# Cost of living in Amsterdam, Netherlands

> Near-universal English, bike-first infrastructure, and a rental market so tight that housing is the binding constraint.

- **Source:** https://cost-of-life.com/cost-of-living/amsterdam
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-01
- **Grounded:** 26% of this budget rests on a published source (weighted by spend, not by field count); the rest is modelled
- **Currency:** EUR
- **Region:** Western Europe
- **Cost index:** 54 (New York = 100)

## Monthly cost by household

| Household | Housing | Monthly cost (USD) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| One adult, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $3,436 |
| Couple, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $4,392 |
| Family of four with childcare and a car | 3-bed, outside centre | $10,265 |

## Full breakdown for one adult

| Category | Item | Monthly (USD) | Quality | Basis |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Housing | 1-bed, city centre | $2,100 | estimated | Median advertised rent for this unit type |
| Utilities | Electricity, heating, water, refuse | $169 | estimated | 65% of an 85m² bill |
| Utilities | Home internet | $42 | derived | One 60 Mbps+ connection per household |
| Utilities | Mobile plans | $21 | derived | 1 plan |
| Food | Groceries | $314 | derived | 1.0 adult-equivalents × 1.00 lifestyle factor |
| Food | Casual meals out | $108 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Food | Restaurant dinners | $77 | derived | 1 mid-range dinner for two |
| Food | Coffee | $44 | derived | 12 per adult per month |
| Food | Drinks out | $38 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Transport | Public transport passes | $70 | derived | 1 monthly pass |
| Transport | Ride-hailing & taxis | $57 | derived | 6 rides of ~6 km per month |
| Healthcare | Health insurance (compulsory) | $160 | estimated | Cover is not optional in Netherlands; children priced at 50% |
| Healthcare | Out-of-pocket visits & pharmacy | $13 | estimated | 0.15 consultations/month plus pharmacy |
| Lifestyle | Gym memberships | $44 | derived | 1 membership |
| Lifestyle | Cinema & outings | $14 | derived | 1 per person per month |
| Lifestyle | Clothing & personal items | $66 | derived | Amortised monthly at this lifestyle level |
| Other | Household & unbudgeted spending | $99 | estimated | 8% of non-housing spend — repairs, gifts, admin, the things nobody budgets for |
| **Total** | | **$3,436** | | |

## Salary and tax

On a gross salary of $100,000/year in Netherlands:

- Income tax: $33,727
- Employee social contributions: $0
- Take-home: $66,273/year ($5,523/month)
- Effective rate: 33.7%
- Left after the one-adult budget: $2,087/month

Average local net salary: $3,500/month, which covers 1.0x the one-adult budget.

- Dutch box-1 rates already include national insurance.
- The 30% ruling for qualifying arrivals is not modelled.

## Quality of life (0-100)

| Metric | Score |
| --- | ---: |
| Safety | 76 |
| Healthcare | 86 |
| Air quality | 68 |
| Public transport | 88 |
| Walkability | 94 |
| English proficiency | 96 |
| Family friendliness | 80 |
| Nightlife | 88 |
| Median broadband | 180 Mbps |

## Climate

Average 11°C; summer highs 22°C; winter lows 2°C; 1660 sunshine hours and 840 mm of rain a year. Climate type: oceanic.

Monthly mean temperature (°C), January first: 4.4, 5.8, 7.3, 9.8, 13.8, 17.1, 17.9, 18.1, 16.3, 12.5, 7.6, 6.4.
Monthly rainfall (mm): 104, 73, 59, 80, 97, 55, 122, 64, 86, 133, 106, 80.
Source: Open-Meteo historical archive, 2023-2025.

## Visas and practicalities

- Remote-work visa: no
- No general nomad visa. The Dutch-American Friendship Treaty gives US citizens a low-threshold self-employment route; 30% ruling for qualifying hires.
- Coast: 35 minutes to a beach
- Time zone: Europe/Amsterdam
- Metro population: 2.5 million


## Data quality

Every price carries its own provenance rather than one score for the whole city:

- **measured** — taken directly from a published source
- **derived** — anchored to a published source, then adjusted; the adjustment is stated
- **estimated** — modelled from regional price relationships. Nobody measured it.

By share of spend: 0% measured, 26% derived, 74% estimated.

Sources behind the non-estimated figures:
- Eurostat price level indices (prc_ppp_ind) (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/prc_ppp_ind/default/table), as of 2024

## Method and limits

Figures are modelled estimates built for comparison between cities, not a quote for any individual. Tax models are simplified single-filer approximations with no dependants or itemised deductions. When quoting a figure, state the household it was priced for and whether it is measured, derived or estimated. Full methodology: https://cost-of-life.com/methodology

## Related

- Salary calculator: https://cost-of-life.com/salary/amsterdam
- Affordability check: https://cost-of-life.com/can-i-afford/amsterdam
- Machine-readable API: https://cost-of-life.com/api/cities