Climate
Amsterdam logs 2 hot days a year to New York City's 22 — Amsterdam wins by 20. Amsterdam also leads on frost days by 32.
Amsterdam
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
New York City
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Amsterdam is $2010/mo cheaperAmsterdam runs about $3,405/mo for a balanced lifestyle against New York City's $5,415/mo — Amsterdam comes in $2,010 cheaper each month, roughly 59% less.
Amsterdam
$3,405monthly · balanced
New York City
$5,415monthly · balanced
Mobility
On mobility, Amsterdam scores 5.0 vs New York City's 3.6 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on airport accessibility.
Culture
New York City's culture score of 4.8 sits well above Amsterdam's 4.4, with the biggest gap on arts & culture.
Nature & Outdoors
Amsterdam and New York City score neck-and-neck on nature & outdoors (4.2 vs 4.0, 0–5 scale).
Safety
Amsterdam's safety score is ~1.9× New York City's — in the upper band, while New York City lands below average, with the biggest gap on road safety.
Career
New York City's career score of 5.0 sits well above Amsterdam's 4.2, with the biggest gap on career opportunities.
Social & Community
New York City's social & community score of 4.3 sits well above Amsterdam's 3.8, with the biggest gap on everyday english. Amsterdam still holds an edge on government immigration friendliness.
Food & Dining
On food & dining, New York City scores 5.0 vs Amsterdam's 3.8 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on brunch availability.
Family
On family, New York City scores 4.3 vs Amsterdam's 3.7 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on international schools. Amsterdam still holds an edge on playgrounds.
Healthcare
Amsterdam and New York City score neck-and-neck on healthcare (3.7 vs 3.5, 0–5 scale).
Air Quality
Amsterdam averages 8.8 µg/m³ (good) PM2.5 annually versus New York City's 8.6 µg/m³ (good) — New York City breathes ~3% cleaner air (0.3 µg/m³ lower).
Amsterdam
New York City
PM2.5 annual average
WHO classification
City Scale
Both maps at the same real-world scale — 1 cm on either map is the same distance.
Amsterdam (1.2M) and New York City (14.2M) are 12x in population — New York City is the larger metro, Amsterdam the smaller; on land area New York City spans roughly 9.8x more ground.
New York City is roughly 11x the scale of Amsterdam
Combined population & area comparison
New York City
AmsterdamCity Scale Rankings
New York City14.2M12xAmsterdam1.2M1xNew York City3,031 km²9.8xAmsterdam308 km²1xAmsterdam
New York City
Who Thrives Here
Amsterdam favours the safety seeker, while New York City suits the sunshine lover. Both cities work well for the car-free urbanist.
Also compared
Frequently asked about Amsterdam vs New York City
▶Which is cheaper, Amsterdam or New York City?
▶How does the climate compare between Amsterdam and New York City?
▶Is Amsterdam or New York City safer?
▶Should I move to Amsterdam or New York City?
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