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AverageCostOfLiving

Best Cities for Expats

Where your salary actually stretches. The top-ranked city is Atsugi, 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 5.36
  2. #2 Hyderabad India 5.03
  3. #3 Fukui Japan 4.64
  4. #4 Calama Chile 4.25
  5. #5 Braunschweig Germany 4.23
  6. #6 Balzers Liechtenstein 4.22
  7. #7 Ahmadi 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 3.34
  12. #12 Basel Switzerland 3.33
  13. #13 Bern Switzerland 3.32
  14. #14 Daejeon South Korea 3.28
  15. #15 Odense Denmark 3.16
  16. #16 Busan 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 2.86
  25. #25 Nuremberg Germany 2.84
  26. #26 Aarhus Denmark 2.8
  27. #27 Hangzhou China 2.79
  28. #28 Zurich Switzerland 2.78
  29. #29 Daegu South Korea 2.77
  30. #30 Hachioji Japan 2.77
  31. #31 Nanjing China 2.76
  32. #32 Stuttgart Germany 2.74
  33. #33 Fukuyama 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 2.7
  40. #40 Nagoya Japan 2.69
  41. #41 Beersheba Israel 2.68
  42. #42 Dresden Germany 2.64
  43. #43 Kyoto 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 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 2.51
  59. #59 Geneva Switzerland 2.49
  60. #60 Ad Dammam Saudi Arabia 2.47
  61. #61 Bucheon South Korea 2.46
  62. #62 Hawalli 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 2.42
  68. #68 San Antonio United States 2.42
  69. #69 Copenhagen Denmark 2.41
  70. #70 Beppu 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 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.