USD to CHF purchasing power parity
Purchasing power parity between the US dollar and the Swiss franc, on OECD data, worked in both directions — and why Swiss pay converts less impressively at PPP.
The rate, both directions
- 1 USD at purchasing power parity
- CHF1.11 CHF
- 1 CHF at purchasing power parity
- $0.9009 USD
- $1,000 in the United States buys, in Switzerland,
- CHF1,110
- CHF1,000 in Switzerland buys, in the United States,
- $900.90
OECD household final consumption expenditure PPPs, 2024.
Switzerland is the clearest example of a high-price economy where the market exchange rate flatters incomes. Swiss salaries converted to dollars at the market rate look extraordinary; converted at purchasing power parity they stay high but far less dramatically so, because Swiss domestic prices are correspondingly high.
This is the single most useful adjustment to make when weighing a Swiss job offer against one elsewhere — the market-rate conversion is measuring the currency, not the standard of living.
How the conversion works
amount in B = (amount in A ÷ PPP rate of A) × PPP rate of B
A PPP rate is the units of local currency that buy what one US dollar buys in the United States, so the US rate is 1 by construction and any pair runs through it. Use the full calculator to convert an arbitrary amount across all 43 countries at once.
Frequently asked questions
Why do Swiss salaries look so much lower after a PPP adjustment? ▾
Because the adjustment removes the part of the gap that is just high Swiss prices. Rent, food and services cost more in Switzerland, so a franc buys less at home than its market-rate dollar value implies. The PPP-converted figure is what the salary is worth in like-for-like consumption.
Is Switzerland still a high-income country after adjusting for PPP? ▾
Yes — the adjustment narrows the gap considerably but does not close it. Swiss incomes remain among the highest in the OECD on a PPP basis; they are simply not as far ahead as a market-rate conversion suggests.
Other pairs
- USD to EUR — why there is no single euro PPP rate, and what each euro country's rate is
- USD to JPY — the gap between Japan's PPP rate and the market rate, and what it means
- USD to GBP — dollar and pound compared at purchasing power rather than the market rate
- USD to CAD — the US–Canada comparison at purchasing power, not the market rate
- USD to NOK — Norwegian prices and pay compared at purchasing power parity
- Average Salary Explorer — OECD average wages in nominal, real and PPP-converted terms.