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Cost of living index

Compare relative living costs by city.

Search and sort monthly budgets across 250 major cities, then learn what an index can and cannot tell you.

Reference
London = 100
Highest estimate
$5,100
Lowest estimate
$870
City explorer

Cost-of-living ranking

September 2026 · USD equivalent · one person · balanced lifestyle

Order by

Showing 1–25 of 250 matching cities · 250 total

RankCityCost indexMonthly modelHousingGuide
01San FranciscoCalifornia, United States
127
$5,10065%View
02New YorkNew York, United States
126
$5,04063%View
03ZugSwitzerland
126
$5,05055%View
04ZurichSwitzerland
120
$4,78052%View
05GenevaSwitzerland
116
$4,65055%View
06San JoseCalifornia, United States
113
$4,50067%View
07OaklandCalifornia, United States
113
$4,50062%View
08Jersey CityNew Jersey, United States
112
$4,46065%View
09BaselSwitzerland
112
$4,48049%View
10LausanneSwitzerland
112
$4,48051%View
11BostonMassachusetts, United States
110
$4,41061%View
12HonoluluHawaii, United States
110
$4,39057%View
13Los AngelesCalifornia, United States
103
$4,14060%View
14San DiegoCalifornia, United States
103
$4,14063%View
15BernSwitzerland
102
$4,10049%View
16Washington, DCDistrict of Columbia, United States
101
$4,04059%View
17LondonUnited Kingdom
100
$4,00057%View
18AnaheimCalifornia, United States
100
$4,00060%View
19SingaporeSingapore
100
$3,98063%View
20SeattleWashington, United States
99
$3,94056%View
21Hong KongHong Kong
99
$3,97063%View
22Tel AvivIsrael
98
$3,92054%View
23DubaiUnited Arab Emirates
97
$3,86057%View
24MiamiFlorida, United States
97
$3,86060%View
25LuxembourgLuxembourg
97
$3,89057%View

London = 100 · One person · Balanced lifestyle · USD-equivalent estimates

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United States

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Uruguay

Venezuela

Vietnam

Read the measure correctly

A spatial index is not inflation.

Cost index

Compares places at one point in time.

A score of 120 means the modeled basket costs about 20% more than the London reference. It describes relative price levels across cities.

Inflation index

Tracks price change through time.

Measures such as CPI show whether a basket becomes more expensive over months or years. They answer a different question.

How to read the score

Every index needs a base, basket, geography and date.

Base

100 is a reference, not an average person

Here, London is set to 100. A city at 120 has a modeled basket 20% above the London reference under the same assumptions.

Basket

The result follows its weights

An index weighted toward housing can differ sharply from one centered on groceries or a car-free household.

Geography

Country and city indexes answer different questions

A national, metropolitan and city-level estimate can describe different areas. None should be silently relabeled as a neighborhood price.

Date

Exchange rates and price observations move separately

A reference-currency total can change because the currency moved even when local rent and groceries did not.

Direction matters

A 20% increase does not reverse to a 20% decrease.

Moving from an index of 100 to 120 is a 20% increase. Moving from 120 to 100 is about a 16.7% decrease because the starting value, or denominator, has changed.

100 to 120 is 20% higher, while 120 to 100 is 16.7% lower; relative difference equals destination divided by current minus 1, multiplied by 100.
Do not over-rank close scores

Neighborhood choice, household needs, exchange rates and data freshness can matter more than a few index points.

Use the same basket

All cities use the same 16 categories and household assumptions so the comparison remains interpretable.

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