Highs & Lows for Expats in Austria
A great quality of life doesn’t mean it’s also easy for expats to get used to the Austrian culture.
In Brief
Not much has changed for people living abroad in Austria, according to the Expat Insider survey. Following 24th place in 2024, the country ranks 23rd out of 46 destinations in 2025.
Expats continue to love Austria for the great Quality of Life (4th) and are mostly satisfied with Working Abroad (15th) and Personal Finances (18th). But Austria remains in the bottom 10 for the Ease of Settling In (41st) — in large part because of the perceived unfriendliness of the locals. Expat Essentials (28th) are a mixed bag, with a difficult language but comparatively easy-to-handle admin topics.
All things considered, 69% of expats in Austria are happy with their life (vs. 67% globally).
Enjoying the Greenery & Scenery
Since 2014, Austria has consistently placed in the top 10 of the Quality of Life Index, and 2025 is no exception (4th).
The country cinches 3rd place in two of the index’s subcategories: Environment & Climate and Travel & Transit. Every single point of the latter subcategory receives a top 10 result, including the opportunity to travel (5th) as well as the availability (4th) and affordability (6th) of public transportation.
Expats very much appreciate the urban (4th) and natural (5th) environment. In fact, nearly everyone (97%) rates Austria’s nature and scenery positively (vs. 83% globally). In part, this might also explain why 92% of respondents like the opportunities for recreational sports, 18 percentage points above the global average of 74%.
Add to that a healthcare system expats regard as affordable (7th), easily available (10th), and of comparatively high quality (12th), and Austria’s result in the Quality of Life Index seems hardly surprising.
Cash Often Still King
Speaking of affordability: unlike its German-speaking neighbors, Austria lands in a good 17th place regarding housing costs (vs. Germany 37th; Switzerland 39th). And while a quarter of respondents (25%) say it’s difficult for expats to find housing in the first place, this share is still noticeably lower than average (36% globally). Consequently, Austria ranks 18th in the Housing Subcategory.
It achieves an even better result for Admin Topics (16th), though dealing with the Austrian bureaucracy can still be a struggle sometimes, according to 42% of expats (vs. 41% globally). Opening a local bank account is child’s play in comparison (79% agree it’s easy vs. 62% globally). And that’s good news, because you’ll need easy access to cash: Worldwide, 85% of expats agree it’s easy to pay without cash in their respective host country. In Austria, only 76% say the same, ranking the country in the bottom 5 for this factor (43rd).
Together with a local language that’s needed — more than half (54%) find it difficult to get by without speaking German (vs. 34% globally) — but not necessarily easy to learn (31st) land Austria in a mediocre 28th place in the Expat Essentials Index.
It’s Not Just the Wiener Schmäh
Quality of Life isn’t the only area where Austria has shown extreme consistency over the years. Since 2014, the country just once escaped the bottom 10 of the Ease of Settling In Index — and 2025 is not that year.
Placing 41st in the index, Austria receives its worst results regarding the Local Friendliness (44th). Only around two in five respondents agree that Austrians are friendly in general (43% vs. 62% globally) and towards foreigners in particular (37% vs. 60%).
Consequently, expats find it difficult to make local friends (40th) and don’t feel welcome (40th). And close to a third (31%) say it’s hard to get used to the local culture (vs. 22% globally).
Stable Finances in a Worsening Economy
Austria lost some ground in the Working Abroad Index, going from 10th place in 2024 to rank 15th in 2025. Most of this change is due to expats’ worsening opinion regarding fair pay (from 19th to 30th), their job security (9th to 18th), and the local job market (13th to 21st).
The Austrian economy receives an above-average result, with close to three-quarters of respondents regarding it favorably (73% vs. 57% globally). However, this still reflects an 11-percentage-point drop compared to 2024 (84%). Indeed, economic forecasts project a third consecutive year of recession in 2025.1
Interestingly, this economic development doesn’t show a major impact on Austria’s result in the Personal Finance Index (18th vs. 20th in 2024) — yet. Around a third of expats (34%) rate the cost of living negatively, a lower share than the 40% worldwide. Rather, 71% agree their disposable household income is enough or even more than enough to lead a comfortable life (vs. 69% globally).
The Typical Expat in Austria
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Kathrin Chudoba
Editor in chief
