Cost of living

Cost of living – what it means for retirees

France’s comparably low cost of living is often a key factor for American expats in influencing their decision to move. 

The affordability of the day-to-day, particularly when it comes to healthcare (see chapter 18 on healthcare), can have a significant impact in helping finances to go further for a longer and more enjoyable life.

Worth noting also is the cost of retirement in France. A November 2024 study from by Silver Alliance in partnership with Retraite.com estimated €15,000 a year as the minimum amount (in addition to accommodation and bills) retired people in France need to live with dignity, to cover goods and services. 

The fifth edition of the study ‘Combien ça coûte d’être vieux en France?’ (How much does it cost to be old in France?) analyzed price variations in 19 products and services commonly used by this demographic including health insurance, home help, meal delivery, and transport costs. 

The analysis was across five categories:

• Looking after your health: Health insurance, hearing care, optical care, incontinence products, medicines, etc

• Fitting out your home: Bathroom fittings, support bars, walkers, etc

• Living well at home: Home help, remote assistance, night care, etc

• Making the most of your time: Clubs and associations, telephony and communication solutions, etc.

• Other services: Administrative assistance, transport, etc 

All of the goods and services were calculated by cost per year, except for optical equipment (three years), hearing aids and medical equipment (four years), bathroom fittings and moving (10 years), and communication equipment (three years). 

The report also took certain tax credits and allowances (for example for home help and night care) into account when considering the costs.

The report concludes that in 2024, a pensioner (on average across all three age groups – 65-75 years of age, 75-85, and 85+) needed €1,260 a month in spending income to live with “dignity” as a senior citizen. This equates to €15,124 a year, up from €14,596 per year, or €1,216 per month, in 2023. This is a 3.5% rise year-on-year.

This cost has risen nearly 20% over five years, while the average increase in inflation over the same period is 14.80% and that of the minimum wage is 17.06%, noted Retraite.com. 

Minimum wage and basic standard of living

Every year the French government sets out the SMIC (salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance) as the minimum wage required for a basic standard of living. For 2025, this was €11.88 per hour (compared to $7.25 as the US federal minimum wage for 2025), equating to full-time employment of €1,800 a month gross (€1,426 net) per individual. 

This monthly figure is a standard commonly held across the country as baseline for covering housing costs, food, transportation and reasonable entertainment. It is also the minimum income (per person) stipulated by the French government for long-term visa applications in 2025.

Connexion tip: budgeting

To get an idea of what you might need to account for, there are a number of resources available that can help guide you. A number of these allow you to forecast a budget tailored to your personal circumstances by inputting your household needs. 

An online search is a good place to start, with initial resources including but not limited to: 

• Numbeo

• Living Cost

• World Data

• International Living

• Expatica

The ups and downs of inflation

Though calculating the total day-to-day costs of living depends on each household’s requirements (number of people, ages, size of property and location, etc), by and large the reference points for living in France make it a great deal more affordable than in the US.

It should be noted that in common with a number of European countries, prices increased in France with the outbreak of the Ukraine war, rising to 7.3% in February 2023. Energy costs and staple good prices were kept in check by state aid and by January 2025 the rate of inflation had fallen to 1.7%.

At the time of writing, inflation was forecast to hit an average of 1.1% during 2025. As a useful snapshot, French statistics and economics institute Insee reported in July that consumer prices rose by 1.0% in for the month, the same as for June. However, the slight increases in the prices of services (+2.5% after +2.4%) and food (+1.6% after +1.4%) were offset by the more significant decline in energy prices (-7.2% after -6.7%).