Cost of Living inCagliari, Italy
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Italy: $53,265/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 39% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
Happiness
6.3 / 10
#40 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Monthly Costs
Rent
Food
Transport
Utilities
Education
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Italy; Cagliari-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Good public schools
Expat access
Available to residents
conditionalInstruction
Italian
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Italy’s public schools are a credible option in stronger regions, especially for families comfortable with Italian.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families can enroll, but public schooling is mainly in Italian and expat-specific support is limited.
📋 Homeschooling
Legal with annual examsHomeschooling (istruzione parentale) is constitutionally protected. Parents must annually declare their intent and demonstrate financial/technical capability. Students must pass yearly exams at a state school. Italy has a small but growing worldschooling community.
Homeschool legality in Italy — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Italy.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$900-$1,700
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$1,850-$3,350
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
The concrete mobility picture for Cagliari: airport access, urban transit, and rideshare practicality.
Airport
Cagliari international airport
The current local matrix lists Monserrato as an Italy mobility/walkability gap, and Numbeo currently has a Cagliari crime page; Cagliari Elmas is the maintainable south-Sardinia family airport anchor.
Urban transit
Light metro, buses, and walkable central districts
Cagliari combines CTM buses, light-metro links toward Monserrato, and compact central walking, which gives families a stronger non-car layer than leaving Sardinia uncovered.
Rideshare
Taxi-first, limited rideshare
Taxis and app-booked rides are the dependable supplement for airport runs, beach corridors, and first/last-mile trips beyond the transit spine.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Italy.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
StrongGood national coverage, strong doctor availability, and solid hospital-bed capacity support this rating.
Public care
GoodBroad public coverage, strong public funding, and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong support this rating.
Private care
LimitedThe tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
82/100
2023
Physicians
4.19/1k
2022
Hospital beds
3.06/1k
2022
Out of pocket
22%
2024
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
84.0 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
6/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
1.8/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedCountry-level outcomes are comparatively strong help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Italy yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-07-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2024 annual wages in Cagliari, Italy · Source: ISTAT (region-adjusted)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can stay up to 90 days without a visa.
Long-Term Visa Programs
digital nomad
Digital Nomad Visa
Migrated from legacy digital_nomad_visas row 11
retirement
Elective Residence Visa Italy
investment
Italy Investor Visa Government Bonds
investment
Italy Investor Visa Startup
working holiday
Working Holiday VisaQuick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Cagliari compared with the US?
Your money goes about 1.6x further in Cagliari than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Italy here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Cagliari cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Cagliari is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 39% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Cagliari. We are using the country-level cost index for Italy here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Cagliari compare with New York City?
Rent in Cagliari is about 81% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Italy here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Cagliari?
Groceries in Cagliari are about 36% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 36% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Italy here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the autonomous region of Sardinia, Italy, set on the south coast of the island on the Gulf of Cagliari opposite mainland Italy. Its population of around 149,300 makes it Sardinia's largest city and its principal port, with the local economy built on shipping and ferries to mainland Italy and Tunisia, regional administration, the University of Cagliari, oil refining at the nearby Sarroch complex, and a meaningful tourism base. The Mediterranean climate is among the warmest in Italy, with hot dry summers and mild winters. Italian is the working language alongside Sardinian in informal use. For relocators, Cagliari offers a genuine year-round Italian regional capital with island logistics constraints, including ferry dependence and limited direct international flights outside the summer.
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