✦ Compare
Bordeaux vs
Lugano
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
Bordeaux, FR vs Lugano, CH at a glance — Lugano, CH is 48% more expensive than Bordeaux, FR overall. Median 1-bed rent runs about $1,800/mo versus $850/mo. Top income tax: 40% vs 45%.
To keep the same standard of living in Lugano, CH, you'd need
$111,366 / year
Lugano, CH is 48% more expensive overall
Category breakdown (Lugano, CH vs Bordeaux, FR)
- Housing+60%
- Food & groceries+42%
- Transport+51%
- Utilities+11%
- Healthcare+71%
- Goods & services+46%
◎ How Bordeaux, FR and Lugano, CH compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Bordeaux, FR | Lugano, CH | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 99 | 147 |
| Housing | 100 | 160 |
| Food | 106 | 150 |
| Transport | 76 | 115 |
| Utilities | 110 | 122 |
| Healthcare | 82 | 140 |
| Goods & services | 106 | 155 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $850/mo | $1,800/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $660/mo | — |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $1,700/mo | — |
| Buy price / m² centre | $5,500 | — |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $1,008 | $679 |
| Inexpensive meal | $16 | — |
| Monthly transit pass | $45 | — |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 45% | 40% |
| VAT / sales tax | 20% | 8.1% |
| Social security (employee) | 22% | — |
| Corporate tax | 25% | 15% |
| Capital gains | 30% | 0% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $2,600/mo | $6,000/mo |
| Avg annual wage (OECD, PPP) | $60,483✓ | — |
| Minimum wage | $2,164/mo✓ | — |
| GDP per capita | $48,986✓ | $114,769✓ |
| Inflation (annual) | 0.9%✓ | 0.2%✓ |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | No | No |
| English proficiency | Moderate | — |
| Coworking spaces | 25 | — |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | — |
| Quality of life | ||
| Quality of life (overall) | 74 | — |
| Safety index | 63 | — |
| Healthcare index | 85 | — |
| Pollution index | 40 | — |
| Internet speed | 160 Mbps | — |
| Walkability | 82 | — |
| Public transport | 76 | — |
| Family-friendly | 74 | — |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | — |
| Life expectancy | 83 yr✓ | 84 yr✓ |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | High | High |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | +7 °C | — |
| July avg | +22 °C | — |
| Sunny days / year | 200 | — |
| Rainfall / year | 950 mm | — |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1 h | — |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: France vs Switzerland. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
✓ = official statistics (OECD (PPP), Eurostat 2026, World Bank 2025, World Bank 2024). Unmarked figures are CostTrek estimates. How we calculate these figures →
Cost of living: Bordeaux vs Lugano — in your currency
Converted from USD at approximate rates (2026-09).
Good to know before you move to Bordeaux
An elegant, honey-stone city on the Garonne at the heart of France's greatest wine region — just two hours from Paris by TGV and a short hop to the Atlantic beaches. Milder and cheaper than Paris, it's become a magnet for remote workers and Parisians heading south.
- Currency
- Euro (€ EUR)
- Languages
- French
- Time zone
- UTC+1
- Internet
- 160 Mbps
- English
- Fairly common
- Safety
- 63/100
- Climate
- ❄ 7°C · ☀ 22°C · 200 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- E · 230V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Chartrons · Saint-Pierre · Saint-Michel · La Bastide
Good to know before you move to Lugano
- Currency
- Swiss franc (Fr. CHF)
- Languages
- German, French, Italian
- Power
- J · 230V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
Plan your move to Bordeaux
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalDiscoverCars
- Airport transferWelcome Pickups
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- Tours & ticketsTiqets
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Flight compensationAirHelp
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Plan your move to Lugano
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalDiscoverCars
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Bordeaux to Lugano: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Bordeaux to Lugano, your cost of living will be roughly 48% more expensive. Lugano’s cost-of-living index is 147 versus 99 for Bordeaux (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Bordeaux cheaper than Lugano?
Lugano is about 48% more expensive than Bordeaux overall — its cost-of-living index is 147 versus 99 for Bordeaux.
Which is more expensive, Bordeaux or Lugano?
Lugano is more expensive than Bordeaux. Its cost-of-living index is 147 vs 99 (US = 100) — about 48% higher.
Is rent cheaper in Bordeaux or Lugano?
Rent is cheaper in Bordeaux — about $850/month for a one-bedroom in the city centre, vs $1,800 in Lugano.
How much do you need to earn in Lugano to live like in Bordeaux?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Bordeaux is worth about $111,366 in Lugano. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Bordeaux or Lugano?
Switzerland has the lower top income-tax rate — 40% versus 45% in France.
◷ More comparisons from Bordeaux
How we calculate these figures →
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.