$280,000 in Austin ≈ €276,830 in Madrid
Moving to Madrid from Austin with a family
Equivalence is solved so household net cash matches across both cities, with taxes, housing, childcare, healthcare, food, and travel all included.
What changes: Austin → Madrid
- ▴ 7 more vacation days per year in Madrid (statutory)
- ▴ 16 more paid parental-leave weeks (16 vs 0)
- ▴ Universal healthcare in Madrid (no premium / minimal OOP)
- ▴ Childcare drops ~$24k/yr in Madrid (subsidized)
- ▾ Income + payroll tax runs 35.0% in Madrid vs 19.8% in Austin
The headline math
| Austin household gross | $280,000 |
| Austin taxes (19.8%) | −$55,425 |
| Austin living costs | −$88,761 |
| Austin net cash | $135,815 |
| ≈ | |
| Madrid household gross needed | €276,830($315,655) |
| Madrid taxes (35.0%) | −€96,967 |
| Madrid living costs | −€60,753 |
| Madrid net cash | €119,109 |
Computed at the city-median tech-worker salary, Austin (a family with two kids) · effective tax rates: 19.8% vs 35.0%
The bottom line
- →$280,000 in Austin leaves about the same net cash as €276,830 in Madrid for this scenario, after real taxes and living costs.
- →Taxes take 19.8% of gross in Austin versus 35.0% in Madrid.
- →The biggest non-cash swing: 7 more vacation days per year in Madrid (statutory).
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 — we never see it.
Moving from Austin to Madrid for a family
For a family of four, this comparison produces a different answer than a single-person look at the same cities. Childcare costs, parental leave policy, and the second earner's tax treatment all push the number. With a partner at 60% of the primary salary and two kids in daycare, a $280,000 household in Austin needs €276,830 in Madrid to keep the same net cash.
Childcare is the biggest single swing factor in this comparison. Austin households pay $24,900 per year; Madrid caps it at €1,087 via subsidy. That difference flows directly to net cash. A standard salary comparison won't show it at all.
Parental leave: Madrid provides 16 weeks paid vs 0 in Austin. A new child in the first year of the move is exactly the scenario where that gap shows up as real money (and real stress avoided).
With kids in the house, healthcare is the line that quietly compounds. Madrid runs a universal system, so a rough year doesn't turn into a billing event. The Austin side carries $9,085 a year in premiums and out-of-pocket costs, exposure that simply doesn't follow you across.
K-12 schools score higher on PISA 2022 in USA (489 (math 465, reading 504, science 499)) than in Spain (477 (math 473, reading 474, science 485)), a 12-point gap on the OECD's standardized 15-year-old assessment. PISA is one signal; local school choice and curriculum philosophy matter at least as much.
Madrid also adds 7 more vacation days per year (22 vs 15). With kids, that is school breaks actually covered without burning PTO.
The second-earner question is worth running separately. In high-childcare-cost cities, full-time daycare can eat most of a partner's after-tax income. In Madrid, subsidized childcare changes that math entirely: both salaries actually make it to the household. Use the "Partner works in" toggle in the calculator to see what that shift does to your specific numbers.
Understand what's behind these numbers
Common questions
How much do you need to earn in Madrid to match a $280,000 salary in Austin?
About €276,830. cityparity solves for the Madrid 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.
How much is childcare in Madrid compared with Austin?
Childcare is one of the biggest swings for a family moving from Austin to Madrid. cityparity nets each city's daycare cost against any government child allowance, so the figure reflects what you'd actually pay out of pocket.
Is healthcare free in Madrid?
Madrid has universal healthcare, so there are no US-style premiums or large deductibles. cityparity counts that as real money you don't spend, which is part of why the equivalent salary is lower than the raw number suggests.
How much vacation and parental leave do you get in Madrid?
Madrid has about 36 paid days off a year (vacation plus public holidays) and 16 weeks of parental leave. cityparity surfaces these as deltas rather than dollars, because time off is part of the real comparison.
Run your own numbers in the interactive calculator →