City comparison
Cost of living in Austin vs Valencia
One person needs about €2,411 a month in Austin and €1,489 in Valencia, rent included — Valencia is 38% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Valencia the way you live in Austin on €3,000, you need
€1,853/ month net
38% less than today (-€1,147)
- Austin today
- Basket €2,411 · left over €589 (20%)
- Valencia at the matched salary
- Basket €1,489 · left over €364 (20%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 148% over in Valencia (adequate) vs 270% in Austin. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇺🇸 Austin
No state income tax and a real tech market, with car costs baked in.
Monthly budget: €2,411
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇪🇸 Valencia
Flat, cyclable and cheap for a coastal capital-grade city with real infrastructure.
Monthly budget: €1,489
Sources: INE Spain + Eurostat, HICP & provincial rent index (2025) · 198 community reports
Should you move to Austin or Valencia?
On salary, Austin pays more for tech roles (€6,500 versus €2,200 a month), so the money left over after costs is €4,089 in Austin at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,600 in Austin against €950 in Valencia. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Austin at 73 and Valencia at 79 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.