City comparison
Milan vs Palermo: which is better to live in?
Quick verdict
Palermo is the cheaper of the two: our estimate for a single person is about €750 a month less than Milan, mostly because of rent. Palermo has the milder winter (about 16°C vs 8°C average highs in Dec to Feb). Both are in Italy, so the visa rules, taxes and healthcare system are the same: the choice comes down to cost, climate and lifestyle.
Choose Milan for
- Public transport
- English-friendliness
- Mountains nearby
- Nightlife
Choose Palermo for
- Affordability
- Beach life
- Sunny, warm climate
- Nature & green space
- Lower living costs
Milan vs Palermo at a glance
| Milan | Palermo | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Italy | Italy |
| Single budget / month | €2,300 | €1,550 |
| Couple budget / month | €3,400 | €2,350 |
| 1-bed rent, center | €1,550 | €550 |
| Winter highs (Dec to Feb) | 8°C / 47°F | 16°C / 60°F |
| Summer highs (Jun to Aug) | 30°C / 85°F | 30°C / 86°F |
| Sunshine (hours/yr) | 2,217 | 2,530 |
| City size | Capital / metropolis | Large city |
| Coastal | No | Yes |
| Direct flights to the US | Yes | Yes |
| Affordability | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Sunny, warm climate | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| English-friendliness | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Safety | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Walkability | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Public transport | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Nature & green space | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Beach life | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Mountains nearby | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Culture | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Nightlife | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Family life | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Remote-work scene | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Expat community | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Flights home | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Calm, slower pace | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
Cost of living: Milan or Palermo?
By our estimates, a comfortable mid-range life costs about €2,300 a month for one person in Milan and €1,550 in Palermo, rent included. For a couple it’s €3,400 vs €2,350, and for a family of four €5,000 vs €3,300.
Rent drives most of the gap: a one-bedroom in the center runs about €1,550 in Milan against €550 in Palermo, while a monthly transit pass costs €39 vs -. Want to plug in your own lifestyle? Use the cost of living calculator.
Climate and weather
Winters average highs of about 8°C (47°F) in Milan and 16°C (60°F) in Palermo. In summer it’s roughly 30°C vs 30°C. Milan gets about 2,217 hours of sunshine a year and Palermo about 2,530.
2,217 hours of sunshine a year · 752 mm of rain a year · Source: Linate station, 1991-2020 normals via NOAA NCEI, as tabulated on Wikipedia (Milan)
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7°C / 45°F | -0°C / 31°F |
| Feb | 10°C / 50°F | 1°C / 33°F |
| Mar | 16°C / 60°F | 4°C / 40°F |
| Apr | 19°C / 67°F | 8°C / 47°F |
| May | 24°C / 75°F | 13°C / 55°F |
| Jun | 28°C / 83°F | 17°C / 63°F |
| Jul | 31°C / 87°F | 19°C / 67°F |
| Aug | 30°C / 86°F | 19°C / 66°F |
| Sep | 26°C / 78°F | 15°C / 59°F |
| Oct | 19°C / 66°F | 10°C / 50°F |
| Nov | 12°C / 54°F | 5°C / 42°F |
| Dec | 7°C / 45°F | 1°C / 33°F |
2,530 hours of sunshine a year · 591 mm of rain a year · Source: Palermo-Boccadifalco 1991-2020 normals (Servizio Meteorologico) via the Wikipedia climate table; sunshine is the about 2,530 hours a year in the article text
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15°C / 59°F | 9°C / 49°F |
| Feb | 15°C / 60°F | 9°C / 48°F |
| Mar | 17°C / 62°F | 10°C / 50°F |
| Apr | 20°C / 68°F | 12°C / 54°F |
| May | 24°C / 75°F | 16°C / 60°F |
| Jun | 28°C / 83°F | 20°C / 67°F |
| Jul | 31°C / 88°F | 23°C / 73°F |
| Aug | 31°C / 89°F | 23°C / 74°F |
| Sep | 28°C / 82°F | 21°C / 69°F |
| Oct | 24°C / 76°F | 18°C / 64°F |
| Nov | 20°C / 68°F | 14°C / 56°F |
| Dec | 16°C / 61°F | 11°C / 51°F |
Daily life
Milan is a capital / metropolis; Palermo is a large city on the coast. Milan is Italy's business and design capital, with the best transit, the strongest English and the highest costs in our Italian set. A comfortable single budget runs about €2,300 a month, and a center one-bed about €1,550. It suits career movers and remote workers who want efficiency over postcard charm. Palermo is the most affordable city in our whole set, with mild winters, beaches and centuries of layered history. It suits budget-minded retirees and remote workers who can live in Italian and accept patchy public services.
Living in Milan: the upsides and downsides
- Italy's deepest job market and corporate base
- Best metro and rail connections in the country
- More English spoken than in most Italian cities
- Downside: Highest rents in Italy in our set
- Downside: Foggy, cold winters and humid, hot summers
Living in Palermo: the upsides and downsides
- Among the lowest rents of any city we cover
- Mild winters and a long beach season
- Street food, markets and a big historic center
- Downside: Public transport and waste collection are unreliable
- Downside: Few English speakers and a small expat community
Visas and residency
Both cities are in Italy, so you’d use the same residence routes either way:
- Italian Citizenship by Descent (Jure Sanguinis) - Citizenship by descent, changing
- Italy Digital Nomad Visa (Remote Worker Visa) - Digital nomad visa, open, €2,125/mo income
- Italy Elective Residency Visa - Retirement visa, open, €2,583/mo income
- Italy Investor Visa (Golden Visa) - Golden visa, open, €250,000 investment
Read the full guides: living in Milan and living in Palermo.
Related comparisons
- Rome vs Milan
- Milan vs Paris
- Milan vs Florence
- Milan vs Bologna
- Cagliari vs Palermo
- Naples vs Palermo
- Palermo vs Valletta & Sliema
- Milan vs Naples
- Palermo vs Rome
- Florence vs Palermo
Costs are our estimates for a comfortable mid-range lifestyle; scores are editorial, relative to the 56 cities we cover. Methodology.