$225,000 in New York City ≈ €178,868 in Paris
Software engineer pay: New York City vs Paris
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 New York City leaves about the same net cash as €178,868 in Paris for this scenario, after real taxes and living costs.
- →Taxes take 31.6% of gross in New York City versus 39.4% in Paris.
- →The biggest non-cash swing: 25 more vacation days per year in Paris.
Where each paycheck goes
Every unit of gross, split four ways. Same net cash, very different shape.
Full Breakdown
| Category | New York City | Paris | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $225,000 | €178,868 ($207,263) | Equivalent |
| Income + payroll tax | −$71,081 (31.6%) | −€70,533 (39.4%) | A touch higher |
| Housing (rent) | −$49,465 Queens ~$2,952 · Brooklyn ~$3,407 · Manhattan ~$4,958 | −€21,991 1 bed listings typically €1,353 to €2,046 | ~48% less |
| Healthcare (household) | −$4,220 | −€1,180 | Universal |
| Food & groceries | −$12,381 | −€9,087 | ~15% less |
| Transit | −$1,584 | −€545 after the employer's statutory 50% share | ~60% less |
| Discretionary spending | −$3,250 | −€3,460 | ~23% more |
| Travel home | −$375 | −€750 | ~132% more |
| Net cash kept | $82,643 | €71,321 | Equal in real terms |
Live in either city? Flag any number that looks off.
Computed at the city-median tech-worker salary, New York City (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 → ~25
- Total paid days off, typical year~11 → ~33.7
- Paid parental leave7 wks → 8 wks
- Healthcare systemEmployer / private → Universal
These numbers use one scenario's assumptions. Plug in your own salary, family size, and lifestyle.
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Moving from New York City to Paris for a software engineer
$225,000 in New York City requires €178,868 in Paris 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 31.6% in New York City to 39.4% in Paris. That 7.8-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.
On an employer plan the healthy years feel nearly free; it's the bad year that finds the gap. Paris is universal, so most of that tail risk goes away. New York City still runs $4,220 a year in premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and none of it shows up on an offer letter.
Paris engineers get 25 vacation days per year. New York City averages 0. That 25-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 New York City 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 40% of gross there versus 37%. Housing drives most of that gap.
You also get universal healthcare on top of the money math in Paris. Run the family scenario to see it.
Paris gives you 23 more paid days off in a typical year, none of which shows on an offer letter.
Common questions
How much do you need to earn in Paris to match a $225,000 salary in New York City?
About €178,868. cityparity solves for the Paris gross salary whose net cash (after taxes, housing, childcare, healthcare, and the rest) equals what you keep in New York City. It's an equivalence, not a raw conversion.
Is healthcare free in Paris?
Paris 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 Paris?
Paris has 36 statutory paid days off a year (vacation plus public holidays) and 37 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 33 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. Your employer usually files this one, and the processing time sets your move date. Everything below waits on it.How permits work
Land the offer. €178,868 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 Paris end.Get quotes
Move the money. The deposit on a Paris 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 Paris, on top of whatever France 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
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Run your own numbers in the interactive calculator →