Switzerland vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Switzerland United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2846
$2498
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$7289
$5861
🏠 One person rent
$1596
$1595
🏘️ Family rent
$2929
$2818
🍽️ Food expenses
$872
$638
🚐 Transport expenses
$130
$100
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$6611
$4485
💸 GDP per capita
$99565
$82769
😃 Human freedom index
9.14
8.64
❤️ Life expectancy
83.5
77.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
81
65
🌐 English speaking %
61.3%
95.3%
🎓 Higher education
99
100
😀 Quality of life
100
86
🏙️ Population
8.9M
340M

The average cost of living in Switzerland ($2846) is 14% more expensive than in the United States ($2498). Switzerland ranked 4th vs 7th for the United States in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.3 months in Switzerland compared to 1.8 months in the United States. Ranked 1st and 21st best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Switzerland vs United States infographic

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Prices in Switzerland vs the United States

We calculate prices for Switzerland and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 50 and 2202 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Switzerland United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$26.8
$19.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$114
$77.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$16.9
$11
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.13
$6.27
 Cappuccino
$5.71
$5.22
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$4.86
$2.59
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1637
$1640
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1333
$1347
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3162
$2923
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2517
$2471
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$150
$124
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$231
$190
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$52.3
$66.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
2.41%
6.52%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$15526
$4583
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8758
$3784
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$4.02
$2.35
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$91.5
$68.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$39.9
$18
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$2.01
$0.96
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.96
$1.1
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.22
$3.59
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.72
$4.49
🥚 Eggs, x12
$7.03
$4.15
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$24.1
$13.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$25.5
$11.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$42.9
$16.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.52
$5.15
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.19
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.72
$4.54
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.41
$4.63
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.53
$2.84
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.24
$2.86
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.8
$1.48
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.07
$2.64
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.9
$14.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.29
$2.21
🚬 Cigarette pack
$9.9
$10.6
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$18.3
$9.47
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.34
$5.83
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.03
$4.44
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$4.07
$2.13
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$83.6
$48.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$21.2
$14.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$134
$125
💇 Haircut, simple
$44.7
$21.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$117
$53.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$139
$90
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2492
$1451
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$28537
$21164

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cities Comparison in Switzerland vs the United States

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Switzerland

City Cost of living Population
Zurich
$3296
449K
Geneva
$3195
204K
Basel
$2643
174K
Lausanne
$2732
141K
Bern
$2381
135K
Winterthur
$3032
110K
Lucerne
$2931
81.7K
St. Gallen
$2464
75.8K
Biel/Bienne
$2331
55.2K
Lugano
$2507
63.2K
Koniz
$2457
41.8K
Thun
$2481
43.7K
Zug
$3426
31.5K
Altstetten
$3037
36.3K
Schaffhausen
$2419
36.6K
Uster
$2974
36.8K
Vernier
$3017
34.8K
Bellinzona
$2853
43.8K
Chur
$2344
35.4K
Fribourg
$2470
38.4K
Lancy
$2970
31.9K
Neuchatel
$2308
33.5K
Dubendorf
$2988
28K
Sion
$1950
34.7K
Montreux
$3088
26K
Emmen
$2897
29.3K
La Chaux-de-Fonds
$2287
39K
Riehen
$3234
21.9K
Rapperswil-Jona
$2861
27K
Kriens
$2891
27K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4441
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3196
3.9M
Chicago
$2678
2.75M
Houston
$2265
2.3M
San Diego
$3428
1.39M
Phoenix
$2395
1.61M
Philadelphia
$2597
1.6M
San Francisco
$3905
874K
Dallas
$2471
1.3M
San Jose
$3810
1.01M
San Antonio
$2033
1.43M
Austin
$2455
962K
Seattle
$3015
737K
Indianapolis
$2189
888K
Washington
$3149
690K
Fort Worth
$2289
919K
Hempstead
$2664
793K
Charlotte
$2528
875K
Boston
$3547
676K
Jacksonville
$2364
950K
Denver
$2717
716K
Columbus
$2145
906K
Portland
$2629
653K
Nashville
$2508
689K
Atlanta
$2570
499K
Las Vegas
$2271
642K
Oklahoma City
$1832
681K
Baltimore
$2287
586K
Oakland
$2968
441K
Sacramento
$2813
525K