Average cost of living, anywhere on Earth.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average cost of living worldwide?

It varies enormously: the cheapest cities in our dataset run around $100 per month for a single person, while top global cities exceed $4,000 per month. We track 1,003 cities across 174 countries so you can compare cities directly.

What does the cost-of-living index mean?

Our index is anchored to New York City = 100. A value of 50 means the basket of rent, food, utilities, and transport costs roughly half what it does in NYC; 120 means 20% more.

Are these prices in US Dollars?

Yes — all prices are stored in USD. Each page has a currency switcher that converts to your local currency using daily exchange rates.

How often is the data updated?

Prices refresh on a scheduled cadence from public price databases. Exchange rates refresh daily. The footer shows the last update date.

Can I use this data in my own project?

Our derived metrics (cost-of-living index, monthly cost estimates, salary calculator outputs) are licensed CC BY-NC 4.0. See the sources page for details.