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Milan
#122 of 124
Europe

Milan

Italy

Salary & Cost of Living

View purchasing power ranking

How do salaries and expenses in Milan compare to New York?

Purchasing Power Comparison

An engineer in Milan is 64% worse off vs in New York

This shows how far a software engineer's salary goes in Milan compared to New York, taking into account both salary differences and cost of living.

Median Salary
$43,313
-$154K (-78%) vs New York
Based on 439 data points from levels.fyi
Net Salary
$27,027
-$102K (-79%) vs New York
Tax Rate: 38%

Community Insights

New
5.2/10

Milan presents a polarizing choice for software engineers. On one hand, it offers the seductive "Dolce Vita" lifestyle with incredible food, social vibrancy, and travel opportunities that are hard to match. On the other, the financial trade-off is severe: local salaries are stagnant while rents rival those of much wealthier cities, resulting in one of the lowest purchasing power rankings for tech workers in Europe. The city is the indisputable tech capital of Italy, offering career growth within the country, but it struggles to compete internationally on compensation. Residents often accept the "Milanese tax"—lower savings and dealing with heavy pollution and bureaucracy—in exchange for the cultural richness and dynamism of the city.

The Good

Living Environment

Weather•Safety•Pollution•Events

A quick look at climate, safety, pollution, and tech community compared to New York.

Rankings

Comfortable Weather

Middle of the pack

#47

of 124 cities

48/100 weather score

Current value

Community Events

Middle of the pack

#47

of 124 cities

9 events on luma

Current value

Cost of Living

Bottom 32%

#85

of 124 cities

59/100

Current value (lower is better)

Housing Affordability

View affordability ranking

How affordable is housing for a software engineer in Milan compared to New York?

Avg. Property Price
$8,105 / m²
33% cheaper than New York
View detailed property prices on Numbeo

Salary Converter

Enter your annual gross salary (before taxes) to see what you would need to earn in Milan to maintain the same standard of living.

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Cost of Living
41% cheaper than New York
View detailed cost breakdown on Numbeo

Top Paying Companies in Milan

Amazon logo
Amazon
Red Hat logo
Red Hat
NearForm logo
NearForm
Lifestyle & Culture: Unbeatable access to world-class food, the famous aperitivo culture, and a vibrant social scene that many find superior to Northern Europe.
  • Strategic Location: Excellent connectivity via high-speed trains to Rome, Florence, and Venice, plus close proximity to the Alps and lakes (Como, Garda) for weekend getaways.
  • Public Transport: A comprehensive and generally reliable network of metros, trams, and buses makes living without a car entirely feasible.
  • Tech Hub of Italy: As the country's economic engine, it offers the highest density of tech jobs, startups (especially in fintech and fashion-tech), and networking events in Italy.
  • Fashion & Design: Living in a global capital for design creates a unique, stylish atmosphere with constant events like Design Week that energize the city.

    • The Bad

    • Low Purchasing Power: Salaries for software engineers are significantly lower than in other European hubs (like Berlin or Amsterdam) while the cost of living remains high, leading to a poor savings rate.
    • Housing Crisis: Finding an apartment is described as a "nightmare" with sky-high rents relative to income, fierce competition, and many old buildings lacking modern amenities.
    • Air Pollution: Consistently ranked as having some of the worst air quality in Western Europe due to its geography in the Po Valley, which is a major health concern for residents.
    • Bureaucracy: Dealing with Italian administration (permits, taxes, rental contracts) is notoriously slow, complex, and disorganized, often requiring professional help.
    • Weather Extremes: Summers are described as scorching hot and humid (with mosquitoes), while winters can be gray, foggy, and smoggy.

    Moving Here

    Moderate

    Relocation is a mixed bag. For EU citizens, it is legally straightforward but practically annoying due to the bureaucratic hurdles of registering residency and getting tax codes (Codice Fiscale). For Non-EU citizens, the process is significantly harder with complex work visa quotas (Decreto Flussi), though the new Digital Nomad Visa is opening doors. The language barrier is a real friction point; while English works in tech offices, Italian is virtually mandatory for dealing with landlords, government offices, and daily life. The expat community is large and active, providing a good support network.

    Who Is This City For?

    Lifestyle-driven engineers who prioritize culture, food, and social life over maximizing savings, as well as remote workers with foreign salaries who can enjoy the city without the local wage constraints. It is generally ill-suited for junior developers supporting a family or those strictly focused on financial independence (FIRE), as the savings potential is very low.

    Updated 1/20/2026

    Weather4.8/10-27% vs New York
    Safety46-6%
    Pollution68+17%
    Events9-84%
    4.8/10TechCities weather score vs 6.6/10 in New York

    0–10 composite (higher is better) combining temperature comfort, sunshine hours, rainy-day count, and humid days. See methodology for weighting and data sources.

    Weather snapshot

    Average High
    18°C(vs 17°C in New York)
    Average Low
    9°C(same as New York)
    Sunshine Hours
    1,915h/yr-620h/yr(-24%)
    Hottest Month High
    29°C(same as New York)
    Coldest Month Low
    -1°C(vs -2°C in New York)
    Rainy Days
    86/yr-8/yr(-8%)

    Community & Quality

    Milan community pulse

    Milan has 9 Luma events listed.

    84% fewer events than New York.

    Safety Index

    Bottom 28%

    #90

    of 124 cities

    46/100

    Current value

    Net Income

    Bottom 21%

    #99

    of 124 cities

    $27,027/yr

    Current value

    Tax Rate

    Bottom 21%

    #99

    of 124 cities

    38%

    Current value (lower is better)

    Pollution Score

    Bottom 20%

    #100

    of 124 cities

    68.1/100

    Current value (lower is better)

    Home Affordability

    Bottom 7%

    #117

    of 124 cities

    ≈24 yrs to buy 80m²

    Current value

    Purchasing Power

    Bottom 3%

    #122

    of 124 cities

    SWE Affordability
    24.0 years
    16.5 years longer than New York
    Muggy Days
    34/yr-11/yr(-25%)
    Cloud Cover
    43%(vs 46% in New York)