City comparison
Cost of living in New York vs Valencia
One person needs about €4,270 a month in New York and €1,489 in Valencia, rent included — Valencia is 65% 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 New York on €3,000, you need
€1,046/ month net
65% less than today (-€1,954)
- New York today
- Basket €4,270 · left over -€1,270 (-42%)
- Valencia at the matched salary
- Basket €1,489 · left over -€443 (-42%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 148% over in Valencia (adequate) vs 192% in New York. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇺🇸 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
🇪🇸 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 New York or Valencia?
On salary, New York pays more for tech roles (€8,200 versus €2,200 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 €950 in Valencia. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores New York at 61 and Valencia at 79 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.