Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge and Lyon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lyon: $2,025 a month against $3,156 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index
98

Cost of Living Index in Lyon
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Lyon Living Index

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Cambridge

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,156

/mo nomad

Lyon

🇫🇷 France

$2,025

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cambridge and in Lyon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cambridge and in Lyon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $3,156 per month in Cambridge vs $2,025 in Lyon, rent included.

Cambridge $3,156
Lyon $2,025

A couple spends around $4,431 per month in Cambridge vs $3,130 in Lyon, rent included.

Cambridge $4,431
Lyon $3,130

A family of three spends $5,707 per month in Cambridge vs $4,236 in Lyon, rent included.

Cambridge $5,707
Lyon $4,236

Cambridge costs about 56% more than Lyon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cambridge and Lyon sit above the global median – Cambridge by 134%, Lyon by 50%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.11 £15.84

$16.87 €15.00

25.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.6 £65.7

$67.0 €59.6

30.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.70 £8.03

$13.32 €11.85

-19.67%

Cappuccino

$4.64 £3.48

$4.11 €3.66

12.90%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 £2.08

$2.87 €2.55

-3.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.73 €1.54

10.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.91 £5.94

$8.00 €7.12

-1.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.54 £4.90

$6.31 €5.61

3.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 £1.19

$1.51 €1.34

5.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.78 £1.34

$1.72 €1.53

3.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.50 £1.88

$2.49 €2.21

0.40%

Eggs

$4.46 £3.34

$4.63 €4.12

-3.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.66 £7.25

$22.54 €20.05

-57.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.46 £7.10

$12.38 €11.01

-23.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.53 £11.65

$23.55 €20.95

-34.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 £2.21

$2.40 €2.13

22.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.29

$2.41 €2.14

-28.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.68 £2.76

$3.54 €3.15

3.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.42 £2.57

$3.07 €2.73

11.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$2.54 €2.26

-27.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 £1.39

$3.08 €2.74

-39.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 £0.95

$1.35 €1.20

-5.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.06 €0.94

84.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.76 £17.08

$13.90 €12.36

63.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.93 £8.20

$8.04 €7.15

35.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.38

$2.75 €2.45

15.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.93 £2.95

$3.32 €2.95

18.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.04 £3.03

$2.29 €2.03

76.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.6 £70.2

$83.6 €74.4

11.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.86 £5.90

$7.92 €7.04

-0.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.58 £1.93

$2.17 €1.93

18.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$49.81 £37.37

$41.68 €37.08

19.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$2.23 €1.99

-4.48%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$37.4K £28.1K

$34.8K €31.0K

7.44%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$41.0K £30.8K

$34.9K €31.0K

17.64%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$329 £247

$270 €240

21.96%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$18.64 £13.98

$14.35 €12.76

29.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.52 £31.90

$28.64 €25.48

48.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.7 £48.53

$39.31 €34.96

64.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.17 £15.13

$27.36 €24.34

-26.28%

Cinema Ticket

$16.80 £12.60

$14.64 €13.02

14.75%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$2,588 £1,942

$619 €550

318.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.4K £26.5K

$11.3K €10.0K

213.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.2 £66.9

$109 €96.8

-18.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.02 £36.02

$43.48 €38.67

10.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.9 £69.7

$123 €109

-24.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 £93.5

$124 €111

0.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,041 £1,531

$886 €788

130.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,724 £1,293

$672 €598

156.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,188 £2,392

$1,804 €1,604

76.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,612 £1,960

$1,285 €1,143

103.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,878 £6,661

$6,364 €5,661

39.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,894 £4,422

$3,953 €3,516

49.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,360 £3,271

$3,062 €2,723

42.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

3.68

36.96%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Cambridge: October 13, 2026

Last update for Lyon: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge

$1.7K 54.6%

Lyon

$672 33.2% 61% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$390 12.4%

Lyon

$313 15.5% 19.8% $77

Eating Out

Cambridge

$328 10.4%

Lyon

$295 14.6% 10% $33

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$325 10.3%

Lyon

$385 19% 18.6% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$160 5.1%

Lyon

$180 8.9% 12.6% $20

Getting Around

Cambridge

$131 4.1%

Lyon

$112 5.5% 14.5% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$98 3.1%

Lyon

$69 3.4% 30.2% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,041 in Cambridge versus $886 in Lyon. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 42% higher in Cambridge, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88.0 in Cambridge versus $67.0 in Lyon. Groceries tell a different story – $325 in Cambridge vs $385 in Lyon – so Cambridge wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cambridge

🇫🇷 Lyon

🕒 Local time

06:53 6:53 AM

07:53 7:53 AM

1 h ahead of Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

145,818

522,250

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cambridge Lyon 790 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cambridge
Lyon

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cambridge vs Lyon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cambridge is pricier by about 56%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,734 per month in Cambridge and $3,038 in Lyon. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Lyon, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88.0 in Cambridge and $67.0 in Lyon. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,156 in Cambridge and $2,025 in Lyon. That's a gap of about 56%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Lyon, where all-in costs run around $2,025, than in Cambridge at $3,156. In Lyon it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cambridge it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Lyon – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Lyon. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cambridge makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.