Ankaravs
ArequipaAnkara vs Arequipa: cost, size & quality of life compared
Ankara (composite 5.8) vs Arequipa (composite 6.0). Side-by-side on cost of living, population & size, affordability, quality of life, remote-work friendliness and healthcare — with the calculation behind each score.
Composite scores
Overall: Arequipa wins by 0.2 points
Population & size
Is Ankara bigger than Arequipa?
Ankara is the bigger city: about 5.7M people versus Arequipa's 1.1M — roughly 5.2× larger.
City-proper / metro population estimates. Size is one input — scroll on for cost of living, salary equivalence and quality-of-life scoring.
Arequipa edges out Ankara on the Mundevo composite, 6.0 to 5.8 out of 10 — a narrow 0.2-point margin across safety, healthcare, air quality and cost.
The composite gap is small enough that one weighted axis can flip the result. Use the per-axis breakdown below to see which city wins your specific priorities — someone optimizing for healthcare can land on a different answer than someone optimizing for affordability.
Run the salary calculator for both cities at your target lifestyle before deciding — Arequipa winning on quality doesn't mean the gross-salary requirement also lands in your favor. If you're on a balanced tier, the cost-of-living pages for each city carry the full monthly basket and the gross-salary figure.
Data signals
What separates Ankara and Arequipa
How decisive
Arequipa comes out ahead by 0.2 composite points — a narrow edge.
Biggest difference
The widest gap is healthcare, where Arequipa leads by 1.0 points.
Where they match
They're most evenly matched on affordability — within 0.1 points of each other.
Overall cost gap
Total monthly costs in Arequipa run about 4% lower than in Ankara.
Where budgets split most
Healthcare is the line item that diverges most: roughly 75% pricier in Arequipa than Ankara.
Score-by-score, side-by-side
Each axis is scored independently with disclosed weights and a calculation string.
| Axis | Ankara | Arequipa | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affordability | 7.6 | 7.7 | Arequipa +0.1 |
| Quality of life | 5.9 | 5.4 | Ankara +0.5 |
| Remote-work friendliness | 4.9 | 5.4 | Arequipa +0.5 |
| Healthcare | 4.6 | 5.6 | Arequipa +1.0 |
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)32
- Rent index (weight 40%)12
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Ankara: ((100 − 32)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 12)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 7.6.
Ankara sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)60
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)65
- Air quality index (weight 25%)48
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Ankara: (60/100 × 0.4 + 65/100 × 0.35 + 48/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.9.
Ankara has a mixed quality profile. Safety: good; healthcare: good; air: fair. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)40 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)15.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)32
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Ankara: (min(40/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.15) × 0.3 + (100 − 32)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 4.9.
Ankara works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 40 Mbps, income tax 15%, cost index 32.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)65
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)1200
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Ankara: (65/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 1200/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 4.6.
Ankara has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is good, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~1200 TRY/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)32
- Rent index (weight 40%)10
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Arequipa: ((100 − 32)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 10)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 7.7.
Arequipa sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)45
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)55
- Air quality index (weight 25%)65
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Arequipa: (45/100 × 0.4 + 55/100 × 0.35 + 65/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.4.
Arequipa has a mixed quality profile. Safety: fair; healthcare: good; air: good. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)70 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)12.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)32
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Arequipa: (min(70/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.12) × 0.3 + (100 − 32)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.4.
Arequipa works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 70 Mbps, income tax 12%, cost index 32.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)55
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)200
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Arequipa: (55/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 200/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 5.6.
Arequipa has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is good, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~200 PEN/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Monthly cost delta: Ankara vs Arequipa
Normalized to TRY at 1 PEN = 10.5000 TRY.
| Category | Ankara | Arequipa | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| housing | TRY 14,000 | PEN 1,100 | -18% |
| food | TRY 8,000 | PEN 700 | -8% |
| transport | TRY 800 | PEN 100 | +31% |
| utilities | TRY 2,200 | PEN 240 | +15% |
| leisure | TRY 6,000 | PEN 600 | +5% |
| healthcare | TRY 1,200 | PEN 200 | +75% |
Where each city's money goes
Two cities can have the same monthly total but very different shapes — one might burn 50% on housing while the other splits more evenly. The composition matters as much as the headline.
The biggest shape difference is housing: Ankara spends 6.1 percentage points more of its budget on it (43% vs. 37%). If you're sensitive to that category, weight the per-axis scores accordingly.
Salary equivalence: Ankara ↔ Arequipa
What earning the same purchasing power costs in each city. Cost-adjusted using the local cost-of-living index (Ankara = 32, Arequipa = 32); currency-converted at 1 PEN = 10.5000 TRY. Tax differences are not modeled.
| Ankara gross | Arequipa equivalent |
|---|---|
| TRY 40,000 | PEN 3,810 |
| TRY 75,000 | PEN 7,143 |
| TRY 120,000 | PEN 11,429 |
| Arequipa gross | Ankara equivalent |
|---|---|
| PEN 40,000 | TRY 420,000 |
| PEN 75,000 | TRY 787,500 |
| PEN 120,000 | TRY 1,260,000 |
Equivalence here means same cost-of-living purchasing power, not same net take-home. Effective tax rates differ between countries; a salary equivalent on cost can still net more or less depending on the destination's tax regime. Use the calculator for tax-adjusted figures at a specific lifestyle tier.
Pros and cons
Why pick Ankara
- Wins on quality of life (+0.5 points vs Arequipa).
Why pick Arequipa
- Wins on remote-work friendliness (+0.5 points vs Ankara).
- Wins on healthcare (+1.0 points vs Ankara).
Ankara trade-offs
- Trails Arequipa on remote-work friendliness by 0.5 points.
- Trails Arequipa on healthcare by 1.0 points.
Arequipa trade-offs
- Trails Ankara on quality of life by 0.5 points.
Who should choose which
The composite winner doesn't always match what matters to you. These four reader profiles weigh the axes differently — find the closest fit.
Single, salaried remote worker, 25-40, optimizing for runway + bandwidth.
Axes scored: affordability, remoteWork
Couple with school-age children, prioritizing safety, healthcare, and air quality.
Axes scored: qualityOfLife, healthcare
Fixed income, healthcare-sensitive, prefers low cost and stable infrastructure.
Axes scored: healthcare, qualityOfLife, affordability
Salary stretch matters most. Cuts everything else if it lowers the burn rate.
Axes scored: affordability
Profiles use simple axis averaging — for a deeper read with your own weights, use the per-axis breakdown above.
Tools that work for either choice
Some links below are affiliate links — if you sign up we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
How this page is calculated
Data sources
- Mundevo per-city dataset. Cost basket, rent index, safety, healthcare, air quality and median internet for both cities. Reference date: 2026-06-10 (Ankara) and 2026-06-10 (Arequipa).
- FX rate. 1 PEN = 10.5000 TRY, used to normalize cost baskets.
- CityScoreCalculator. Four axes (Affordability, Quality of life, Remote work, Healthcare) computed with explicit weights and explanations. See per-axis calculation strings rendered on this page.
- ComparisonService. Per-category cost deltas (housing, food, transport, utilities, leisure, healthcare) normalized to the origin currency.
Update cadence
Data as of . Last reviewed .
Calculation
For each of the four axes we compute an independent 0–10 score using the formulas printed beside each axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes. The overall winner is the city with the higher composite, unless the margin is under 0.05 points — in which case Ankara is shown first as a tiebreaker to keep results stable.
Limitations
- Climate is not scored — we don't yet hold a maintained climate dataset, so weather-driven preferences are not modeled.
- Tax differences between cities in the same country are not modeled (Spain and Germany don't have material regional differences for this dataset).
- Indices are population-level. Personal cost varies with neighborhood, employer benefits and family status.
- Quality-of-life axis weights (safety 0.4 / healthcare 0.35 / air 0.25) are editorial defaults — readers with strong preferences should re-weight manually.
Frequently asked questions
Ankara vs Arequipa: which is cheaper?
Arequipa is roughly 4% cheaper than Ankara on the monthly cost basket (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare). Ankara has cost index 32 vs Arequipa at 32 (both with New York = 100).
Which city has better quality of life?
Ankara scores 5.8/10 on the Mundevo composite versus Arequipa at 6.0/10. The composite weights safety (40%), healthcare (35%) and air quality (25%). Arequipa wins overall by 0.2 points.
Is Ankara or Arequipa better for remote work?
Ankara has 40 Mbps median internet vs Arequipa at 70 Mbps. The four-axis decision rubric on this page (affordability, quality of life, remote work, healthcare) gives a per-dimension breakdown rather than a single answer.