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When I tell Americans I live in Italy, the first question is almost always about money.
The second is some version of “So it’s basically New York City with better pasta, right?”
Nope.
I lived in New York for almost three years as a licensed tour guide, and now I live in Italy, south of Rome near Naples, and I bring travelers through Rome on almost every Italy and Europe trip I run.
By my count, I’ve been to Rome at least 59 times.
Rent is where the gap gets almost funny.
The median asking rent in Manhattan hit $4,995 in September 2026, while a one-bedroom in central Rome averages around €1,220 (about $1,360).
I’ve never rented an apartment in Rome, so I built this from five years of my own grocery runs, train tickets, and utility bills as an immigrant in Italy.
If you’re thinking about a move to Rome, here’s what it really costs per month.
Rome Cost of Living at a Glance:
- Monthly budget for one person: about €1,300–€2,250 (roughly $1,450–$2,500), rent included.
- One-bedroom rent: about €670 outside the center, €1,220 in the center.
- Public transport: €1.50 a ride or €35 for an unlimited monthly pass.
- Is Rome cheaper than New York? Yes, especially on rent. A central Rome one-bedroom costs roughly a quarter of Manhattan’s median asking rent.
- Biggest 2026 surprise: energy bills. Regulated gas prices were 52% higher in September 2026 than in September 2025.
- Is €1,000 a month enough? Only if you share an apartment outside the center and cook at home.
How much does it cost to live in Rome per month?
Plan on about €1,300 to €2,250 a month for one person living alone in Rome in 2026, rent included.
The low end means a one-bedroom outside the center and a lot of home cooking.
The high end means a one-bedroom in the center and eating out a few times a week.
| Monthly cost (one person) | Outside the center | Central Rome |
|---|---|---|
| Rent, one-bedroom | €670 | €1,220 |
| Electricity and gas | €100 | €200 |
| Home internet | €28 | €28 |
| Phone plan | €8 | €10 |
| Groceries | €250 | €350 |
| Public transport pass | €35 | €35 |
| Eating out, coffee, gym, fun | €200 | €400 |
| Total | about €1,290 (about $1,440) | about €2,240 (about $2,500) |
How I built this: rent, internet and the Numbeo totals come from Numbeo data reported by The Local in February 2026; energy, phone and transit from October 2026 prices (sources in each section below). Groceries and going out are estimates; your habits will move them more than anything else.
For a family of four, Numbeo puts everyday costs at around €3,100 a month before rent, so budget for that plus a two- or three-bedroom apartment.
Average Monthly Rent in Rome
Rent decides your whole Rome budget, and it’s climbing. Rome’s average asking rent was €19.20 per square meter in September 2026, up 6.9% from a year earlier, according to Idealista.
For my fellow Americans: one square meter is about 10.8 square feet, so a 50-square-meter one-bedroom is roughly 540 square feet.
Where you live changes the number more than anything else.
Here’s what a 50-square-meter one-bedroom would cost at September 2026 asking prices:
| Area (Idealista zone) | Asking rent per m² | 50 m² one-bedroom |
|---|---|---|
| Centro (historic center) | €28.30 | about €1,415 |
| Trastevere–Testaccio | €25.80 | about €1,290 |
| Parioli–Flaminio | €23.90 | about €1,195 |
| San Giovanni | €20.50 | about €1,025 |
| Garbatella–Ostiense | €19.80 | about €990 |
| Rome city average | €19.20 | about €960 |
| Prenestino | €16.70 | about €835 |
| Casilino–Centocelle | €14.50 | about €725 |
| Lido di Ostia (by the sea) | €13.40 | about €670 |
These are asking prices, so you can sometimes negotiate down, and furnished short-term rentals usually cost more.
A three-bedroom (about 100 square meters) runs roughly €1,900 at the city average and closer to €2,800 in the center.
The neighborhoods people ask me about most are Trastevere, Monti, Testaccio, Monteverde, Aventino and Ponte Milvio.
Expect the higher end of the ranges above for all of them.
If I could pick anywhere in Rome to live, it would be Garbatella.
When I was deciding where to move in Italy, my best friend from Rome told me to look there, and it made my shortlist before I settled on Naples.
Built in 1920 as Rome’s version of the English garden city, it feels like a little village inside the city, away from the tour groups.
It sits just outside the historic center, three Metro B stops from the Colosseum.
That’s what I look for anywhere I live: a historic city, but a residential corner of it where local life happens.
It isn’t the cheapest part of Rome, with asking rents around €19.80 per square meter, a little above the city average.
Average Monthly Utility Bills in Rome
Energy is the cost that has changed the most since this post first went up.
Under Italy’s regulated rates for vulnerable households, a typical home paid about €1,782 a year for gas and €869 for electricity in September 2026, according to consumer-group calculations reported by Teleborsa.
That’s roughly €220 a month, with gas up 52% on a year earlier.
Then the regulator, ARERA, raised electricity for those customers another 37.3% from October 1, as Il Fatto Quotidiano reported.
A one-bedroom uses less than a family home, so I’d budget €100 to €200 a month for electricity and gas, with winter heating at the top of that range.
Some landlords include utilities in the rent, so ask before you sign.
You’ll usually also pay the city’s trash tax (TARI) and, in many buildings, a monthly condo fee for shared spaces.
| Utility | Typical monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Electricity and gas, one-bedroom | €100–€200 (my estimate) |
| Electricity and gas, typical family home | about €220 |
| Home internet | about €28 |
| Mobile plan | from €7.99 (Iliad, 150 GB with unlimited calls) |
Italy wins on phone and internet.
An Italian phone plan with more data than you’ll ever use can cost less than a sandwich at a New York deli.
Average Monthly Spending on Groceries
The trick to keeping grocery costs low in Italy as an American is to buy what Italy makes.
You’re in Italy!
Enjoy the produce, cheese, and bread made down the road, and don’t try to recreate your cupboards back home.
Forget the peanut butter and grab a jar of Nutella instead.
Italian households spent an average of €552 a month on food and non-alcoholic drinks in 2025, according to Istat, and The Local reports grocery prices are up about 25% since 2021.
For one person, I’d plan on €250 to €350 a month.
A dozen eggs costs about €3.81 in Rome, according to Numbeo data reported by The Local in February 2026.
Average Monthly Spending on Transportation
Having a car in Rome is just a bad, bad idea.
Traffic, parking, and limited-traffic zones aside, gas averaged €2.03 a liter in Italy in October 2026.
That’s roughly $8.50 a gallon.
Public transport is the deal.
A single ticket (called a BIT) costs €1.50 and covers 100 minutes on buses and trams, or one metro ride.
An unlimited monthly pass is €35. A planned rise to €2 has been postponed again, and the city says it won’t happen before the 2027 local elections.
Here’s the line that made me laugh: in New York, $35 buys you a week of subway rides. In Rome, €35 buys you a month.
A few things to know before you ride:
- Tap your card. You can pay with a contactless bank card or phone at the red validators. Rome is phasing out paper tickets by the end of 2027.
- Validate paper tickets. If you do have one, stamp it in the machine as soon as you board and keep it until you get off. You WILL be fined if you’re caught without one.
- Watch your bag. Pickpockets work the crowded buses, metro lines and big sights. My rule for every group I guide: nothing in your back pockets, and a hand over your zippers whenever it gets crowded. Walk like you know where you’re going, too. Nothing is more obvious to an opportunist than someone who looks lost.
- Taxis and apps. Standard UberX isn’t available in Italy, but the Uber app can book licensed taxis in Rome through IT Taxi. FREENOW (formerly MyTaxi) works too.
| Transport | Price (October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Single ticket (BIT, 100 minutes) | €1.50 |
| Weekly pass (CIS) | €29 |
| Monthly pass | €35 |
| 24-hour ticket | €8.50 |
| Taxi starting fare, weekday daytime | €3.50 (€7.50 at night, €9 minimum fare) |
| Taxi, Fiumicino airport to the center | €55 fixed |
| Taxi, Ciampino airport to the center | €40 fixed |
| Gasoline, per liter | about €2.03 |
If you’ll be traveling outside Rome, read my guide to getting around Italy without a car.
Average Monthly Spending on Leisure
Eating out in the touristy center adds up fast.
Walk a few streets away from the big sights, though, and a trattoria meal runs about €15 a person.
Coffee at the bar is still one of Italy’s great bargains: an espresso costs less than €1.20 in Rome, below the national average of €1.29, according to an Assoutenti study from August 2026.
One of my go-to spots for a quick, affordable lunch in Rome is called Mercato Centrale.
It’s a large food hall just off Roma Termini, with tons of great restaurant options that won’t break the bank.
Walk it off afterward on one of Rome’s seven hills.
A gym membership averages about €55 a month, but the Aventine at sunset is free.
Museums can be free too.
On free-entry Sundays (usually the first Sunday of the month), the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill open at no charge, with tickets handed out at the ticket office on a first-come basis.
| Activity | Average price |
|---|---|
| Monthly gym membership | about €55 |
| Trattoria meal, per person | about €15 |
| Espresso at the bar | under €1.20 |
| Colosseum on a free-entry Sunday | €0 |
Is Rome Expensive? Rome vs New York and Other Cities
Compared with New York, Rome is cheap, and rent is where you feel it most.
Compared with the rest of Italy, it’s not: Rome is the country’s second most expensive housing market after Milan.
| Cost | Rome | New York City |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | one-bedroom in the center: about €1,220 (about $1,360) | Manhattan median asking rent: $4,995 (StreetEasy, September 2026) |
| Single subway or bus ride | €1.50 (about $1.68) | $3 |
| Unlimited transit | €35 for a month | $35 for a week |
New York was beautiful, and very expensive. After almost three years there, the rent column is the one that still makes me wince.
Inside Italy, Rome sits in the middle.
Its rents are about 24% lower than Milan’s, according to Numbeo data reported by The Local, but well above the south.
Life near Naples, where I live, is a little less expensive, but that doesn’t mean much.
For comparisons with other world cities, Numbeo’s city comparison tool lets you put Rome side by side with your hometown.
How much does it cost to live in Rome in US dollars?
Italy uses the euro.
On October 27, 2026, one euro was worth about $1.12, so anything priced in euros costs you roughly 12% more in dollars.
For a quick estimate, multiply the euro price by 1.12, and check the day’s rate before you budget, because it moves daily.
| In euros | In US dollars (at $1.12) |
|---|---|
| €35 monthly transit pass | about $39 |
| €670 one-bedroom outside the center | about $750 |
| €1,220 one-bedroom in the center | about $1,360 |
| €1,300 a month, budget lifestyle | about $1,450 |
| €2,250 a month, central lifestyle | about $2,510 |
Two habits save Americans real money here.
Use a card with no foreign transaction fees, and when a card machine asks whether to pay in dollars or euros, always choose euros.
Other Costs to Budget Before You Move to Rome
The monthly budget is only half the story. These are the costs that catch people in their first months.
- A visa. Americans can stay in Italy for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. Living there longer means a national visa, and each one has its own income rules. Italy’s digital nomad visa, for example, requires an income of about €25,000 a year for a single applicant, according to The Local.
- Healthcare. You need coverage either way. Many foreign residents, including people on elective residence visas, can join Italy’s national health service voluntarily, with fees starting at €2,000 a year (students pay less), as The Local explains. The alternative is private insurance.
- A tax code. You’ll need an Italian tax code (codice fiscale) for a lease, a bank account and utility contracts. You can request one at any office of the Agenzia delle Entrate, Italy’s tax agency.
- Your security deposit. Italian law caps it at three months’ rent, so for a €1,000 apartment, have up to €3,000 ready on top of the first month.
For more practical tips on living in Rome, read my tips post next.
Cost of Living in Rome: FAQs
How much does it cost to live in Rome per month?
About €1,300 to €2,250 for one person in 2026, rent included. Rent is the biggest variable: a one-bedroom averages around €670 outside the center and €1,220 in it.
Is €1,000 a month enough to live in Rome?
Only just, and only if you share an apartment outside the center, cook at home and use public transport. A one-bedroom on your own will take most of that €1,000 before you’ve bought a single bag of groceries.
Is it cheaper to live in Rome or the US?
Rome is much cheaper than big US cities like New York, mostly because of rent. A central Rome one-bedroom costs about €1,220 a month, while Manhattan’s median asking rent was $4,995 in September 2026.
Can a US citizen rent an apartment in Rome?
Yes. You’ll need an Italian tax code (codice fiscale) and, for stays over 90 days, the right visa. Expect a security deposit of up to three months’ rent, the legal maximum in Italy.
Is €3,000 a month a good salary in Rome?
Yes, for one person. It covers the central-Rome budget in this post with room to save. For context, the average net monthly salary in Rome is about €1,840, according to Numbeo data reported by The Local.
What is the average rent in Rome?
Rome’s average asking rent was €19.20 per square meter in September 2026, according to Idealista. That’s about €960 a month for a 50-square-meter (540-square-foot) one-bedroom, and closer to €1,415 in the historic center.
Is Rome worth the cost?
Rome isn’t the bargain it was a few years ago.
Rents are rising, and energy bills jumped in 2026.
Coming from a big American city, though, you still get a lot of life for the money: a €35 transit pass, an espresso for about a euro, and ancient ruins on the way to the supermarket.
Here’s the honest part.
Many of us who move here bring Western salaries into a country where wages are low, and that’s a big reason Italy feels affordable to us.
For a lot of Italians, it isn’t.
The average net salary in Rome is about €1,840 a month, which wouldn’t cover the central-Rome budget above.
Rome is expensive for the people who call it home.
It’s a tough balance, and I try to keep it in mind every time something here feels cheap to me.
I moved to Italy planning to stay six months, with only the essentials in my suitcase.
Five years later, I’m still here, still learning, and still doing the math.
So what’s the one cost that worries you most about moving to Rome? Let me know!
Read More
- Everything I Wish I’d Known Before Moving To Rome, Italy
- Top Tips for Visiting the Colosseum in Rome, Italy
- Venice vs Rome: Which Italian City Should You Visit?
- Can You Fly a Drone in Rome, Italy?
- Extraordinary Non-Touristy Places to Visit in Italy
- Your Guide for One Day in Pisa, Italy
- Your Guide to Teaching English in Italy with ACLE
- Festive Things to do in Bolzano, Italy at Christmas
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