Authority Data · 2026

Cost of Living Index 2026: 307 Cities Ranked

Monthly cost of a comfortable solo expat lifestyle across 342 cities worldwide. Transparent methodology, linkable per-row data.

TL;DR for journalists and researchers

Attribution: "Enough Money, 2026 Cost of Living Index (enoughmoney.ai)". Data as of 2026-04-18. Methodology below. Per-row provenance: Numbeo + research-grounded overrides where applicable.

Methodology

Monthly total sums 5 categories: rent (1-bedroom apartment, city center), groceries + dining, utilities (electricity, gas, water, internet), transportation (public transit or moderate private), and healthcare (private insurance or typical out-of-pocket). This mirrors what expat retirees actually spend.

Primary source: Numbeo, the industry-standard crowd-sourced cost-of-living database. Numbeo is what Mercer, Expatistan, and most relocation firms base their indices on. For cities with our detailed lifestyle-tier data (~260 of the 307), we use hand-curated minimum comfortable budgets that cross-check Numbeo against specific neighborhood rent listings.

What's NOT included: premium dining, international travel, one-time costs (furnishing, visa application fees, moving expenses), and discretionary lifestyle upgrades. Couples typically run 1.5× these numbers; families with kids 2–2.5×.

Update cadence: city data is refreshed quarterly. Last updated 2026-04-18. Major rent shifts — the biggest driver of month-to-month volatility — are captured with a 3–6 month lag.

Attribution: Free to cite with credit to "Enough Money, 2026 Cost of Living Index (enoughmoney.ai)".

The full ranking (342 cities)

#	City	Country	Monthly (USD)	Rent 1BR	Safety
1	Malacca	Malaysia	$742	$295	73/100
2	Ahmedabad	India	$800	$450	69/100
3	Bhopal	India	$800	$240	55/100
4	Bhubaneswar	India	$800	$275	66/100
5	Bishkek	Kyrgyzstan	$800	$600	50/100
6	Chelyabinsk	Russia	$800	$350	56/100
7	Chittagong	Bangladesh	$800	$400	36/100
8	Coimbatore	India	$800	$325	62/100
9	Córdoba	Argentina	$800	$325	40/100
10	Damascus	Syria	$800	$350	32/100
11	Dushanbe	Tajikistan	$800	$600	51/100
12	Eskişehir	Turkey	$800	$350	75/100
13	Giza	Egypt	$800	$525	47/100
14	Guwahati	India	$800	$240	54/100
15	Indore	India	$800	$275	52/100
16	Jaipur	India	$800	$350	64/100
17	Kaliningrad	Russia	$800	$475	70/100
18	Kochi	India	$800	$275	58/100
19	Krasnoyarsk	Russia	$800	$500	58/100
20	Lahore	Pakistan	$800	$525	64/100
21	Lucknow	India	$800	$275	55/100
22	Mangalore	India	$800	$240	74/100
23	Mersin	Turkey	$800	$425	63/100
24	Nizhny Novgorod	Russia	$800	$475	72/100
25	Patna	India	$800	$240	48/100
26	Perm	Russia	$800	$350	53/100
27	Rajkot	India	$800	$200	65/100
28	Rawalpindi	Pakistan	$800	$250	48/100
29	Samara	Russia	$800	$400	68/100
30	Sousse	Tunisia	$800	$275	47/100
31	Surat	India	$800	$275	67/100
32	Thiruvananthapuram	India	$800	$350	61/100
33	Tomsk	Russia	$800	$325	55/100
34	Tyumen	Russia	$800	$425	62/100
35	Vadodara	India	$800	$200	70/100
36	Krabi	Thailand	$904	$465	47/100
37	Kota Kinabalu	Malaysia	$957	$450	56/100
38	Bandung	Indonesia	$1,000	$475	60/100
39	Niš	Serbia	$1,000	$350	72/100
40	Voronezh	Russia	$1,000	$350	55/100
41	Ko Samui	Thailand	$1,015	$605	74/100
42	Patras	Greece	$1,051	$482	65/100
43	Wroclaw	Poland	$1,070	$630	75/100
44	Pattaya	Thailand	$1,086	$650	55/100
45	Pristina	Kosovo (Disputed Territory)	$1,100	$425	69/100
46	Târgu Mureș	Romania	$1,100	$400	76/100
47	Thessaloniki	Greece	$1,100	$532	48/100
48	Poznan	Poland	$1,120	$550	72/100
49	Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	$1,200	$900	50/100
50	Agadir	Morocco	$1,200	$425	64/100
51	Aguascalientes	Mexico	$1,200	$425	66/100
52	Algiers	Algeria	$1,200	$900	49/100
53	Ankara	Turkey	$1,200	$650	61/100
54	Antalya	Turkey	$1,200	$625	71/100
55	Asunción	Paraguay	$1,200	$575	45/100
56	Bangalore	India	$1,200	$675	46/100
57	Barranquilla	Colombia	$1,200	$500	33/100
58	Batumi	Georgia	$1,200	$500	80/100
59	Bogotá	Colombia	$1,200	$650	33/100
60	Brașov	Romania	$1,200	$475	75/100
61	Burgas	Bulgaria	$1,200	$425	62/100
62	Bursa	Turkey	$1,200	$425	71/100
63	Cali	Colombia	$1,200	$475	29/100
64	Chandigarh	India	$1,200	$350	58/100
65	Changsha	China	$1,200	$475	77/100
66	Chennai	India	$1,200	$500	60/100
67	Chiang Mai	Thailand	$1,200	$450	78/100
68	Chongqing	China	$1,200	$625	77/100
69	Constanța	Romania	$1,200	$475	55/100
70	Craiova	Romania	$1,200	$375	60/100
71	Cuenca	Ecuador	$1,200	$350	54/100
72	Curitiba	Brazil	$1,200	$525	40/100
73	Da Nang	Vietnam	$1,200	$450	77/100
74	Dar es Salaam	Tanzania	$1,200	$900	45/100
75	Davao	Philippines	$1,200	$375	71/100
76	Debrecen	Hungary	$1,200	$575	76/100
77	Erbil	Iraq	$1,200	$600	70/100
78	Fortaleza	Brazil	$1,200	$400	24/100
79	Galați	Romania	$1,200	$325	49/100
80	Guayaquil	Ecuador	$1,200	$500	26/100
81	Hanoi	Vietnam	$1,200	$600	66/100
82	Harare	Zimbabwe	$1,200	$900	38/100
83	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	$1,200	$675	50/100
84	Hua Hin	Thailand	$1,200	$525	68/100
85	Hyderabad	India	$1,200	$625	57/100
86	Islamabad	Pakistan	$1,200	$625	70/100
87	Izmir	Turkey	$1,200	$650	67/100
88	João Pessoa	Brazil	$1,200	$450	36/100
89	Kampala	Uganda	$1,200	$900	44/100
90	Katowice	Poland	$1,200	$700	66/100
91	Kaunas	Lithuania	$1,200	$600	63/100
92	Kigali	Rwanda	$1,200	$650	75/100
93	Kuching	Malaysia	$1,200	$425	58/100
94	Lviv	Ukraine	$1,200	$475	63/100
95	Marrakech	Morocco	$1,200	$460	55/100
96	Medellin	Colombia	$1,200	$825	46/100
97	Mérida	Mexico	$1,200	$650	76/100
98	Navi Mumbai	India	$1,200	$350	64/100
99	Olomouc	Czech Republic	$1,200	$800	82/100
100	Oradea	Romania	$1,200	$400	79/100
101	Ostrava	Czech Republic	$1,200	$550	69/100
102	Pécs	Hungary	$1,200	$450	72/100
103	Phnom Penh	Cambodia	$1,200	$575	49/100
104	Plovdiv	Bulgaria	$1,200	$475	76/100
105	Podgorica	Montenegro	$1,200	$525	58/100
106	Pune	India	$1,200	$450	59/100
107	Querétaro	Mexico	$1,200	$650	62/100
108	Quezon City	Philippines	$1,200	$650	36/100
109	Rabat	Morocco	$1,200	$625	66/100
110	Salvador	Brazil	$1,200	$475	24/100
111	Santa Cruz	Bolivia	$1,200	$475	55/100
112	Sibiu	Romania	$1,200	$450	73/100
113	Stara Zagora	Bulgaria	$1,200	$285	81/100
114	Surabaya	Indonesia	$1,200	$525	63/100
115	Szeged	Hungary	$1,200	$500	76/100
116	Tangier	Morocco	$1,200	$475	52/100
117	Tashkent	Uzbekistan	$1,200	$850	74/100
118	Thane	India	$1,200	$350	69/100
119	Timișoara	Romania	$1,200	$450	74/100
120	Ufa	Russia	$1,200	$450	55/100
121	Vlorë	Albania	$1,200	$425	70/100
122	Sapporo	Japan	$1,226	$500	93/100
123	Fukuoka	Japan	$1,275	$650	85/100
124	Palermo	Italy	$1,281	$640	54/100
125	Zaragoza	Spain	$1,322	$762	74/100
126	Tartu	Estonia	$1,363	$643	78/100
127	Bratislava	Slovakia	$1,397	$802	70/100
128	Brno	Czech Republic	$1,400	$925	75/100
129	Cluj-Napoca	Romania	$1,400	$575	78/100
130	Gdynia	Poland	$1,400	$750	80/100
131	Plzeň	Czech Republic	$1,400	$775	70/100
132	Rijeka	Croatia	$1,400	$700	77/100
133	San Salvador	El Salvador	$1,400	$850	45/100
134	Szczecin	Poland	$1,400	$675	70/100
135	Alicante	Spain	$1,421	$915	64/100
136	Cadiz	Spain	$1,442	$892	66/100
137	Aveiro	Portugal	$1,444	$900	73/100
138	Kyoto	Japan	$1,462	$925	86/100
139	Turin	Italy	$1,495	$875	48/100
140	Coimbra	Portugal	$1,500	$800	77/100
141	Florianópolis	Brazil	$1,500	$600	54/100
142	Penang	Malaysia	$1,500	$500	71/100
143	Varna	Bulgaria	$1,500	$475	66/100
144	Vladivostok	Russia	$1,500	$575	55/100
145	Pamplona	Spain	$1,533	$950	77/100
146	Faro	Portugal	$1,534	$1,000	70/100
147	Pisa	Italy	$1,558	$786	50/100
148	Tampere	Finland	$1,564	$875	79/100
149	Cagliari	Italy	$1,574	$940	64/100
150	Genoa	Italy	$1,603	$800	55/100
151	Puerto Vallarta	Mexico	$1,620	$1,050	66/100
152	Reykjavik	Iceland	$1,620	$800	76/100
153	Naples	Italy	$1,651	$962	38/100
154	Verona	Italy	$1,685	$925	65/100
155	Winnipeg	Canada	$1,772	$1,100	40/100
156	Bilbao	Spain	$1,786	$1,200	51/100
157	Accra	Ghana	$1,800	$1,850	55/100
158	Ajman	UAE	$1,800	$500	87/100
159	Athens	Greece	$1,800	$725	45/100
160	Baghdad	Iraq	$1,800	$1,150	46/100
161	Bangkok	Thailand	$1,800	$875	62/100
162	Braga	Portugal	$1,800	$800	60/100
163	Bucharest	Romania	$1,800	$650	72/100
164	Budapest	Hungary	$1,800	$900	66/100
165	Buenos Aires	Argentina	$1,800	$700	37/100
166	Cancún	Mexico	$1,800	$675	46/100
167	Cape Town	South Africa	$1,800	$975	27/100
168	Cartagena	Colombia	$1,800	$875	48/100
169	Chengdu	China	$1,800	$650	80/100
170	Granada	Spain	$1,800	$800	63/100
171	Guadalajara	Mexico	$1,800	$875	38/100
172	Guangzhou	China	$1,800	$900	72/100
173	Hangzhou	China	$1,800	$900	85/100
174	Kaohsiung	Taiwan	$1,800	$525	79/100
175	Kraków	Poland	$1,800	$700	75/100
176	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	$1,800	$700	41/100
177	Lima	Peru	$1,800	$800	30/100
178	Makati	Philippines	$1,800	$1,050	62/100
179	Nanjing	China	$1,800	$825	88/100
180	Newcastle upon Tyne	United Kingdom	$1,800	$1,175	61/100
181	Phuket	Thailand	$1,800	$675	61/100
182	Qingdao	China	$1,800	$625	89/100
183	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	$1,800	$875	25/100
184	São Paulo	Brazil	$1,800	$900	30/100
185	Suzhou	China	$1,800	$850	89/100
186	Taichung	Taiwan	$1,800	$650	86/100
187	Tallinn	Estonia	$1,800	$825	78/100
188	Tbilisi	Georgia	$1,800	$700	74/100
189	Torrevieja	Spain	$1,800	$800	55/100
190	Trieste	Italy	$1,800	$800	73/100
191	Ulaanbaatar	Mongolia	$1,800	$900	49/100
192	Vilnius	Lithuania	$1,800	$875	70/100
193	Wuhan	China	$1,800	$650	70/100
194	Xi'an	China	$1,800	$525	70/100
195	Zagreb	Croatia	$1,800	$800	79/100
196	Bologna	Italy	$1,845	$1,150	51/100
197	Warsaw	Poland	$1,845	$1,175	75/100
198	Birmingham	United Kingdom	$1,923	$1,225	36/100
199	Venice	Italy	$2,001	$1,210	69/100
200	Palma	Spain	$2,013	$1,240	64/100
201	Banff	Canada	$2,053	$1,328	81/100
202	Cairns	Australia	$2,110	$1,450	38/100
203	Cascais	Portugal	$2,166	$1,498	73/100
204	San Sebastian	Spain	$2,170	$1,500	70/100
205	Funchal	Portugal	$2,200	$1,175	80/100
206	Glasgow	United Kingdom	$2,200	$1,300	55/100
207	Graz	Austria	$2,200	$925	73/100
208	Groningen	Netherlands	$2,200	$1,550	76/100
209	Liverpool	United Kingdom	$2,200	$1,175	53/100
210	Ljubljana	Slovenia	$2,200	$1,025	78/100
211	Montevideo	Uruguay	$2,200	$725	43/100
212	Porto	Portugal	$2,200	$1,125	66/100
213	Rome	Italy	$2,200	$1,432	53/100
214	Seville	Spain	$2,200	$1,075	63/100
215	Hobart	Australia	$2,229	$1,550	66/100
216	Calgary	Canada	$2,235	$1,490	62/100
217	Houston	United States	$2,266	$1,465	37/100
218	Galway	Ireland	$2,328	$1,452	69/100
219	Montreal	Canada	$2,372	$1,652	67/100
220	Kitchener	Canada	$2,419	$1,724	57/100
221	Kingston	Canada	$2,435	$1,740	61/100
222	Bern	Switzerland	$2,480	$1,600	74/100
223	Abidjan	Ivory Coast	$2,500	$390	44/100
224	Al Khobar	Saudi Arabia	$2,500	$875	88/100
225	Bali (Canggu)	Indonesia	$2,500	$900	73/100
226	Barcelona	Spain	$2,500	$1,500	48/100
227	Beijing	China	$2,500	$1,650	75/100
228	Berlin	Germany	$2,500	$1,500	55/100
229	Christchurch	New Zealand	$2,500	$1,200	55/100
230	Cincinnati	United States	$2,500	$1,450	51/100
231	Columbia	United States	$2,500	$1,350	46/100
232	Columbus	United States	$2,500	$1,450	51/100
233	Düsseldorf	Germany	$2,500	$1,400	66/100
234	Eindhoven	Netherlands	$2,500	$1,650	77/100
235	Frankfurt	Germany	$2,500	$1,800	55/100
236	Ghent	Belgium	$2,500	$1,025	75/100
237	Gothenburg	Sweden	$2,500	$1,250	54/100
238	Hamburg	Germany	$2,500	$1,600	59/100
239	Huntsville	United States	$2,500	$1,350	58/100
240	Istanbul	Turkey	$2,500	$1,300	52/100
241	Jacksonville	United States	$2,500	$1,400	44/100
242	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	$2,500	$925	75/100
243	Knoxville	United States	$2,500	$1,350	58/100
244	Louisville	United States	$2,500	$1,300	42/100
245	Madrid	Spain	$2,500	$1,350	71/100
246	Málaga	Spain	$2,500	$1,175	69/100
247	Manama	Bahrain	$2,500	$1,000	82/100
248	Mauritius	Mauritius	$2,500	$925	49/100
249	Mexico City	Mexico	$2,500	$1,150	34/100
250	Muscat	Oman	$2,500	$650	81/100
251	Omaha	United States	$2,500	$1,350	54/100
252	Osaka	Japan	$2,500	$950	67/100
253	Panama City	Panama	$2,500	$1,050	53/100
254	Pittsburgh	United States	$2,500	$1,800	61/100
255	Prague	Czech Republic	$2,500	$1,125	75/100
256	Quebec City	Canada	$2,500	$1,075	78/100
257	Rochester	United States	$2,500	$1,450	36/100
258	Rotterdam	Netherlands	$2,500	$1,950	70/100
259	San Antonio	United States	$2,500	$1,450	50/100
260	Seoul	South Korea	$2,500	$1,250	75/100
261	Shanghai	China	$2,500	$1,850	74/100
262	Shenzhen	China	$2,500	$1,150	75/100
263	Split	Croatia	$2,500	$1,025	70/100
264	Stuttgart	Germany	$2,500	$1,550	66/100
265	Taipei	Taiwan	$2,500	$850	83/100
266	The Hague	Netherlands	$2,500	$1,950	78/100
267	Tulsa	United States	$2,500	$1,150	48/100
268	Valencia	Spain	$2,500	$1,125	63/100
269	Vienna	Austria	$2,500	$1,450	71/100
270	Villach	Austria	$2,500	$800	71/100
271	Las Vegas	United States	$2,501	$1,700	45/100
272	Phoenix	United States	$2,502	$1,625	47/100
273	Portland	United States	$2,509	$1,625	42/100
274	Bristol	United Kingdom	$2,517	$1,872	57/100
275	Halifax	Canada	$2,545	$1,850	61/100
276	Orlando	United States	$2,583	$1,750	51/100
277	Ottawa	Canada	$2,583	$1,888	69/100
278	Manchester	United Kingdom	$2,660	$2,100	44/100
279	Toronto	Canada	$2,668	$2,000	57/100
280	Victoria	Canada	$2,668	$1,848	61/100
281	Paris	France	$2,691	$1,920	42/100
282	Burlington	Canada	$2,720	$2,000	71/100
283	Vaughan	Canada	$2,745	$2,050	57/100
284	Stavanger	Norway	$2,752	$1,425	75/100
285	Dubrovnik	Croatia	$2,800	$1,300	82/100
286	Florence	Italy	$2,800	$1,175	58/100
287	Lisbon	Portugal	$2,800	$1,500	67/100
288	Wichita	United States	$2,800	$925	55/100
289	Guelph	Canada	$2,805	$2,074	67/100
290	Basel	Switzerland	$2,814	$2,018	69/100
291	Nashville	United States	$2,826	$2,000	51/100
292	Denver	United States	$2,828	$2,000	52/100
293	Oakville	Canada	$2,842	$2,122	74/100
294	Perth	Australia	$2,888	$1,568	58/100
295	Mississauga	Canada	$2,925	$2,105	56/100
296	Vancouver	Canada	$3,384	$2,584	57/100
297	Abu Dhabi	UAE	$3,500	$1,769	89/100
298	Adelaide	Australia	$3,500	$1,350	67/100
299	Auckland	New Zealand	$3,500	$2,125	49/100
300	Boise	United States	$3,500	$1,400	62/100
301	Brisbane	Australia	$3,500	$1,600	62/100
302	Charlotte	United States	$3,500	$1,850	51/100
303	Chicago	United States	$3,500	$2,300	35/100
304	Copenhagen	Denmark	$3,500	$2,000	74/100
305	Doha	Qatar	$3,500	$1,650	85/100
306	Dublin	Ireland	$3,500	$2,200	46/100
307	Edinburgh	United Kingdom	$3,500	$1,375	70/100
308	Gold Coast	Australia	$3,500	$1,875	53/100
309	Helsinki	Finland	$3,500	$1,350	75/100
310	London	United Kingdom	$3,500	$2,500	45/100
311	Luxembourg City	Luxembourg	$3,500	$2,075	72/100
312	Madison	United States	$3,500	$1,700	64/100
313	Milan	Italy	$3,500	$1,550	46/100
314	Munich	Germany	$3,500	$1,700	78/100
315	Raleigh	United States	$3,500	$1,600	51/100
316	Salt Lake City	United States	$3,500	$1,625	64/100
317	Tampa	United States	$3,500	$2,000	55/100
318	Tokyo	Japan	$3,500	$2,650	76/100
319	Utrecht	Netherlands	$3,500	$2,025	73/100
320	Wellington	New Zealand	$3,500	$1,700	67/100
321	Sydney	Australia	$3,565	$2,538	66/100
322	Zurich	Switzerland	$3,612	$2,710	77/100
323	Bergen	Norway	$3,614	$1,350	76/100
324	Honolulu	United States	$3,622	$2,500	53/100
325	Lugano	Switzerland	$3,633	$1,950	78/100
326	Trondheim	Norway	$3,647	$1,400	79/100
327	Lausanne	Switzerland	$3,735	$2,275	71/100
328	Geneva	Switzerland	$3,822	$2,942	71/100
329	Irvine	United States	$3,842	$3,100	70/100
330	Dubai	UAE	$4,000	$2,300	84/100
331	Brooklyn	United States	$4,420	$3,550	55/100
332	Amsterdam	Netherlands	$4,500	$2,400	70/100
333	Austin	United States	$4,500	$2,100	56/100
334	Boston	United States	$4,500	$3,400	60/100
335	Los Angeles	United States	$4,500	$3,000	46/100
336	Melbourne	Australia	$4,500	$2,500	56/100
337	Miami	United States	$4,500	$2,950	47/100
338	New York	United States	$4,500	$4,350	49/100
339	San Diego	United States	$4,500	$2,700	60/100
340	Seattle	United States	$4,500	$2,300	45/100
341	Washington, D.C.	United States	$4,500	$2,850	40/100
342	San Francisco	United States	$5,500	$3,150	39/100

Click any city name for the full guide with neighborhood detail.

Frequently asked questions

What's included in the monthly cost of living?

Five categories sum to the 'monthly total' shown: rent (1-bedroom apartment, city center), groceries + dining, utilities (electricity, gas, water, internet), transport (public transit or moderate private), and healthcare (private insurance or out-of-pocket). These correspond to what most expat retirees actually spend each month. Premium dining, international travel, and one-time costs (furnishing, visa fees, initial deposits) are excluded.

What's the source of the underlying data?

Primary source is Numbeo (crowd-sourced expat cost data, the industry-standard for cross-city comparison used by Mercer, Expatistan, and most relocation firms). We supplement with targeted research for categories Numbeo is weak on (healthcare for expat plans, utilities for specific neighborhoods). For cities with our detailed lifestyle-tier data, we use hand-curated minimum comfortable budgets instead of raw Numbeo sums.

How is 'comfortable' defined?

The monthly total reflects a comfortable solo lifestyle for someone who wants: their own 1BR apartment (not shared), regular home cooking with occasional restaurant meals, reliable internet, private or tiered healthcare, and flexibility to enjoy the city. It's above 'lean' or backpacker budgets and below 'luxury' or country-club tiers. Couples typically run 1.5× these numbers; families 2–2.5×.

Why is my city more or less expensive than your number suggests?

Cost of living in any city varies 2–3× within the city itself by neighborhood, housing type, and lifestyle choices. Our number reflects a median expat-suitable lifestyle. If you're willing to live in cheaper neighborhoods and cook at home, subtract 20–30%. If you want the most expensive neighborhood and dine out daily, add 40–60%. Check our linked city guides for neighborhood-level detail.

How often is this updated?

The underlying city data is refreshed quarterly. Major rent shifts — the biggest driver of month-to-month volatility — are typically caught with a 3–6 month lag. For any city where you're about to make a major decision, cross-reference against the most recent month of local rental listings.

Related data

Authority data

Global Tax Regime Map 2026

Authority data

FIRE Numbers by Country 2026

Authority data

Digital Nomad Visa Tracker 2026

This index is for educational and planning purposes. Verify specifics against current local rent listings and government data before making relocation decisions. Free to cite with attribution.