City comparison
Cost of living in Zürich vs New York
One person needs about €3,790 a month in Zürich and €4,270 in New York, rent included — Zürich is 13% 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 New York the way you live in Zürich on €3,000, you need
€3,380/ month net
13% more than today (+€380)
- Zürich today
- Basket €3,790 · left over -€790 (-26%)
- New York at the matched salary
- Basket €4,270 · left over -€890 (-26%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 192% over in New York (comfortable) vs 237% in Zürich. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇨🇭 Zürich
Highest salaries anywhere, and a grocery bill that will still shock you.
Monthly budget: €3,790
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇺🇸 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
Should you move to Zürich or New York?
On salary, Zürich pays more for tech roles (€9,000 versus €8,200 a month), so the money left over after costs is €5,210 in Zürich at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €2,600 in Zürich against €3,200 in New York. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Zürich at 66 and New York at 61 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.