Last updated: April 2026 · Reviewed by Alex Morgan, CFP

Cost of Living Calculator — Compare 50+ Cities Globally

Moving cities is one of the biggest financial decisions you can make. A salary that looks impressive on paper in one city may stretch far further — or far shorter — in another. This calculator compares cost of living across more than 50 major cities worldwide and tells you exactly what salary you would need in your destination city to maintain your current standard of living. It uses a cost-of-living index anchored to New York City (NYC = 100) covering housing, groceries, transport, and restaurants, plus approximate currency conversion at April 2026 exchange rates. The data is updated annually — always verify locally before making a relocation decision. Select your source and target cities below to get started.

Source city:   London (index 87)
Target city:   Berlin (index 73)
Current salary: £60,000

Formula: Required = £60,000 × (73 ÷ 87)
       = £60,000 × 0.8391
       = £50,345
       ≈ €58,526 (converted to EUR)

Purchasing power in Berlin: +19.2%

How Cost of Living Indexes Work

A cost-of-living index is a single number that represents the relative expense of a basket of goods and services in a given city, compared to a baseline. This calculator uses New York City as the baseline (index = 100). A city with an index of 73 (such as Berlin) is roughly 27% cheaper than New York overall; a city with an index of 126 (such as Zurich) is roughly 26% more expensive.

The overall index is a weighted composite of several spending categories:

• Housing / Rent — the largest driver of cost-of-living differences between cities
• Groceries — supermarket prices for staple foods and household goods
• Transport — public transit monthly passes, fuel, and urban travel costs
• Restaurants — mid-range dining, coffee, and takeaway meals
• Utilities, entertainment, and personal care — factored into the overall index

The data in this calculator is derived from aggregated, publicly available cost-of-living surveys including Numbeo and ECA International, and represents approximate 2024–2025 conditions. Because living costs change over time — especially rent in fast-growing cities — the indexes should be treated as order-of-magnitude guides rather than exact figures.

Worked Example: Moving from London to Berlin

Suppose you currently earn £60,000 per year in London and are considering a move to Berlin. London has an overall cost-of-living index of 87 and Berlin has an index of 73. Here is how to calculate the equivalent salary:

Step 1 — Find the cost ratio:
  Target index ÷ Source index = 73 ÷ 87 = 0.8391

Step 2 — Apply to current salary:
  £60,000 × 0.8391 = £50,345
  This is the equivalent purchasing power in London-currency terms.

Step 3 — Convert to target currency (GBP → EUR):
  £50,345 ÷ 0.80 (GBP/USD) × 0.93 (EUR/USD)
  ≈ €58,529

Step 4 — Interpret the result:
  You need approximately €58,529 per year in Berlin
  to maintain the same standard of living as £60,000 in London.

Purchasing power check:
  Living in Berlin on your London salary of £60,000 (≈ €69,750)
  would give you 19.2% more purchasing power than in London.
  (87 ÷ 73 - 1 = +19.2%)

This means that if you can negotiate a Berlin salary close to your London salary in EUR terms, you would enjoy a significantly higher standard of living — more savings, more dining out, or a larger apartment — because Berlin is substantially cheaper than London, particularly for rent.

What These Numbers Do Not Capture

A cost-of-living index is a powerful first approximation, but it cannot capture everything that affects your real financial position after a move. Key factors to research separately include:

• Income tax and social contributions. Germany levies income tax, solidarity surcharge, and statutory health insurance that can significantly reduce take-home pay compared to a lower-tax jurisdiction like Dubai (no income tax) or the UK (different PAYE structure). Use our UK Tax Calculator or US Income Tax Calculator to model the after-tax position.
• Healthcare. In countries with universal healthcare (UK, Germany, France), your effective compensation includes coverage you would pay privately in the US or Singapore. This can be worth $5,000–$25,000 per year for a family.
• Education costs. Public university tuition is free or very low in many European countries, which significantly affects families with children compared to the US.
• Quality of public transport. In cities like Tokyo, London, or Singapore, most residents do not need a car. In Los Angeles or many US suburbs, a car is effectively mandatory — adding $8,000–$15,000 per year to annual costs not always captured by a simple index.
• Employer benefits. Statutory paid holiday entitlements vary: EU workers get a minimum of 20 days; the US has no statutory minimum. This affects real compensation.

Highest and Lowest Cost Cities in This Dataset

The cities at the extremes of the index illustrate just how wide the cost-of-living gap can be globally. The five most expensive cities in this dataset — all with indexes above 88 — are destinations where you need a high salary just to cover basics:

Zurich and Geneva are expensive due to exceptionally high wages driving up all prices — the Swiss minimum wage is over CHF 20/hour. Hong Kong is a unique case: overall costs are high but rent alone is among the most extreme on earth, with small apartments commanding Hong Kong rents comparable to Manhattan.

The five most affordable cities — where your money stretches furthest — are concentrated in South Asia and emerging markets:

Indian cities are remarkably affordable for expatriates earning foreign-currency salaries, though local salaries are correspondingly lower. Istanbul and Buenos Aires benefit from weak local currencies, making them attractive for remote workers earning in USD or EUR — though this also means their purchasing power can shift rapidly with currency movements.

Cost of Living vs Purchasing Power Parity

Cost-of-living indexes (used by this calculator) compare actual price levels for a fixed basket of goods and services, expressed in a common currency using market exchange rates. They answer the question: "How much money do I need in City B to buy the same things I buy in City A?"

Purchasing power parity (PPP) is a related but distinct concept used primarily by economists. PPP adjusts exchange rates to eliminate price-level differences, so that international GDP comparisons reflect real output rather than currency fluctuations. The IMF, World Bank, and UN use PPP when comparing living standards across countries.

For personal salary comparisons, cost-of-living indexes are generally more useful because they reflect real prices you encounter daily. PPP is most useful when comparing wages expressed as a fraction of local living costs — for example, understanding whether a software engineer in Warsaw has a higher or lower real standard of living than one in Paris, accounting for the fact that Warsaw salaries are lower but so is everything else. Research consistently shows that rent is the single biggest driver of cost-of-living differences between cities, often explaining 50–60% of the total gap.

Data Sources and Limitations

The indexes in this calculator are approximate figures derived from publicly available cost-of-living data, primarily from Numbeo (the world's largest cost-of-living database, crowd-sourced and updated continuously) and supplemented by ECA International and Mercer data where available. The FX rates are approximate market rates as of April 2026 and do not account for transfer fees or mid-market spreads.

Important caveats to keep in mind:

• Indexes represent a "typical" lifestyle. Expats often live differently from locals (e.g., in international areas with higher rents), so actual costs may be higher than the index suggests.
• Cities cover a wide range of neighbourhoods. A one-bedroom apartment in central London costs dramatically more than one in Zone 4 — the index is an average.
• Rapid economic events (hyperinflation, housing booms) can make annual data stale quickly. This is particularly relevant for cities like Istanbul and Buenos Aires with volatile currencies.
• This calculator does not account for one-off relocation costs: visa fees, shipping, deposit on a new apartment, or loss of pension accrual.

Always conduct your own local research before relocating. Useful resources include Numbeo's city comparison tool, Expatistan, and salary surveys published by industry bodies in your target country.

Frequently Asked Questions