# Lyon vs Milan

> On balanced weights, Lyon comes out ahead: 57 against 52 out of 100, mostly on clean air and money left each month. 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/lyon-fr-vs-milan-it/

Scores out of 100: Lyon 57, Milan 52. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=lyon-fr,milan-it

## Line by line

| Line | Lyon | Milan |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,429 take-home a month | €3,130 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | €2,524 a month (Carte des loyers: asking-rent indicators by commune (2025); World Development Indicators) | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 54 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 55 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 8 h 40 min | 8 h 42 min |
| Sunshine | 2,044 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) | 2,063 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) |
| Dry days | 118 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 119 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 8.9 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 20.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 1.3 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 0.6 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 83.0 years (World Development Indicators) | 84.0 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €37 a month (World Development Indicators) | €56 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 27 weeks (mother 20, father 8) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 38 weeks (mother 32, father 6) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.10 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.10 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 70 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 66 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 | 19 km (OurAirports airports) | 7 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 33 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 23 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Rail and metro stations | 64 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 154 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | 29 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 35 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Cycle network | 1.47 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 1.76 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 100 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 100 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 16.8 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 13.0 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Quick way out by bike | 6.2 km, about 25 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 4.7 km, about 19 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 240 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 118 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 42 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 41 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 13.0 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 36.5 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 64 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 29 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 39 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 34 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 20.6 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 17.0 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 3.3 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 4.2 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 7.5 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 6.4 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 50.5 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 24.2 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Developers around | 23.0 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 12.3 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 1.24 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 0.58 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre-right, 6.2 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | no data |
| 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 | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | civil union or partnership; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 77 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 33 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 14 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 10 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 46 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 43 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 26 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 33 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 276 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 248 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 5 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 36 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 133 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 122 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 10 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 42 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 23 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 49 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 5 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Lyon or Milan?

Everyday prices are lower in Italy: 72.9 against 82.8 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Milan, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

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

About €41,149 a year in Lyon (France 2026 tax rules) and €37,555 in Milan (Italy 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Lyon or Milan?

Milan is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 19.0 °C against 17.7 °C in Lyon (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Lyon or Milan?

Lyon has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 8.9 µg/m³ against 20.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2024).

### Can a citizen of France live and work in Milan without a visa?

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

## Cite

Borgo, "Lyon vs Milan", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/lyon-fr-vs-milan-it/, figures as of 2026-11-05.