Cost of Living Guide

City comparison

Cost of living in Milan vs Valencia

One person needs about €2,149 a month in Milan and €1,489 in Valencia, rent included — Valencia is 31% cheaper overall.

🇮🇹
Milan
Italy · 1.4M pop
vs
🇪🇸
Valencia
Spain · 800K pop
Monthly rent (1BR)
€1,450€950
34% cheaper
Groceries / mo
€330€265
20% cheaper
Eating out (meal)
€16€12
25% cheaper
Internet (100mbps)
€32€30
6% cheaper
Avg salary (tech)
€3,200€2,200
31% lower
Coworking / mo
€240€140
42% cheaper
MilanValencia
Rent€1,450€950
Groceries€330€265
Transport€39€50
Utilities€170€98

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 Milan on €3,000, you need

€2,079/ month net

31% less than today (-€921)

Milan today
Basket €2,149 · left over €851 (28%)
Valencia at the matched salary
Basket €1,489 · left over €590 (28%)

Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 148% over in Valencia (adequate) vs 149% in Milan. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this

🇮🇹 Milan

Italy's business capital: better salaries than Rome, and rents to match.

Monthly budget: €2,149

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 Milan or Valencia?

On salary, Milan pays more for tech roles (€3,200 versus €2,200 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,051 in Milan at the top end.

Rent drives most of the gap: €1,450 in Milan against €950 in Valencia. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.

For remote workers, the nomad index scores Milan at 71 and Valencia at 79 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.

More Milan comparisons

More Valencia comparisons