The three numbers
Annual cost
$28,000
average across our cities
FIRE target
$700,000
25× annual spending
Effective tax
15%
on employment income
Living in the Czech Republic costs roughly $28,000 a year across the 2 cities we track, which puts a full FIRE target near $700,000 at a 4% withdrawal rate. Income is taxed at roughly 15% effective, which is what actually decides how fast you get there.
The Czech Republic is the 15th cheapest of the 36 countries we hold cost data for — about 49% less than the average US city. A portfolio that funds an ordinary American life funds a longer one here, which is the whole arithmetic behind moving.
The spread inside the country is $4,000 a year — Prague against Brno — which is small enough that the country matters more than the city.
| City | Per year | FIRE number |
|---|---|---|
| Prague | $30,000 | $750,000 |
| Brno | $26,000 | $650,000 |
Every FIRE number here is 25× the annual cost, the standard 4% rule. Change the withdrawal rate and the whole column moves — a 3.5% rule multiplies by 28.6 instead.
Retiring in the average US city takes about $1,364,775. Retiring in the Czech Republic takes $700,000 — a saving of $664,775. That difference is not a discount on your lifestyle, it is years off the front of your working life, because it is the portfolio you no longer have to build.
Put differently: a $1,000,000 portfolio funds about 36 years of life in the Czech Republic at a 4% withdrawal rate, against 18 years in the average US city.
On cost, the Czech Republic sits just above Poland and just below Portugal — worth checking both if the country matters less to you than the number does.
The cost figure is annual spending for one person living an ordinary middle-class life — housing, food, transport, healthcare, the rest — not a backpacker budget and not a luxury one. The tax figure is an effective rate on employment income, not a marginal bracket, so it already accounts for the allowances most people get.
Both are estimates, and they are the right kind of estimate for a decision this size: close enough to tell you whether the Czech Republic shortens your timeline, not precise enough to budget a month on. Put your own income and savings in and the answer becomes yours rather than the average's — find your freedom date or model the move directly with the Expat FIRE calculator.