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AverageCostOfLiving

Best Cities for Expats

Where your salary actually stretches. The top-ranked city is Atsugi-Japan, Japan, where the average local net salary covers the basket 5.36× over. Higher ratios mean more disposable income relative to local cost of living.

Filtered to cities with a local net salary above $1,200 per month and complete data in every category.

  1. #1 Atsugi-Japan Japan 5.36
  2. #2 Hyderabad India 5.03
  3. #3 Fukui-Japan Japan 4.64
  4. #4 Calama-Chile Chile 4.25
  5. #5 Braunschweig Germany 4.23
  6. #6 Balzers-Liechtenstein Liechtenstein 4.22
  7. #7 Ahmadi-Kuwait Kuwait 4.02
  8. #8 Aalborg Denmark 3.4
  9. #9 Erlangen Germany 3.36
  10. #10 Mannheim Germany 3.36
  11. #11 Ebina-Japan Japan 3.34
  12. #12 Basel Switzerland 3.33
  13. #13 Bern Switzerland 3.32
  14. #14 Daejeon-South-Korea South Korea 3.28
  15. #15 Odense Denmark 3.16
  16. #16 Busan-South-Korea South Korea 3.15
  17. #17 Gothenburg Sweden 3.09
  18. #18 Lugano Switzerland 3.07
  19. #19 Chengdu China 3.05
  20. #20 Suzhou China 3.03
  21. #21 Guangzhou China 2.93
  22. #22 Lausanne Switzerland 2.89
  23. #23 Rostock Germany 2.89
  24. #24 Seoul-South-Korea South Korea 2.86
  25. #25 Nuremberg Germany 2.84
  26. #26 Aarhus-Denmark Denmark 2.8
  27. #27 Hangzhou China 2.79
  28. #28 Zurich Switzerland 2.78
  29. #29 Daegu-South-Korea South Korea 2.77
  30. #30 Hachioji-Japan Japan 2.77
  31. #31 Nanjing China 2.76
  32. #32 Stuttgart Germany 2.74
  33. #33 Fukuyama-Japan Japan 2.74
  34. #34 Regensburg Germany 2.73
  35. #35 Kaohsiung Taiwan 2.72
  36. #36 Tampere Finland 2.71
  37. #37 Kuala-Lumpur Malaysia 2.71
  38. #38 Lund Sweden 2.7
  39. #39 Kassel-Germany Germany 2.7
  40. #40 Nagoya-Japan Japan 2.69
  41. #41 Beersheba Israel 2.68
  42. #42 Dresden Germany 2.64
  43. #43 Kyoto-Japan Japan 2.64
  44. #44 Aachen Germany 2.62
  45. #45 Essen Germany 2.6
  46. #46 Haifa Israel 2.6
  47. #47 Shenzhen China 2.57
  48. #48 Aichi-Japan Japan 2.57
  49. #49 Lucerne Switzerland 2.57
  50. #50 Ramat-Gan Israel 2.54
  51. #51 Taichung Taiwan 2.54
  52. #52 Chemnitz Germany 2.53
  53. #53 Frankfurt Germany 2.53
  54. #54 Louisville United States 2.52
  55. #55 Lille France 2.52
  56. #56 Huntsville United States 2.51
  57. #57 Uppsala Sweden 2.51
  58. #58 Luanda-Angola Angola 2.51
  59. #59 Geneva Switzerland 2.49
  60. #60 Ad-Dammam Saudi Arabia 2.47
  61. #61 Bucheon-South-Korea South Korea 2.46
  62. #62 Hawalli-Kuwait Kuwait 2.45
  63. #63 Bremen Germany 2.44
  64. #64 Austin United States 2.43
  65. #65 Albuquerque United States 2.42
  66. #66 Kansas-City United States 2.42
  67. #67 San-Antonio-Paraguay Paraguay 2.42
  68. #68 San-Antonio United States 2.42
  69. #69 Copenhagen Denmark 2.41
  70. #70 Beppu-Japan Japan 2.41
  71. #71 Malmo Sweden 2.41
  72. #72 Bergen Norway 2.4
  73. #73 Grenoble France 2.4
  74. #74 Saint-Louis-Senegal Senegal 2.4
  75. #75 Saint-Louis United States 2.4

Limitations of this ranking

English fluency, visa rules, taxation, healthcare quality, and safety are not part of this score. Use the ranking to shortlist, then verify those factors before relocating.

Frequently asked questions

What makes a city good for expats?
Affordability relative to local wages, ease of getting a long-stay visa, English fluency, healthcare quality, and an international community. Our ranking focuses on salary-to-cost ratio; the other factors require local research.
How is the expat ranking calculated?
We divide the average local net monthly salary by the monthly cost of living for a single person. Cities with a salary above $1,200/month and a complete basket are eligible.
Is the highest-ranked city the best for me?
It's a starting point. Climate, language, healthcare, and visa pathways matter just as much. Use this page to shortlist, then dig into individual city pages.