# Budapest vs Hamburg

> On balanced weights, Budapest comes out ahead: 50 against 45 out of 100, mostly on nice days and dry days. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/budapest-hu-vs-hamburg-de/

Scores out of 100: Budapest 50, Hamburg 45. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=budapest-hu,hamburg-de

## Line by line

| Line | Budapest | Hamburg |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,325 take-home a month | €3,129 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 57 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 26 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 8 h 26 min | 7 h 27 min |
| Sunshine | 1,977 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) | 1,617 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) |
| Dry days | 101 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 150 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 10.1 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 9.1 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 0.7 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 0.9 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 76.7 years (World Development Indicators) | 80.8 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €24 a month (World Development Indicators) | €55 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 78 weeks (mother 76, father 2) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 43 weeks (mother 38, father 5) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.10 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.00 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 46 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 44 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 18 km (OurAirports airports) | 9 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | no data | 40 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Rail and metro stations | 114 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 111 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | no data | 30 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Cycle network | 0.58 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 2.18 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 97 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 99 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | no data | 17.6 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Quick way out by bike | 4.4 km, about 18 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 5.3 km, about 21 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 412 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 73 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 127 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 199 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 23.5 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 12.2 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 88 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 38 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 20 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 64 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 13.1 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 27.9 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 3.5 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 4.5 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 4.5 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 3.7 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 59.3 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) | 43.0 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) |
| Developers around | 8.6 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 10.4 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 0.00 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 1.68 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | no data | centre, 5.5 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | civil union or partnership; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 29 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 30 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 17 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 12 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 45 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 14 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 30 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 6 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 224 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 243 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 10 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 126 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 175 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 19 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 27 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 6 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 10 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 5 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Budapest or Hamburg?

Everyday prices are lower in Hungary: 57.9 against 81.2 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Budapest and Hamburg, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Budapest and in Hamburg?

About HUF 14,661,255 a year in Budapest (Hungary 2026 tax rules) and €37,551 in Hamburg (Germany 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Budapest or Hamburg?

Budapest is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 17.0 °C against 14.2 °C in Hamburg (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Budapest or Hamburg?

Hamburg has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 9.1 µg/m³ against 10.1 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2024).

### Can a citizen of Hungary live and work in Hamburg without a visa?

Yes. EU and EEA free movement rules let citizens of Hungary live and work in Germany without a visa.

## Cite

Borgo, "Budapest vs Hamburg", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/budapest-hu-vs-hamburg-de/, figures as of 2026-11-05.