Free tool · Data reviewed September 4, 2026
Cost of living calculator for Americans moving abroad
Type in what you take home each month and see what the same money is worth in 15 countries. Every price level is measured against a US national average of 100, so the countries are comparable to each other and not just to the US.
What is your salary worth abroad?
Enter your monthly take-home pay in US dollars, pick a destination, and compare the price level of the whole basket against the US average.
A ratio, not a budget: it scales your income by the country's overall consumer price level against the US average. Your actual costs depend on the city and how you live. Rent figures are national market averages for a one-bedroom apartment.
How the index is built, and what 100 means
The figure the calculator runs on is a comparative price level: the cost of a comparable basket of goods and services in one country expressed against the same basket in another. This site fixes the US national average at 100. An index of 72 means the basket costs about 28 percent less than the US average. An index of 118 means it costs about 18 percent more. The same convention runs through every country page, every category row and every comparison on the site, which is what makes two destinations comparable to each other rather than only to the US.
The overall index includes rent, because for most people moving abroad rent is the line that decides the whole question. Untick include rent and the tool strips an assumed 30 percent rent weighting out of the overall index and rescales what is left, which is the right view if you already own outright, are being housed by an employer, or want to see how much of a country's cheapness is really just cheap housing.
Everything is expressed in US dollars at the conversion used when the dataset was last reviewed. The calculator is a ratio, not a budget. It answers "does my money go further here", not "what will my life cost", and the difference between those two questions is the whole of the section below on what it leaves out.
Worked example: $5,000 a month, moving to New Zealand
Read it as: spending habits that cost $5,000 a month in the US cost about $4,350 in New Zealand, which leaves $650 a month unspent before tax and one-off costs. Full New Zealand guide →
Every country ranked by price level
The same $5,000 monthly US take-home, run through every country in the dataset. The ex-rent column repeats the calculation the include-rent toggle performs, so you can see at a glance which discounts are housing and which are everyday spending.
| Country | Index | Ex-rent | vs US | $5,000 feels like | Same lifestyle costs | 1-bed rent, centre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States (baseline) | 100 | 100 | Baseline | $5,000 | $5,000 | $1,700 |
| Thailand | 32 | 34 | 67.7% cheaper | $15,480 | $1,615 | $475 |
| Mexico | 62 | 69 | 38% cheaper | $8,065 | $3,100 | $765 |
| Portugal | 63 | 70 | 37% cheaper | $7,937 | $3,150 | $1,200 |
| Japan | 66 | 73 | 34.3% cheaper | $7,610 | $3,285 | $1,280 |
| Spain | 70 | 67 | 30% cheaper | $7,143 | $3,500 | $1,390 |
| Italy | 71 | 78 | 29% cheaper | $7,042 | $3,550 | $1,200 |
| Germany | 72 | 79 | 28.5% cheaper | $6,993 | $3,575 | $645 |
| New Zealand | 87 | 81 | 13% cheaper | $5,747 | $4,350 | $1,112 |
| Netherlands | 88 | 87 | 12% cheaper | $5,682 | $4,400 | $1,640 |
| Canada | 91 | 94 | 9% cheaper | $5,495 | $4,550 | $1,433 |
| Sweden | 92 | 100 | 8% cheaper | $5,435 | $4,600 | $1,206 |
| United Kingdom | 92 | 89 | 8% cheaper | $5,435 | $4,600 | $2,370 |
| Norway | 99 | 105 | About the same | $5,051 | $4,950 | $1,642 |
| Australia | 100 | 100 | About the same | $5,000 | $5,000 | $1,675 |
| Ireland | 100 | 83 | About the same | $5,000 | $5,000 | $2,263 |
The spread across these 15 countries runs from Thailand at 32 to Ireland at 100. The same $5,000 buys $15,480 of US spending power in the first and $5,000 in the second, a gap of about $10,480 a month for identical habits, or $125,759 over a year.
Read the ex-rent column before you commit to a shortlist. Taking rent out of the basket lifts the index by five points or more in 7 of these 15 countries, which means the headline discount there is mostly a housing discount. The gap is largest in Sweden, Japan and Mexico, where the saving only lands if you sign a normal local lease rather than a short-let aimed at foreigners.
Browse all 15 country guides →Compare the US against a country side by side →
Where the saving actually comes from
The headline index averages five categories that rarely move together. A car-free renter who cooks at home and a homeowner who eats out five nights a week are buying different baskets in the same country, and the number that matters to each of them is a different row in this table.
| Category | Dataset average | Cheapest | Priciest | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RentMarket rent, roughly 30% of the headline index | 75 | Thailand 29 | Ireland 139 | 110 pts |
| RestaurantsEating and drinking out | 90 | Thailand 26 | Norway 127 | 101 pts |
| GroceriesSupermarket basket, cooked at home | 96 | Thailand 64 | Norway 126 | 62 pts |
| UtilitiesPower, heating, water, internet | 99 | Thailand 17 | Norway 179 | 162 pts |
| TransportPublic transport, fuel, running a car | 102 | Thailand 52 | Norway 140 | 88 pts |
Averaged across the dataset, the category that runs cheapest against the US is rent at 75, and the most expensive is transport at 102. The widest country-to-country spread is in utilities: 17 in Thailand against 179 in Norway. If that category is a large share of what you actually spend, weigh it above the headline index when you build a shortlist.
What this calculator deliberately does not model
A single ratio cannot carry a relocation decision. These are the things that move real budgets and are not in the number above, written out so you know exactly where the estimate stops being useful.
1. City-level variation
Every index here is a national average, and nobody lives in a national average. Capitals and major economic centres run well above the country figure, small cities and rural regions well below it. Even inside this dataset the pattern is visible: a one-bedroom in the centre averages 37 percent more than the same apartment outside it, across all 15 countries. A country that scores as cheap can still price you out of its one city with the jobs.
2. Tax, in either country
The tool starts from the take-home figure you type and compares prices. It does not convert US net pay into net pay under another country's system, and that conversion can be larger than the price difference it is competing with.Top personal rates in this dataset run from 35% in Mexico to 55.9% in Japan, against 37% federally in the US.Consumption tax is the quieter half: VAT ranges from 5% in Canada to 25% in Norway, where the US averages about 7.5% in sales tax. VAT is already inside the price index, but the income side is not.
Nothing here is tax advice. The US taxes its citizens on worldwide income, so moving does not end your filing obligation, and residency rules differ by country. Read the tax page in the relevant country guide, then confirm against that country's own tax authority, which each guide links, and talk to a cross-border accountant before you rely on a treaty position or the foreign earned income exclusion.
3. Healthcare out-of-pocket
Healthcare barely registers in a consumer price basket, and it is one of the biggest single swings in an American's budget when they move. Public systems usually require residence and contributions before they cover you, which leaves a gap of months at the start where you are buying private cover.Typical private cover across this dataset runs from about $58 a month in Sweden to $465 in Germany. None of that is in the index, and neither is the $777 a month that single employer coverage averages in the US, most of it paid by an employer you are about to leave.
Not medical or insurance advice. Coverage rules, waiting periods and what counts as a qualifying policy for a residence permit are set by each country and change; each country guide links its health authority so you can check the current position.
4. One-off moving costs
A monthly ratio hides everything you pay once: shipping or replacing your belongings, flights, visa and permit fees, document translation and apostilles, a rental deposit that is commonly two or three months, agency fees, and the overlap where you are paying US rent and foreign rent in the same month. These land in the first ninety days, which is exactly when your income is least settled. Price them separately from the monthly comparison; the visa page in each country guide carries the official fee for each route.
5. Currency risk
Every figure here is converted to US dollars at the rate used when the dataset was reviewed. If you earn dollars and spend euros, pesos or yen, the exchange rate moves your real cost of living without a single local price changing. A ten percent move against you undoes a ten percent price advantage. The index is a price-level comparison, not an exchange rate forecast, and it does not include the spread and fees you pay converting money each month.
6. The basket is a local one
Price levels are built from what people in that country typically buy. If you insist on American brands, imported groceries, a large car or an international school, you are buying the imported basket, not the local one, and your personal index will sit above the national figure. The people who land closest to the number in the calculator are the ones who shop and eat the way locals do.
How to use this before you move
Start from take-home, not gross
Enter what actually reaches your account each month after tax and deductions. Gross pay overstates the comparison by whatever your effective rate is, and the whole point of the exercise is spendable money.
Run it twice, with and without rent
The gap between the two results tells you how much of a country's advantage is housing. If a destination only looks cheap with rent included, your verdict depends entirely on landing a normal local lease, which is the part of a move you control least.
Replace the national rent figure with real listings
Take the centre and outside-centre rents as a starting range, then search actual listings in the specific city you have in mind and put that number back into your budget. This single step removes most of the error in the estimate.
Check the two lines that break the ratio
Tax and healthcare are where a price index stops being predictive, so read those pages in the country guide before you get attached to a number. For the country in the middle of this ranking that means the New Zealand tax guide and the New Zealand healthcare guide, which cover the residency trigger, the US filing obligation that follows you, and what cover costs before local insurance starts.
Shortlist two countries, then compare them side by side
Once the calculator has narrowed the field, the useful move is a direct comparison of the US against each finalist on cost, visas, tax and healthcare at once. Start with US vs Canada, or pick any pair from the comparison hub.
Read the full country guide before you file anything
The calculator ranks options. The country guide is where the actual decision gets made: which residence routes a US citizen can use, what they cost, how long they take, and what you owe the IRS afterwards.
Start with the destinations Americans research most
Ordered by US search demand for the move, not by price. Each guide carries the full cost breakdown, the residence routes a US citizen can use, the tax position and healthcare access.
Canada
9% cheaperCheaper rent and free hospitals, but you need a job offer
- 1-bed rent
- $1,433/mo
- Net salary
- $3,210/mo
- Visas
- 6
Ireland
Like the USUnbeatable with an Irish grandparent or a Dublin offer
- 1-bed rent
- $2,263/mo
- Net salary
- $4,059/mo
- Visas
- 8
Australia
Like the USBest with an employer sponsor or a skilled occupation
- 1-bed rent
- $1,675/mo
- Net salary
- $4,996/mo
- Visas
- 8
New Zealand
13% cheaperCheap healthcare and short commutes, for lower pay
- 1-bed rent
- $1,112/mo
- Net salary
- $3,392/mo
- Visas
- 8
Portugal
37% cheaperBest value in Western Europe if your income is in dollars
- 1-bed rent
- $1,200/mo
- Net salary
- $2,077/mo
- Visas
- 8
Spain
30% cheaperFor remote workers and retirees who meet the income tests
- 1-bed rent
- $1,390/mo
- Net salary
- $2,620/mo
- Visas
- 6
Cost of living comparison: common questions
What does a cost of living index of 100 mean?
Every index on this site is set against a US national average of 100. A country at 80 means the same basket of goods and services, rent included, costs roughly 20 percent less than the US average. A country at 115 means it costs roughly 15 percent more. The comparison is national average to national average, so it describes a country rather than any one city in it.
Should I compare with rent included or excluded?
Run it both ways. The headline index carries a rent weighting of about 30 percent, and unticking the box strips that weighting out and rescales what is left. If a country only looks cheap with rent included, the saving depends entirely on signing a normal local lease at the local market rate, which is the part of a move a newcomer controls least. If it stays cheap with rent excluded, the discount is in everyday spending and is much harder to lose.
Does the calculator account for taxes?
No. It works on the take-home number you type in and compares consumer price levels, not tax systems. Two countries with an identical price index can leave you with very different net pay once income tax, social contributions and VAT are applied. Each country guide has a tax page covering the residency rule, treaty position and headline rates. None of it is tax advice, and US citizens keep filing with the IRS wherever they live.
How much do I need to earn abroad to keep my current lifestyle?
Multiply your monthly take-home by the country's index and divide by 100. On a $5,000 US take-home, New Zealand at an index of 87 works out at about $4,350 a month for the same standard of living. That is a spending target, not a salary target: local income tax and social contributions sit on top of it, and this calculator does not model them.
Why is the rent figure lower than what I see on listing sites?
Rent here is a national market average for a one-bedroom apartment, and national averages sit well below capital-city asking prices. Across the 15 countries in this dataset a one-bedroom in the centre already averages 37 percent more than one outside it, and the gap between a capital and a provincial city is usually wider than that. Use the figure to rank countries, then price the specific city on local listing sites before you commit.
Is a cheaper country automatically the better move?
No, because local pay usually falls alongside local prices. Thailand has the lowest price index here at 32, and the average net salary there is $485 a month against $4,230 in the US. The arithmetic only works in your favor if your income does not fall with the prices, which is why remote workers, retirees and people relocated on a US contract get more out of these numbers than local hires do.
Sources and method
Price levels are built from official comparative price statistics rather than crowdsourced entries, reconciled per country and expressed against a US national average of 100. Price and earnings figures are reviewed quarterly; the dataset behind this tool was last reviewed September 4, 2026 and covers 15 countries. The US baseline used on this page, including $1,700 for a one-bedroom in the centre and $4,230 average monthly net pay, is reviewed alongside it. Each country page lists its own sources with the date each was accessed. Full methodology →