This paper provides an empirical investigation on the effects that regional economic structures exert on the socioeconomic determinants of material productivity. To this aim, first we develop a taxonomy of economic structures for more than 280 European regions that are classified in four overarching groups: agriculture-, industry-, intermediate- and service-based economies. Second, we perform a panel analysis to explore the impact of economic structures on the relationship between socioeconomic drivers and material productivity, during the period 2006–2015. Our results validate the basic hypothesis of the paper, i.e. the structural relationship between material productivity and its driving factors varies according to the underlying economic structures of the regions. In particular, we found that: (1) an increase in affluence leads to greater material productivity gains in material-intensive regions rather than in areas with service-oriented economies; (2) the degree of urban agglomeration seems to be the most important driver for material productivity, and its leverage effect is bigger among already densely populated regions. Our findings suggest that the influence of socioeconomic factors on material productivity behaves differently according to the idiosyncratic features that regions exhibit. Such diversity translates into different needs and opportunities that local policies should address by adopting a place-based perspective.