Purchasing Power Parity · Switzerland
Cost of living in 🇨🇭 Switzerland vs the United States
Switzerland has a US-relative price level of 1.113 (US = 1.0) — about 11% more expensive than the United States. Reference year 2025.
What US salaries are worth in Switzerland
| US income | Feels like (US-equivalent) | Cost of a US lifestyle |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $44,924 | $55,650 |
| $80,000 | $71,878 | $89,040 |
| $120,000 | $107,817 | $133,560 |
| $180,000 | $161,725 | $200,340 |
| $250,000 | $224,618 | $278,250 |
“Feels like” = income ÷ price level; “cost of a US lifestyle” = income × price level. Try your own number in the interactive calculator.
How the sources compare
Each provider measures Switzerland's price level slightly differently; a tight spread means high confidence.
Consensus (median) 1.113 2025
World Bank — GDP 1.120 2025
IMF (WEO) 1.132 2025
OECD 1.120 2025
Penn World Table 1.008 2023
World Bank — Consumption 1.282 2025
Big Mac Index 1.454 2026
Eurostat (observed prices) 1.235 2024
Eurostat (GDP) 1.106 2024
Cost of living around the world
Every country shaded by its price level relative to the US (darker = more expensive). Switzerland is outlined.
Cheaper → pricier · click a country to open its page
Countries with a similar cost of living
- 🇳🇷 Nauru — price level 1.125
- 🇧🇧 Barbados — price level 1.095
- 🇮🇱 Israel — price level 1.088
- 🇮🇸 Iceland — price level 1.162
- 🇫🇲 Micronesia — price level 1.024
Relocating for work? See the fair salary from the US to Switzerland or use the Fair Pay Localizer.
Frequently asked questions
- How expensive is Switzerland compared to the United States?
- Switzerland has a price level of 1.113 relative to the US baseline of 1.0 (about 11% more expensive than the United States), based on the median of independent votes from the World Bank/IMF (one vote — both use the official exchange rate), the Eurostat-OECD PPP programme and the Penn World Table, reference year 2025.
- What is a $100,000 salary worth in Switzerland?
- In purchasing-power terms, $100,000 stretches to about $89,847 of US-equivalent lifestyle in Switzerland; conversely, sustaining a $100,000 US lifestyle there costs about $111,300.
- Where does the Switzerland cost-of-living data come from?
- Real price-level figures from the World Bank, IMF World Economic Outlook, OECD, Eurostat and Penn World Table, blended as a per-country median of independent votes and refreshed at build time.