This is a cache of https://digg.com/data-viz/link/cost-of-living-us-states-european-countries-compared-mapped-qL9sShYEEr. It is a snapshot of the page at 2024-10-25T01:18:56.141+0000.
The Cost Of Living In US States Compared To European Countries, Mapped | Digg

across the pond

The Cost Of Living In US States Compared To European Countries, Mapped

The Cost Of Living In US States Compared To European Countries, Mapped
Virginia and the Netherlands are almost identical when it comes to the basic monthly costs for a single adult.
· 422.6k reads ·
· ·

Though inflation is cooling across the US, the cost of living is still a source of considerable stress for Americans, with 67 percent of workers saying the price of everyday goods and services is outpacing the growth of their earnings. But have you ever wondered how different, or similar, things are across the pond?

To illustrate how the cost of living in America compares to Europe, SmartAsset analyzed the basic monthly costs for a single adult across the 50 US states and 38 European countries in 2023. The below map shows which country in Europe each state most closely resembles when it comes to the cost of living.


Key Findings:

  • The cost of living gap is wider between European countries than US states. The median cost of living in the US ($2,508) might be higher than in Europe ($1,746), but the gulf between the most expensive and most affordable European countries is bigger.

  • Switzerland, home to Europe’s highest monthly cost of living ($4,059), is 4.5 times pricier than the continent's least expensive country, Bosnia ($900). In the US, the state with the highest cost of living is Hawaii ($3,167), while the most affordable state is Kentucky ($2,275).

  • Living costs are more in the cheapest US states than in most of Europe. Though Kentucky is the least expensive place to live in the US, 26 European countries — including France ($2,240), Sweden ($2,100), Italy ($1,743) and Spain ($1,719) — are all more affordable.

  • The Carolinas are most similar to Germany when it comes to the basic living costs of a single person. A single German with no kids needs around $2,503 a month to get by, which isn't far off South Carolina's $2,501 and North Carolina's $2,492.

  • The cost of living in both California and New York is closest to Denmark. The median costs for a Californian and New Yorker are $3,155 and $3,126, respectively, while Denmark is ever so slightly more expensive at $3,176.

  • Living in Colorado and New Jersey costs a similar amount to the UK. A single Brit with no children can live on a median of $2,827 per month, and the same person would spend $2,843 in Colorado and $2,798 in New Jersey.

  • Virginia and the Netherlands are almost identical when it comes to basic monthly living costs. The median cost of living in Virginia is $2,788, while the Netherlands costs just a fraction less at $2,776.




Via SmartAsset.

Comments

  1. John Pratt 11 months ago

    They should not be comparing states to countries or to each other. Look at all the states equal to Norway. Those states are vastly different from each other in terms of infrastructure, healthcare, politics, services, urban/rural population, natural resources, security, education, job opportunities, and other demographics. I don’t see a point here. It doesn’t sway a decision one way or the other.

    1. John Pratt 11 months ago

      To the point: Alaska and Rhode Island are equated to Norway ?!?!?

  2. Olivier Lan 11 months ago

    the comparison between europe and the us is very interesting, and we can observe that the american states compare themselves to the richest european countries.

  3. As cost of living goes up, wages don't follow a similar trend. Something needs to be done and soon!

  4. Hmm, it's fascinating to see this breakdown of the cost of living in the US compared to Europe in 2023. It's clear that despite fluctuations in inflation, Americans are still grappling with the rising costs of everyday expenses. The disparity in living costs within Europe itself is quite striking, with Switzerland standing out as a particularly expensive destination. It's intriguing to note that some US states, like Kentucky, are actually more affordable than a significant number of European countries. And the fact that certain states resemble specific European countries in terms of living costs, like the Carolinas mirroring Germany, adds an interesting dimension to the comparison. It's definitely an eye-opener! 💰🌍

  5. Judy Evancic 1 year ago

    The problem as I see it was the President giving our manufacturing to other countries and the quality of our products diminished . The middle class families began to disappoint very quickly because the new top management style was being given huge salaries, bonuses and severance packages. All the profits were going to the top of the business pyramid. You cannot keep a healthy economy going without a good solid middle class society. Business 101 and the Networking of Business told the Government leaders that they couldn’t compete. Clinton sold out the country so our runaway debt was 0 so he looked good leaving and trying to improve his legacy after his huge scandalous behavior with an intern in the White House. But lousy behavior doesn’t matter in our society means nothing to most people anymore it seems.

  6. antoniio caluso 1 year ago

    Unlike the Monetary Matters portrayed in this (admit it) interesting Article, the USA's WORST "dilemma" is the SPLINTERING of Familial Ties. Old Folks seem to all retire to Florida or Arizona, leaving their support network built over decades. Moving to expensive Places, and leaving their Kin without the Wisdom of Elders, to help in Life. You laff. Yet, its the much-more UNITED FAMILY structure of European Countries (and Asian,....) that provides a "hidden" resource for attaining a better Human Community!! After WWII, the "retire-to-sunshine" mania has totally-harmed "normal" human family structure. Long-time South Floridian here, and to see all the old folks, many still vital and strong, just...talking to others like themselves, and pickleball!?? For centuries, those Elders would be sharing in their grandchildren's antics & education; in helping their children's domestic upkeep. And engaging with their established world of acquaintances. Its a win:win:win. Comparatively, Europeans, et al, retain that 3-generation family structure, which DOES strengthen the Monetary position of a small group. Who needs Banks for Mortgages, when the family's combined "treasure" can suffice? Yes, there IS more than Monetary Matters in "grading" a Country's True Net Worth. A strong Family Structure HAS to be one of the determinants, though! Tip: old folks die young, after the "retire" to a life of little!! Stay...young :-) (73me)))

  7. B Q 1 year ago

    To the people who is talking about healthcare from Europe!!!
    I was from Europe and is no doctors and I had to pay from my pocket for a better healthcare. They don’t give X-rays to patients, MRI etc etc because it costs a lot money to the country. Patients die waiting for a surgery,an appointment etc etc. I lost my father because the doctors never told him he had cancer or even do a surgery. He paid cash to have it and was too late. I’m an American citizen and I prefer to have insurance than a free healthcare from Portugal. My opinion. Going to a dentist is the same. No insurance in Portugal and people have to pay full price for everything.
    I love Europe but not the healthcare.

    1. Jill Johnson 1 year ago

      This is a lie.^^^^^🤣🤣🤣

  8. Samson Silva 1 year ago

    Your wealth and personal standard of living is tied to your mindset.

  9. shantalynn 1 year ago

    Am I the only person who sees an outright error in the following extracted sentence? What is the correct state of affairs here? Because this claim is just wrong on its own terms. Did you reverse the amounts or what? "The median cost of living in Virginia is $2,788, while the Netherlands costs just a fraction more at $2,776." Last I checked, 88 is more than 76. The first 2 digits are the same... how bad at math am I?

  10. Derrick Payne 1 year ago

    Uggg what utter retorik..
    I have travelled through central and south America, most of Europe, the middle east, the Caribbean, much of North America. Uggg why is it always about money with Americans????
    The US has a shitty medical system where you are broke or dead if you need heavy care...in fact the only Western country that does not have a national health care system.
    The landscape in the US is a blight, ugly actually with endless strip malls highways through Yosemite for crying out loud. It also has the dubious distinction of capitalizing on the highest deaths per capita by gunshots.

    Resources are not equitably shared with 50 people controlling most of the wealth, capitalism is not sustainable and has been collapsing since trickle down economics was instituted by nixon and Reagan and continues to decline annually at an accelerated rate.

    How many of you have actually gotten off your asses and travelled through Europe? Most derive opinions from watching television.

    The US system is collapsing and it will drag much of the world down with through greed and power mungering.

    ....travel+educate+debate with factual accountability...Opinions are like assholes everyone has one.

    The only single reason people move here is to rape the country for money and wire it home.

  11. Travis Abernathy 1 year ago

    Life in Europe is pretty meager. I have no idea why some Americans romanticize Europe. The average American household has 25k or over 2k USD monthly in purchasing power than the average household in the entire EU. Europeans are poor. Low salaries, high taxes, 7 dollar a gallon gasoline, small compact cars, small and awful living accomodations with dorm room appliances, 20 to 25% VAT etc . It's miserable to make a life in Europe if you come from an American middle class lifestyle. There is no disposable income to enjoy life and you will never own property.

    1. B Q 1 year ago

      True!!!

  12. Norman Harrison 1 year ago

    Why does it matter

  13. Nino Fernandez 1 year ago

    Does income figure into the equation at all? $2275 is much harder to come by in Kentucky than $2656 in Connecticut.

  14. M 1 year ago

    I agree with others that it’s difficult to compare based on cost of living alone. Transportation is less, the ability to travel within Europe on efficient trains is less. Universal healthcare where there is no insurance as government runs the healthcare system is beneficial to its citizens.

    1. Nino Fernandez 1 year ago

      Even if you pay full price in Europe for healthcare, you pay much less than you do in America with insurance.

      1. B Q 1 year ago

        But is no money for that. A 300 euros retirement or less doesn’t help anyone. Minimum wage in Portugal is less than 900 euros. Not everyone has thousands for a dental implant or even for a cleaning for example. The majority have bad teeth because that.

  15. Jay B 1 year ago

    Men lie women lie and so do the numbers! $3200 in New York where?

  16. Jessica Allan 1 year ago

    This is EXTREMELY misleading. For example lifestyle differences are not taken in to context. Many of these more affordable European countries also have different home situations. For example, in the US, many people opt to live in suburbs, which means they have to rely on their own mode of transportation. American citizens have the luxury of owning a private pool, a large backyard, and many other things that are not addressed in this article. For example, in many of the countries listed as affordability people do not have large backyards or backyards at all. They utilize public spaces such as parks and walk to most places. A lot of the countries do not own more than one car per family. That alone increases expenses. Many but not all families use public transportation and walk to and from the grocery store. Also cutting back on gas prices. Comparing apples to oranges and then saying they're seeing is a huge disservice. If you want accurate information, you would have to compare suburb living to suburb living vs city living to city living not a broad brush and then say it's the same thing. I have lived in California, Hawaii, Michigan and Ohio. The style of living greatly impacted my cost of living. This article is more like an organized google article without real explanation.

    1. Talib Mustafa 1 year ago

      Having traveled over 40 nations and moved abroad (including living in Europe), in my estimation, this article is fairly accurate. However, like Africa, Europe is not a monolith and an entire continent can't be generalized. Most European countries have far superior transportation infrastructures and depending upon distance, the cost can be identical to what you pay in the US, particularly as US gas prices are often less than EU countries. A significant disparity is cost of healthcare, in which EU states pay far less than Americans, including premiums and meds. In virtually every metric, the EU is a better place to live than the US, and from personal experience I agree.

  17. Post Indie rock 1 year ago

    Quality of life is also far superior in Western Europe compared to the USA. Better infrastructure, better public transit, more green spaces with better walkability in cities compared to most US cities, with less urban sprawl. And so on.

  18. Michael Keys 1 year ago

    The cost of living in Hawaii is questionable. My friends there, tell me there's nothing for rent under $2500 a month and everything is far more expensive than on the mainland.

  19. Robert Barbosa 1 year ago

    The thing is that in these last 40 years the sheer greed for profits put the companies into an speculation rally pushing up the price of petrol and else. Also the need to boost Military Defense and the Space Program require everybody to cover for all of this. It is about time to rethink all the Economy before we have a global crush when there is no winner on that. Rbt. B. 🗽💲💲💲💵💶💷💸💳

    1. Talib Mustafa 1 year ago

      The US has always had a hypercapitalist system, with its profits over people paradigm. I left 20 years ago
      It was worse before Roosevelt placed restrictions on monopolies. Consider how businesses handled how union organizations were brutally beaten and killed by corporations' hired goons, more than 70% of legislations are sponsored by lobbyists, the US is the only developed nation which doesn't offer guaranteed paid sick, vacation, or maternity/paternity leave for citizens, Unemployment Insurance are paid by employers. So, guess who impacts Unemployment benefits rights? Then there's healthcare, which Americans pay over $10 billion more than the next most expensive nation, is the only developed nation without universal healthcare, Americans have the worst mortality rates for DN, and the US healthcare rankings are the lowest among DN. These issues are easily remedied, but corporate profits are the more valuable.

  20. USA should add also the cost of living in Puerto Rico. The abuse goes beyond the limits. Instead of wasting money in wars. Let us Americans citizens take care of America. Give Puerto Rico the statehood and let move on.

  21. William Knopic 1 year ago

    I'm a senior and remember when things in this country was affordable. My mother would give me a quarter and I'd come home with a bag full of candy. A house payment per month was $72.
    I bought my first brand new car with all the bells and whistles. With tax and taxes it was $2300 out the door. A lass bottle of pop in a was 5 cents. There was no plastic bottle then. Those were the good old days. Big candy bars were 5 cents. You could feed a family of 4 a very good meal at a restaurant for $5. This country and the world sure went to Hell in a hand basket. And anyone my age witnessed it. That is a fact.

    1. Steven 1 year ago

      Since you have a good memory for these things, would you also happen to remember the amount of your first paycheck, back in the good old days? Or your father’s paycheck back in the times of dime store candy? Or a semester’s tuition at the local college?

    2. Robert Barbosa 1 year ago

      Well said Mr. Bill Knopic. And Thanks for recalling how good those days were and less stressful than these days. Have a great week pal. Rbt. B.

      1. Steven 1 year ago

        There was plenty to be stressful about back then, there just weren’t any 24/7 news channels and social media to keep reminding you of that fact.

  22. natie wells 1 year ago

    There's alot of factors that's not accounted for In cost of living in this article. First off is healthcare expenses, which is often $0 for European citizens, as the EU has provides universal healthcare. However, even as a non citizen, healthcare prices are generally at least half of healthcare pricing in America, even without insurance. Also, While Switzerland has a very high cost of living median, it also has a very high wage earning, with the average wage being close to $80,000 a year. In Hawaii, the average earning is around 50,000. So sure, you're paying $1,000 more in Switzerland, but you're also getting paid close to 50% less in Hawaii. That can be said for most of Western Europe compared to the U.S: the wage gap between cost of living and overall earnings tends to be much higher in the U.S: Minimum wage laws also are much lower than many countries in Western Europe. ( Ex. U.K national minumum wage is $12 versus U.S national minumum wage if $7.42( varying by state of course). All the factors play a huge part in calculating the overall quality/affordability of living.

    1. Talib Mustafa 1 year ago

      I concur. I've traveled over 40 nations and moved abroad 20 years ago. The primary issue as to the US being inferior to most EU nations is due to the US hypercapitalist-profits over people system. EU citizens alao have a higher quality of life. The US is the only developed nation which doesn't afford its citizens guaranteed paid sick, vacation, and maternity/paternity leave or healthcare. American families pay between $400-$1500/month, and that's not including premiums and co-pays. In return, Americans have the worst mortality rates, medical malpractice is the 3rd Leading Cause of Death, the healthcare system consistently ranks at the bottom, and they relinquish control of their health and lives to corporations. So, why even have health insurance? It's a matter of pay and hopefully live to pay. I can go on...

    2. Woody Russ 1 year ago

      As Natie outlined, this article is the kind of palliative, misinforming statistical nonsense that sidelines Americans into accepting their burdensome taxation without much to show for it.


Cut Through The Chaos With Digg Edition

Sign up for Digg's daily morning newsletter to get the most interesting stories. Sent every morning.