City comparison
Cost of living in Paris vs Austin
One person needs about €2,552 a month in Paris and €2,411 in Austin, rent included — Austin is 6% 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 Austin the way you live in Paris on €3,000, you need
€2,834/ month net
6% less than today (-€166)
- Paris today
- Basket €2,552 · left over €448 (15%)
- Austin at the matched salary
- Basket €2,411 · left over €423 (15%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 270% over in Austin (very strong) vs 172% in Paris. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇫🇷 Paris
Dense, walkable and expensive — small flats are the price of central living.
Monthly budget: €2,552
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇺🇸 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
Should you move to Paris or Austin?
On salary, Austin pays more for tech roles (€6,500 versus €4,400 a month), so the money left over after costs is €4,089 in Austin at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,750 in Paris against €1,600 in Austin. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Paris at 68 and Austin at 73 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.