Benchmark relocation brief
Lisbon to Madrid
On a benchmark software-engineer offer, moving from Lisbon to Madrid adds $1.5K in net worth over 10 years after real taxes and cost of living, breaking even in year 1. On this spend profile it comes out ahead at any Madrid salary.
Route
Current city
Lisbon, Portugal
Destination
Madrid, Spain
Page URL: /compare/lisbon-to-madrid
Benchmark verdict
The route clears the benchmark.
+$1.5K over 10 years
Salary benchmark
$52k to $66k
+27% vs current city
Cost index
98 to 110
+12% vs current city
Break-even
Year 1
Within 10-year benchmark horizon
Salary gap
Cleared
Benchmark offer clears break-even salary
Net worth benchmark
Lisbon
$0
Madrid
$2K
Assumptions, sources, currency
Estimates, not financial advice
Your inputs
Salary, monthly spend, net worth, raises, savings rate, return, and horizon.
Currency model
All money values you enter are treated as USD. Tax lookups convert to each tax table's anchor currency using an ECB reference-rate snapshot (as of 2026-07-02).
Salary basis
Salaries are annual gross pay; take-home is estimated per city (see Tax model).
Salary benchmarks
Lisbon: MoveWorth curated benchmarks (USD equivalent) (estimated). Madrid: MoveWorth curated benchmarks (USD equivalent) (estimated). Snapshot refreshed 2026-07-03.
Cost-of-living index
Lisbon: MoveWorth curated index (city-core costs, US avg = 100). Madrid: MoveWorth curated index (city-core costs, US avg = 100). 100 = US average.
Rent baseline
US rent baselines in the Money section prefer the actual measured median (Census ACS 5-Year, table B25031, https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs5/groups/B25031.html) by bedroom for the city's metro area, falling back to official HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2026, Oct. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026, https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html) where ACS has no data for that city or bedroom size. Non-US rent remains unconnected in v1.
Tax model
Estimated income tax + employee social contributions. US cities use 2025 federal brackets + state + FICA; UK cities use real PolicyEngine income tax + National Insurance (Scotland's separate bands included); elsewhere an OECD-anchored effective rate. Lisbon 34%, Madrid 32%. Household: single. Estimate, not a filing model.
Financial math
Compounded net worth from after-tax savings and expected annual returns.
Uncertainty band
The break-even chart's shaded band reruns your numbers ~300 times, nudging investment return, raises, and cost-of-living growth within typical historical swings. It shows a plausible range, not a guarantee, and is seeded from your inputs so it won't change on reload.
Culture & wellbeing
Life expectancy (World Bank) and life satisfaction (Our World in Data) are live, official per-country figures. Languages, English proficiency band, and marriage-equality status are hand-compiled reference facts, not a live feed — verify before relying on them for a legal decision.
Open-Meteo
Live current conditions, 7-day forecast, and current air quality (PM2.5, US AQI) for both city coordinates.
Live city signals
Open-Meteo, weather + air quality
Lisbon
Madrid
City comparison
* Salaries are USD equivalents for mid-senior professionals. Local currency compensation may differ.
Cost of living index?
Madrid is approximately 12% more expensive than Lisbon.
Lisbon — industries
Madrid — industries
Lisbon — lifestyle
Madrid — lifestyle
Run the real decision
The benchmark is only a map. Use your actual offer, spend, household, and risk profile.
Common questions
Is moving from Lisbon to Madrid worth it financially?
On a benchmark software-engineer offer, moving from Lisbon to Madrid adds about $1.5K to net worth over 10 years, breaking even in year 1. Your own salary, spending, and household can flip this — run the simulation with your real numbers.
What salary do I need in Madrid to make the move break even?
On this spend profile the move comes out ahead at any Madrid salary.
How does the cost of living in Madrid compare to Lisbon?
Madrid indexes at 110 vs Lisbon at 98 (US average = 100), so day-to-day costs are about 12% higher.
How do software engineer salaries compare between Lisbon and Madrid?
Benchmark software-engineer pay is $66.0K in Madrid vs $52.0K in Lisbon (USD-equivalent, sourced market medians — see the sources section for provenance).
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