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COST OF LIVING

IN NUMBERS: What are Austria’s most expensive cities to live in?

Living in Austria offers a high standard of life, but it also comes with a price tag. Here are the country's most expensive cities to live in.

Published: 9 September 2024 14:25 CEST
IN NUMBERS: What are Austria's most expensive cities to live in?
Life quality in Austria is high but it also comes with a price. Salzburg is one of Austrias most expensive cities for living. Photo by Alex Hufnagl on Unsplash

If you live in Austria, you know the standard of living is high; however, settling down in this mountainous country is not cheap.

Many international residents may find the cost of living in Austria high, especially if they come from countries with lower expenses.

Austria ranks 22nd out of 197 countries in terms of cost of living and is the 18th best country to live in.

The average salary after taxes in Austria is around  €2,547, which is enough to cover one person’s living expenses for about 1.6 months.

Vienna, Salzburg, and Innsbruck are known as the priciest cities in the country. Here is a breakdown of the actual living costs in each of these cities.
 
 
Vienna

Vienna is often ranked as the world’s most liveable city. It is known for its great public transport system, rich culture, and green areas.
 
The capital is also one of the most expensive cities in Austria, where buying a property or renting a flat that is not part of the social housing can come with a higher price tag.
 
Eating out, enjoying cultural events such as concerts and festivals, and buying a monthly transport pass often come at higher costs than smaller cities. 

On the other hand, living in Vienna also has advantages. For example, groceries can be cheaper because of the city’s large market and competitive prices.

Due to Vienna’s well-developed infrastructure and government subsidies, public services like healthcare and education can also sometimes be more affordable.

The latest figures show that the average salary after taxes in Vienna is €2,544, and a single person’s monthly costs are estimated to reach €1,055 without rent.

The average rent in the city is €1,038 for a one-bedroom apartment in the city centre and €757 if you live outside the centre.

A meal at one of the cheaper restaurants and a drink will cost you around €16.50, while a three-course meal for two at a mid-range restaurant costs about €70.

A monthly public transport pass costs €51, and a yearly pass is €365.

Regarding groceries, a litre of regular milk typically costs €1.47, a loaf of fresh white bread (500g) is about €2.66, and a kilogram of white rice is usually €2.36.

 
People biking in Vienna, the world’s most liveable city. Photo by Kristīne Kozaka on Unsplash 

READ ALSO: IN NUMBERS: How much does it cost to live in Vienna in 2024?

Salzburg

Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, is one of Austria’s most expensive cities.

The city is a popular place to live due to its history, beauty, cultural program, and location, which surrounds it with mountains and crystal clear lakes.

However, living in Salzburg comes with some of the highest costs in the country, partly due to the city’s problems with housing, where the demand is larger than the supply, and a lot of surface is used for infrastructure related to tourism.

Salzburg’s average salary after taxes is €2,568, while a single person’s monthly costs are estimated to be around €1,136 without rent.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city centre is €1,051, and if you want to live outside the centre, you pay around €883.

A meal at a cheaper restaurant costs around €15, while a three-course meal for two at a mid-range restaurant is about €65.

A monthly public transport pass costs €60.

Salzburg’s litre of regular milk usually costs €1.52, a loaf of fresh white bread (500g) is about €2.35, and a kilogram of white rice around €2.65.

People strolling around the streets of Salzburg. Photo by June O on Unsplash
 

Innsbruck 

Innsbruck is the capital of Tyrol and is located directly in the high mountains, making it a perfect place to live if you like nature and mountain sports.

The city also offers a lot of restaurants, events, and cultural events.

It is a popular destination and the preferred city for many, which also raises the demand for housing and drives up prices.

Recent numbers in Innsbruck show that the average salary after taxes is €2,416, and a single person’s monthly expenses are estimated to reach €1,136 without rent.

The average cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment in the city centre is €1,179, and if you live outside the centre, you can expect to pay about €967.

A meal at a budget-friendly restaurant costs around €12.50, and a three-course meal for two at a mid-range restaurant is about €55. 

You pay around €59.70 for a monthly public transport pass.

When you go the supermarkets, you will pay about €1.37, for a litre of milk, a loaf of fresh white bread (500g) costs around €2.59, and a kilogram of white rice usually costs €2.23.

Innsbruck is a popular spot for mountain lovers. Photo by Nk Ni on Unsplash
 

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VIENNA

Vienna cemetery celebrates 150 years with graveyard concerts

Hundreds of revellers flocked to Vienna's Central Cemetery on Friday to attend a graveyard concert commemorating the famous site's 150th birthday, doing justice to the local expression "Death must be a Viennese".

Published: 7 September 2024 09:38 CEST
Vienna cemetery celebrates 150 years with graveyard concerts

The vast cemetery on the outskirts of the Austrian capital is Europe’s second largest, comprising around 330,000 graves spread out over 2.5 square kilometres (620 acres).

Tens of thousands of tourists as well as locals visit the Central Cemetery each month to stroll along the tree-lined avenues and tombs of many famous figures.

But as night fell Friday, Nino Mandl, a local singer-songwriter known as “Nino from Vienna”, performed the last of three “cemetery sessions” to celebrate the anniversary.

Marianne Kaufmann, a 69-year-old retiree, was among the 750 concert-goers who attended.

The Viennese have a “special relationship” with death, she told AFP, as mourning was not necessarily considered “sad” but could include “laughing and singing” at funerals, since “life must go on”.

Conny Maehlich, 53, said she was excited about experiencing the unique atmosphere, while admitting that it felt “a little bit spooky” to attend a concert in a cemetery.

“Every month, around 30,000 people enter through our main gate alone — and exit it again,” said Renate Niklas, managing director of the Vienna cemeteries.

“They don’t just come to visit their graves, to attend a funeral, but to go for a walk, a run, ride a bike or simply relax,” Niklas said.

The events to mark the 150th anniversary, which included yoga sessions and concerts, were an effort at “bringing life to the cemetery, to honour our deceased once again”, she said.

“For us in Vienna it is an incredibly comforting approach to say that our deceased were not laid to rest in a place where it is dark, sad and cold, but in a place where life happens.”

One of Vienna’s macabre tourist attractions, the Central Cemetery serves as a final resting place for around three million people, outnumbering the city’s living residents by one million.

Notable composers and musicians such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Strauss, Johannes Brahms and Johann Nestroy are laid to rest there.

Some of them arrived after a “layover” in their initial graves before being reinterred at the Central Cemetery after it opened in 1874, in a bid to boost its image.

Vienna’s residents are said to have a peculiar fascination with death, as many in the city still wish to go out with a bang.

Opulent funeral services featuring performances of Mozart’s Requiem, or customised funeral corteges attended by as many mourners as possible, are still regarded as the proper way to end one’s earthly journey.

Austria is largely Catholic, but the cemetery has sections for Protestants, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists.

Between the main entrance and the honorary graves section, allotments for urban gardening can even be booked for people to grow their own fruits and vegetables.

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