Cost of Living: Rome vs Stuttgart (2026)
Italy vs Germany — relocation comparison
Your passport:
Rome
Stuttgart
$1,355/mo
Rent
1BR centre
$1,157/mo
−$10k/yr
Take-home savings
At each city's local median pay
$17k/yr
5 yr
PR path
5 yr
Impatriati Regime, Regime Forfettario, New Residents Flat Tax, 7% Retiree Flat Tax
Tax breaks
Open incentive regimes for newcomers
—
Freelance setup
Regime Forfettario
- VAT-free under €85k
- 26% social
- €1000/yr accountant
WiseStripe
Freiberufler
- VAT-free under €25k
- €1200/yr accountant
WiseStripe
Sourced from Numbeo · Updated June 2026
TL;DRStuttgart is 15% cheaper on rent ($1,157/mo vs $1,355/mo). Stuttgart scores 8.7 vs 7.6 on democracy. Both are solid options for settling down — the spreadsheet won't save you from this one.
Stuttgart scores 85 to Rome's 70 on livability — the gap is real. Rome has its charms, but the numbers favor Stuttgart.
How the livability score breaks down
Rome
Stuttgart
15.8/25
💰 Affordability
17.7/25
14.5/15
🔒 Violent Crime
14.7/15
5.3/10
🛡️ Perceived Safety
6.6/10
5.6/15
⚡ Internet
15/15
11.4/15
🗳️ Democracy
13.1/15
5.4/10
🗣️ English
8.8/10
7.7/10
☀️ Climate
9.7/10
9/10
📊 Stability
7.7/10
8.8/10
🚗 Road Safety
9.8/10
7.4/10
🕊️ Geopolitical Safety
7.9/10
Verdict delivered. Your move.
Household
Rome
Metric
Stuttgart
✓$635/mo
🛒
Living costs (no rent)
lower is better
$829/mo
$7,957
🧳
Cost to land
lower is better
—
81 / 100
🛡️
Settler safety
higher is better
88 / 100✓
0.5 / 100k
🔒
Homicides
lower is better
0.3 / 100k✓
5.0 / 100k
🚗
Road deaths
lower is better
3.3 / 100k✓
53 / 100
🚨
Safety Index
higher is better
66 / 100✓
86°F
☀️
Summer high
personal taste
75°F
37°F
❄️
Winter low
personal taste
32°F
75 Mbps
⚡
Internet speed
higher is better
224 Mbps✓
12.7 μg/m³
🌬️
Air quality (PM2.5)
lower is better
9.2 μg/m³✓
82 / 100
🏥
Healthcare
higher is better
85 / 100
7.6 / 10
🗳️
Democracy
higher is better
8.7 / 10✓
6.5 / 9
🤝
Migrant acceptance
higher is better
7.1 / 9✓
25 / 100
🏳️🌈
Rainbow Index
higher is better
66 / 100✓
29/100
🗣️
Street English
higher is better
73/100✓
$62k
💼
GDP per capita (PPP)
higher is better
$74k✓
✓1.0% · Practically frozen
📈
Inflation
lower is better
2.3% · Boringly steady
89/100 — Mostly stable
⚡
Grid reliability
higher is better
98/100 — Reliable✓
87/100
🗽
Freedom House
higher is better
95/100✓
A median Software Engineer in Rome takes home $2,342/mo under Standard employee. In Stuttgart: $4,519/mo under Standard employee.
$2,177/mo more in Stuttgart
🎯 Rome's Impatriati Regime isn't modelled above — if you qualify, take-home would be $2,950/mo instead.
Each city pays its own median — Software Engineer gross via Levels.fyi / Eurostat. Moving changes your salary too; that's the point.
$45k
💰
Gross income
$95k
−$13k
🏛️
Income tax
Standard employee
−$22k
−$4k
🛡️
Social contributions
−$18k
$28k/yr
$2k/mo
💵
Take-home pay
$54k/yr✓
$5k/mo
−$38k
🏠
Cost of living
−$38k
−$10k/yr