# Cost of living in Rome, Italy

> Low food and coffee costs against slow bureaucracy and the weakest public transport of any major Western capital.

- **Source:** https://cost-of-life.com/cost-of-living/rome
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-01
- **Grounded:** 29% 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:** 36 (New York = 100)

## Monthly cost by household

| Household | Housing | Monthly cost (USD) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| One adult, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $2,314 |
| Couple, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $3,060 |
| Family of four with childcare and a car | 3-bed, outside centre | $5,527 |

## Full breakdown for one adult

| Category | Item | Monthly (USD) | Quality | Basis |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Housing | 1-bed, city centre | $1,250 | estimated | Median advertised rent for this unit type |
| Utilities | Electricity, heating, water, refuse | $130 | estimated | 65% of an 85m² bill |
| Utilities | Home internet | $27 | derived | One 60 Mbps+ connection per household |
| Utilities | Mobile plans | $13 | derived | 1 plan |
| Food | Groceries | $326 | derived | 1.0 adult-equivalents × 1.00 lifestyle factor |
| Food | Casual meals out | $108 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Food | Restaurant dinners | $82 | derived | 1 mid-range dinner for two |
| Food | Coffee | $21 | derived | 12 per adult per month |
| Food | Drinks out | $35 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Transport | Public transport passes | $38 | estimated | 1 monthly pass |
| Transport | Ride-hailing & taxis | $47 | estimated | 6 rides of ~6 km per month |
| Healthcare | Out-of-pocket visits & pharmacy | $32 | estimated | 0.40 consultations/month plus pharmacy |
| Lifestyle | Gym memberships | $46 | derived | 1 membership |
| Lifestyle | Cinema & outings | $8.35 | derived | 1 per person per month |
| Lifestyle | Clothing & personal items | $72 | estimated | Amortised monthly at this lifestyle level |
| Other | Household & unbudgeted spending | $79 | estimated | 8% of non-housing spend — repairs, gifts, admin, the things nobody budgets for |
| **Total** | | **$2,314** | | |

## Salary and tax

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

- Income tax: $34,755
- Employee social contributions: $11,190
- Take-home: $54,055/year ($4,505/month)
- Effective rate: 45.9%
- Left after the one-adult budget: $2,191/month

Average local net salary: $1,750/month, which covers 0.8x the one-adult budget.

- Employment tax credits are not modelled and will lower the real figure at low incomes.

## Quality of life (0-100)

| Metric | Score |
| --- | ---: |
| Safety | 64 |
| Healthcare | 80 |
| Air quality | 58 |
| Public transport | 66 |
| Walkability | 84 |
| English proficiency | 44 |
| Family friendliness | 74 |
| Nightlife | 84 |
| Median broadband | 110 Mbps |

## Climate

Average 16°C; summer highs 31°C; winter lows 4°C; 2470 sunshine hours and 800 mm of rain a year. Climate type: mediterranean.

Monthly mean temperature (°C), January first: 9.2, 9.4, 12.2, 14.3, 18.1, 24.4, 27.7, 27.1, 22.3, 18.6, 12.8, 9.1.
Monthly rainfall (mm): 72, 74, 119, 64, 115, 48, 21, 57, 106, 106, 98, 62.
Source: Open-Meteo historical archive, 2023-2025.

## Visas and practicalities

- Remote-work visa: yes
- Digital-nomad visa for highly-skilled remote workers; impatriate tax relief may apply.
- Coast: 45 minutes to a beach
- Time zone: Europe/Rome
- Metro population: 4.3 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, 29% derived, 71% 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/rome
- Affordability check: https://cost-of-life.com/can-i-afford/rome
- Machine-readable API: https://cost-of-life.com/api/cities