Mundevo data

Global Cost of Living & Salary Index 2026

Name: Mundevo Global Cost of Living & Salary Index
Creator: Mundevo
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

104 cities ranked by cost of living (New York = 100), with rent index, effective payroll-tax burden and a 0–100 quality-of-life score (safety, healthcare, air). Unlike most calculators, every city links through to a tax-adjusted "salary you actually need" breakdown and country-to-country relocation corridors.

The most affordable city we track is Alexandria (index 8); the most expensive is New York (index 100) — a 13× spread across the catalog.

Cite this index. Free to reference with attribution to “Mundevo Cost of Living & Salary Index” linking to this page. Data as of 2026-07-03. Methodology: /methodology · Sources: /sources.

The ranking

All 104 cities by cost of living

#	City	Country	Cost index	Rent index	Tax burden	Quality /100
1	Alexandria	Egypt	8	3	21%	46
2	Cairo	Egypt	10	5	21%	43
3	Delhi	India	12	7	25%	38
4	Arequipa	Peru	13	7	12%	55
5	Bangalore	India	13	8	25%	57
6	Penang	Malaysia	13	8	17%	63
7	Hanoi	Vietnam	15	10	22%	45
8	Chiang Mai	Thailand	16	10	10%	57
9	Jakarta	Indonesia	16	9	13%	41
10	Marrakech	Morocco	16	11	18%	55
11	Valparaiso	Chile	16	8	25%	53
12	Bogota	Colombia	18	13	22%	46
13	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	18	14	22%	55
14	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	18	13	17%	61
15	Casablanca	Morocco	19	13	18%	49
16	Cebu	Philippines	19	12	16%	49
17	Debrecen	Hungary	20	13	34%	62
18	Johannesburg	South Africa	20	11	19%	44
19	Lima	Peru	20	16	12%	43
20	Manila	Philippines	20	13	16%	43
21	Mumbai	India	20	17	25%	48
22	Santiago	Chile	21	13	25%	45
23	Bangkok	Thailand	22	15	10%	55
24	Cordoba	Argentina	22	11	26%	59
25	São Paulo	Brazil	22	15	33%	52
26	Medellin	Colombia	23	17	22%	53
27	Beijing	China	24	21	21%	61
28	Bucharest	Romania	24	16	45%	55
29	Cluj-Napoca	Romania	24	15	45%	64
30	Guadalajara	Mexico	24	18	12%	50
31	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	24	19	33%	46
32	Shanghai	China	24	20	21%	65
33	Budapest	Hungary	25	17	34%	69
34	Osaka	Japan	25	17	27%	73
35	Thessaloniki	Greece	25	14	36%	54
36	Athens	Greece	26	16	36%	59
37	Cape Town	South Africa	26	21	19%	57
38	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	26	18	10%	63
39	Buenos Aires	Argentina	27	17	26%	51
40	Krakow	Poland	28	20	31%	61
41	Mexico City	Mexico	28	22	12%	46
42	Taipei	Taiwan	28	20	19%	80
43	Ankara	Turkey	29	21	29%	58
44	Bali	Indonesia	29	25	13%	60
45	Brno	Czech Republic	29	21	22%	72
46	Tallinn	Estonia	30	18	22%	79
47	Busan	South Korea	31	16	21%	71
48	Gothenburg	Sweden	32	23	35%	67
49	Lyon	France	32	19	36%	68
50	Prague	Czech Republic	32	25	22%	72
51	Porto	Portugal	33	28	31%	73
52	Seoul	South Korea	33	20	21%	73
53	Antwerp	Belgium	34	23	38%	66
54	Warsaw	Poland	34	27	31%	67
55	Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	35	28	10%	60
56	Rome	Italy	35	27	35%	62
57	Istanbul	Turkey	36	27	29%	55
58	Valencia	Spain	36	32	24%	72
59	Tokyo	Japan	37	29	27%	78
60	Montreal	Canada	38	30	28%	72
61	Salzburg	Austria	38	26	42%	78
62	Hamburg	Germany	39	29	42%	72
63	Madrid	Spain	39	34	24%	70
64	Auckland	New Zealand	40	31	17%	72
65	Lisbon	Portugal	40	36	31%	71
66	Vienna	Austria	40	29	42%	78
67	Wellington	New Zealand	40	30	17%	77
68	Barcelona	Spain	41	36	24%	64
69	Brussels	Belgium	41	31	38%	62
70	Florence	Italy	41	32	35%	64
71	Frankfurt	Germany	41	30	42%	73
72	Berlin	Germany	42	32	42%	73
73	Paris	France	44	35	36%	59
74	Edinburgh	United Kingdom	45	35	26%	72
75	Melbourne	Australia	45	36	23%	74
76	Toronto	Canada	46	38	28%	69
77	Brisbane	Australia	47	42	23%	74
78	Manchester	United Kingdom	47	40	26%	62
79	Milan	Italy	47	38	35%	60
80	Stockholm	Sweden	47	37	35%	77
81	Munich	Germany	48	38	42%	81
82	Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	49	45	5%	69
83	Rotterdam	Netherlands	49	40	33%	72
84	Vancouver	Canada	50	43	28%	73
85	Austin	United States	52	44	25%	68
86	Oslo	Norway	52	40	38%	81
87	Tel Aviv	Israel	52	41	34%	70
88	Copenhagen	Denmark	53	42	45%	79
89	Cork	Ireland	53	48	29%	63
90	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	56	51	20%	72
91	Sydney	Australia	57	53	23%	72
92	Dublin	Ireland	58	54	29%	69
93	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	59	56	5%	72
94	Amsterdam	Netherlands	61	56	33%	79
95	Chicago	United States	61	55	25%	61
96	Singapore	Singapore	66	65	6%	76
97	Seattle	United States	67	56	25%	68
98	Los Angeles	United States	68	60	25%	53
99	Geneva	Switzerland	69	60	21%	76
100	London	United Kingdom	70	65	26%	63
101	Miami	United States	70	64	25%	66
102	Zurich	Switzerland	76	65	21%	82
103	San Francisco	United States	90	87	25%	62
104	New York	United States	100	100	25%	62

How to read the index

Cost index normalises a six-basket monthly budget so New York = 100.
Rent index is median central one-bedroom asking rent, NY = 100.
Tax burden is the effective income tax + employee social security for a single filer at the country median wage.
Quality averages safety, healthcare and air-quality indices (0–100).
Every city is editorially curated against public sources; figures for high-inflation economies (e.g. Buenos Aires) are indicative and flagged as such.

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<div style="font-family:system-ui,sans-serif;border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:8px;padding:16px;max-width:420px"><div style="font-size:12px;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.05em;color:#6b7280">Mundevo · Cost of Living Index</div><div style="font-weight:600;margin:4px 0 8px;color:#111827">Cheapest cities to live (2026)</div><ol style="margin:0;padding-left:18px;font-size:14px;color:#111827"><li>Alexandria — cost index 8</li><li>Cairo — cost index 10</li><li>Delhi — cost index 12</li><li>Arequipa — cost index 13</li><li>Bangalore — cost index 13</li><li>Penang — cost index 13</li><li>Hanoi — cost index 15</li><li>Chiang Mai — cost index 16</li></ol><a href="https://www.mundevo.com/cost-of-living-index" style="display:inline-block;margin-top:10px;font-size:13px;color:#2563eb;text-decoration:none">See the full Mundevo index of 104 cities →</a></div>

Raw data

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Columns: rank, city, country, ISO2, cost index, rent index, tax burden %, quality.