City comparison
Cost of living in New York vs Lisbon
One person needs about €4,270 a month in New York and €1,874 in Lisbon, rent included — Lisbon is 56% cheaper overall.
🇺🇸 New York
Extreme on both sides of the ledger: top-of-market pay, top-of-market burn rate.
Monthly budget: €4,270
Sources: US BLS + Census ACS, CPI-U (NY area) & ACS median gross rent (2024) · 502 community reports
🇵🇹 Lisbon
Visa-friendly and well connected, but local salaries lag far behind expat-driven rents.
Monthly budget: €1,874
Sources: Statistics Portugal (INE) + Eurostat, HICP & house-rent statistics (2025) · 331 community reports
Should you move to New York or Lisbon?
On salary, New York pays more for tech roles (€8,200 versus €2,400 a month), so the money left over after costs is €3,930 in New York at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €3,200 in New York against €1,300 in Lisbon. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores New York at 61 and Lisbon at 83 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.