form, and why the numbers diverge
The population density gap is huge: Kraków is more than a compact inland city, while Gdańsk is far more spread out. That matters for how housing feels on the ground. A denser city with stronger tourism and university demand tends to support firmer central pricing.
The same goes for maintenance costs. The annual maintenance figure is PLN 113.89/m² in Gdańsk and PLN 127.48/m² in Kraków. That is a smaller but still visible gap in ongoing housing costs.
One caveat matters here: open-data counts are counts, not quality scores. More dwellings, more arrivals, or more density do not automatically mean better housing conditions or better locations. They just describe scale.
Developer register entries to watch
The developer register adds a narrow but useful new-build angle. These are asking prices for specific projects, not transaction averages.
- Grupa Hossa Spółka Akcyjna — developer register page, updated 2026-06-12
- Gedania Riverside Living sp. z o.o. — developer register page, updated 2026-06-12
For readers tracking Gdańsk’s pipeline, those entries are worth watching alongside the secondary-market data. They do not change the comparison directly, but they help show where new-build asking prices sit relative to the city’s transaction baseline.
Practical takeaway
If you are comparing the two markets purely on the numbers in this dataset, Kraków is still the pricier city for both buying and renting, but the rent gap is smaller than the purchase gap. Gdańsk looks cheaper on raw transaction price, yet its lower wages make the housing burden look heavier relative to income.
That is the real split here: Kraków costs more in absolute terms; Gdańsk can feel tighter relative to local pay. The rest is a question of city form, demand mix, and what kind of housing stock you are actually targeting.
More on the two markets
Sources: NBP BaRN city prices and official NBP rent series; period: 2026-Q1 for prices, 2025-Q1 for rent. · Updated 15 Jun 2026