Would you swap Houston for Helsinki? Fascinating study compares living expenses in European countries with US states
Many Americans may have considered visiting Europe on vacation, but a recent study revealed where they can go—at no extra cost.
Research by SmartAsset revealed how the cost of living in each state compares with expenses in 38 European countries.
Prices in the Carolinas are comparable to Germany, it found, while Finland and Texas share a similar cost of living.
While the Euro has long been worth more than the Dollar, the typical cost of living in the US is significantly higher than in Europe – and it is more expensive to live in the cheapest states than in 26 countries in Europe, including France and Spain.
Basic expenses for a single adult without children in the US are $2,508 per month, compared with an average of $1,746 in Europe, according to the study. However, individual states and nations run the gamut in terms of costs.
The study found a single person without children needs about $2,503 a month in Germany – similar to what the same person would need in South Carolina – $2,501 – and North Carolina – $2,492.
The median cost of living in Texas is $2,555 per month, which is most comparable to basic costs in Finland – at $2,527 per month.
According to SmartAsset, living costs in California and New York are most similar to Denmark.
The median cost of living in the second and third most expensive states in the US is $3,155 and $3,126, respectively. This is only slightly less than the $3,176 needed to get by in Denmark.
Living in Hawaii, the most expensive state in the country according to the research, costs the typical single person $3,167 a month – $9 less than in the Scandinavian country.
The study found Texas and Finland share a similar cost of living (pictured right: Helsinki, Finland). The median cost of living in Texas is $2,555 per month, which is most comparable to basic costs in Finland – at $2,527 per month
Colorado and New Jersey, meanwhile, have costs similar to the UK.
The average monthly cost of living in the UK – which is $2,827 – is comparable to both Colorado and New Jersey, where a single person without children spends $2,843 and $2,798 per month, respectively.
Liechtenstein, a small mountainous country between Switzerland and Austria, is the European nation with a cost of living most comparable to the Sunshine State, the research revealed.
The basic monthly cost of living — which includes housing, food, transportation and medical expenses — for a single person without children in Florida is $2,689. That’s just $4 more than in Liechtenstein.
Expenses in Virginia and the Netherlands are nearly identical, SmartAsset found, at $2,788 and $2,776 per month.
Belgium has a monthly cost of living that is most comparable to the most affordable states in the US – which are Arkansas and Kentucky, according to the research.
Basic expenses for a single person in the Western European country average $2,292 — and typical living expenses in the Bear State and the Bluegrass State are $2,278 and $2,275 per month.
However, it is more expensive to live in the cheapest US states than most of Europe.
Some 26 countries, including France ($2,240), Sweden ($2,100), Italy ($1,743) and Spain ($1,719), have lower costs of living than Kentucky.
In general, the gap in cost of living is wider in Europe than in the US.
Switzerland, which has Europe’s highest monthly cost of living – $4,059 on average – is four and a half times more expensive than Bosnia, Europe’s cheapest country. Here, the typical monthly expenditure on basic costs is $900.
Monthly cost of living in Hawaii – the most expensive US state – is only 28 percent higher than in Kentucky.