Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zurich and Affoltern am Albis

For one person, living is cheaper in Affoltern am Albis: $3,470 a month against $4,274 in Zurich, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

205

Cost of Living Index in Zurich
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Zurich Living Index
174

Cost of Living Index in Affoltern am Albis
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Affoltern am Albis Living Index

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Zurich

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$4,274

/mo nomad

Affoltern am Albis

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,470

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Zurich and in Affoltern am Albis

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

A single person spends $4,274 per month in Zurich vs $3,470 in Affoltern am Albis, rent included.

Zurich $4,274
Affoltern am Albis $3,470

A couple spends around $6,740 per month in Zurich vs $5,642 in Affoltern am Albis, rent included.

Zurich $6,740
Affoltern am Albis $5,642

A family of three spends $9,207 per month in Zurich vs $7,814 in Affoltern am Albis, rent included.

Zurich $9,207
Affoltern am Albis $7,814

Zurich costs about 23% more than Affoltern am Albis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Zurich and Affoltern am Albis sit above the global median – Zurich by 216%, Affoltern am Albis by 157%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$36.93 CHF 30.15

$30.56 CHF 24.95

20.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$146 CHF 119

$186 CHF 152

-21.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.49 CHF 15.10

$18.53 CHF 15.13

-0.22%

Cappuccino

$7.03 CHF 5.74

$5.82 CHF 4.75

20.79%

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

$6.00 CHF 4.90

$5.56 CHF 4.54

7.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.41 CHF 4.41

$4.87 CHF 3.97

11.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.91 CHF 8.09

$8.68 CHF 7.09

14.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.63 CHF 7.04

$6.88 CHF 5.62

25.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.18 CHF 1.78

$2.28 CHF 1.86

-4.39%

White Bread (500g)

$3.88 CHF 3.17

$3.75 CHF 3.06

3.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.82 CHF 3.12

$4.15 CHF 3.39

-7.95%

Eggs

$8.43 CHF 6.88

$7.18 CHF 5.86

17.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.56 CHF 22.50

$27.63 CHF 22.56

-0.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.03 CHF 22.89

$29.53 CHF 24.11

-5.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$60.1 CHF 49.07

$42.47 CHF 34.68

41.51%

Apples (1kg)

$4.18 CHF 3.41

$3.64 CHF 2.97

14.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.80 CHF 2.28

$1.97 CHF 1.61

42.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.49 CHF 2.85

$2.78 CHF 2.27

25.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.58 CHF 3.74

$5.33 CHF 4.35

-14.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.54 CHF 2.07

$2.00 CHF 1.64

27.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.36 CHF 1.93

$2.23 CHF 1.82

5.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.41 CHF 1.97

$2.39 CHF 1.95

0.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 CHF 1.04

$1.12 CHF 0.91

14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.89 CHF 8.89

$10.90 CHF 8.90

-0.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.09 CHF 11.51

$12.25 CHF 10.00

15.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 CHF 2.27

$3.02 CHF 2.46

-7.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 CHF 2.64

$3.08 CHF 2.52

4.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.72 CHF 4.67

$4.55 CHF 3.72

25.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$106 CHF 86.5

$101 CHF 82.2

5.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.07 CHF 6.59

$4.57 CHF 3.73

76.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.74 CHF 3.87

$2.87 CHF 2.35

65.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$91.4 CHF 74.6

$37.16 CHF 30.34

145.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.43 CHF 1.98

$2.23 CHF 1.82

8.97%

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

$39.4K CHF 32.1K

$39.7K CHF 32.4K

-0.72%

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

$39.0K CHF 31.9K

$40.4K CHF 32.9K

-3.29%

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

$284 CHF 232

$310 CHF 253

-8.35%

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

$36.15 CHF 29.51

$29.14 CHF 23.79

24.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.7 CHF 46.31

$63.0 CHF 51.4

-9.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$83.4 CHF 68.1

$84.6 CHF 69.1

-1.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$62.4 CHF 50.9

$52.1 CHF 42.56

19.67%

Cinema Ticket

$24.03 CHF 19.62

$21.72 CHF 17.74

10.64%

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

$3,473 CHF 2,835

$1,503 CHF 1,227

131.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$42.0K CHF 34.3K

$25.4K CHF 20.7K

65.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$139 CHF 113

$168 CHF 137

-17.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.9 CHF 44.83

$67.8 CHF 55.4

-19.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$161 CHF 131

$152 CHF 124

6.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$253 CHF 207

$279 CHF 228

-9.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,964 CHF 2,420

$1,926 CHF 1,573

53.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,111 CHF 1,723

$1,423 CHF 1,162

48.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,507 CHF 4,496

$2,947 CHF 2,406

86.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,074 CHF 3,326

$2,800 CHF 2,286

45.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$27.0K CHF 22.0K

$14.4K CHF 11.8K

87.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.8K CHF 13.7K

$10.7K CHF 8,756

56.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$8,335 CHF 6,805

$8,054 CHF 6,576

3.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.03

1.9

6.84%

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

Last update for Zurich: November 3, 2026

Last update for Affoltern am Albis: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zurich

$2.1K 49.4%

Affoltern am Albis

$1.4K 41% 32.6% $688

Groceries & Markets

Zurich

$673 15.8%

Affoltern am Albis

$611 17.6% 9.3% $63

Eating Out

Zurich

$548 12.8%

Affoltern am Albis

$469 13.5% 14.4% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zurich

$377 8.8%

Affoltern am Albis

$402 11.6% 6.7% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Zurich

$273 6.4%

Affoltern am Albis

$300 8.6% 9.6% $26

Getting Around

Zurich

$161 3.8%

Affoltern am Albis

$138 4% 14.1% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Zurich

$131 3.1%

Affoltern am Albis

$128 3.7% 2.6% $3.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,964 in Zurich versus $1,926 in Affoltern am Albis. 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 3% higher in Zurich, 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 $146 in Zurich versus $186 in Affoltern am Albis. Groceries tell a different story – $673 in Zurich vs $611 in Affoltern am Albis – so Affoltern am Albis wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Zurich

🇨🇭 Affoltern am Albis

🕒 Local time

11:07 11:07 AM

Same time as Zurich

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

443,037

11,363

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Zurich Affoltern am Albis 13 km

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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

Zurich vs Affoltern am Albis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zurich costs about 23% more than Affoltern am Albis, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,411 per month in Zurich and $5,205 in Affoltern am Albis. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Affoltern am Albis, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,926 there versus $2,964 in Zurich.

Public transport costs about 5% less in Affoltern am Albis. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $3,473 per month in Zurich and $1,503 in Affoltern am Albis. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$2,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $4,274 in Zurich and $3,470 in Affoltern am Albis. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Affoltern am Albis. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Zurich makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.