$225,000 in Austin ≈ €279,909 in Amsterdam
Software engineer pay: Austin vs Amsterdam
Equivalence is solved so household net cash matches across both cities, with taxes, housing, childcare, healthcare, food, and travel all included.
The bottom line
- →$225,000 in Austin leaves about the same net cash as €279,909 in Amsterdam for this scenario, after real taxes and living costs.
- →Taxes take 23.2% of gross in Austin versus 43.9% in Amsterdam.
- →The biggest non-cash swing: 20 more vacation days per year in Amsterdam.
Where each paycheck goes
Every unit of gross, split four ways. Same net cash, very different shape.
Full Breakdown
| Category | Austin | Amsterdam | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $225,000 | €279,909 ($324,345) | Equivalent |
| Income + payroll tax | −$52,261 (23.2%) | −€122,894 (43.9%) | A touch higher |
| Housing (rent) | −$21,384 1 bed listings typically $1,189 to $1,798 | −€26,106 1 bed listings typically €1,558 to €2,356 | ~41% more |
| Healthcare (household) | −$3,610 | −€2,480 | ~20% less |
| Food & groceries | −$8,486 | −€6,573 | ~10% less |
| Transit | −$492 | −€1,200 | ~183% more |
| Discretionary spending | −$2,480 | −€2,400 | ~12% more |
| Travel home | −$300 | −€900 | ~248% more |
| Net cash kept | $135,988 | €117,357 | Equal in real terms |
Live in either city? Flag any number that looks off.
Computed at the city-median tech-worker salary, Austin (a senior software engineer). Each figure is in the city's local currency, from the same engine as the calculator; sources are cited per row there.
What changes beyond the money
- Statutory vacation days~0 → ~20
- Total paid days off, typical year~11 → ~27.6
- Paid parental leave0 wks → 9 wks
- Healthcare systemEmployer / private → Employer / private
These numbers use one scenario's assumptions. Plug in your own salary, family size, and lifestyle.
Open the interactive calculator to run your own →No signup. Your salary stays in your browser, and we never see it.
An interactive calculator, set to this comparison to start. Paste it where you want the widget, and keep the link under it in place; it is what keeps the widget free to use.
Moving from Austin to Amsterdam for a software engineer
$225,000 in Austin requires €279,909 in Amsterdam to match on household net cash. The gap is real, but it is smaller than the nominal numbers suggest once taxes run their course. Progressive brackets compress the after-tax difference faster than a compensation benchmarking site would lead you to believe, because those sites show gross and stop there.
The effective tax rate goes from 23.2% in Austin to 43.9% in Amsterdam. That 20.7-point jump is what the equivalence solver is working against when it finds the matching gross salary.
Unvested equity changes this calculation entirely. RSU value is not modeled in the defaults above, but if you are mid-cycle at your current employer, leaving means forfeiting grants you have already been working toward, and that difference can be larger than the annual take-home delta that drove the comparison in the first place. The Advanced section's "RSU / stock annual value" field is where you plug that number in. Equity-heavy comp favors lower-tax cities at vesting; the after-tax discount gets larger the bigger the grant.
Both cities require private health insurance. Austin runs $3,610; Amsterdam runs €2,480.
Amsterdam engineers get 20 vacation days per year. Austin averages 0. That 20-day gap is real money at a senior IC's daily rate, and it does not show up on the offer letter.
No kids, employer healthcare, and a single high-bracket income: this is the configuration that makes Austin look best in a head-to-head comparison. It is also the configuration most likely to change. The family scenario page (linked below) models what shifts once childcare and a second earner enter the picture.
Who comes out ahead
You keep 60% of gross there versus 42%. Housing drives most of that gap.
You also get more paid leave on top of the money math in Amsterdam. Run the family scenario to see it.
Amsterdam gives you 17 more paid days off in a typical year and 9 more weeks of paid leave, none of which shows on an offer letter.
Common questions
How much do you need to earn in Amsterdam to match a $225,000 salary in Austin?
About €279,909. cityparity solves for the Amsterdam gross salary whose net cash (after taxes, housing, childcare, healthcare, and the rest) equals what you keep in Austin. It's an equivalence, not a raw conversion.
Is healthcare free in Amsterdam?
Amsterdam does not have universal healthcare, so out-of-pocket costs are modeled the same way as in Austin.
How much vacation and parental leave do you get in Amsterdam?
Amsterdam has 31 statutory paid days off a year (vacation plus public holidays) and 40 weeks of parental leave. There is no substitute-day rule, so holidays that land on a weekend are lost and a typical year works out at about 27 days. cityparity compares cities on the typical figure and keeps the statutory one as the underlying fact.
Actually looking to move?
The steps this move actually takes, in the order they happen.
Sort the work permit. Most hires arrive as highly skilled migrants, and only an IND-recognised sponsor employer can file for you. Everything below waits on it.How permits work
Land the offer. €279,909 is your walk-away floor. Our negotiation guide turns it into an anchor, the scripts to hold it, and the trades to make when the base is capped.Get the scripts
Get moving quotes. Once the contract is signed, price the move itself. ReloAdvisor collects quotes for shipping and short-term housing on the Amsterdam end.Get quotes
Move the money. The deposit on a Amsterdam flat is usually due before you have a local account. Wise converts USD to EUR at the mid-market rate.Compare rates
Cover the health insurance. Most arrivals hit a gap between leaving one health system and joining the next. Allianz Care quotes interim cover for it.Get a quote
Plan the tax filing. A US passport keeps the IRS in your life in Amsterdam, on top of whatever Netherlands wants. Taxes for Expats files the US side for Americans abroad: the exclusion, the foreign tax credit, and the catch-up program if you are already behind.Get a quote
Some links in this list pay cityparity a commission. The order follows the journey, and the comparison above never depends on it. How affiliate links work
Run your own numbers in the interactive calculator →