Cost of Living Index by Country

Ranking of countries by overall cost of living index. Index of 100 = United States.

Top 5 Ranked

Singapore

77% more expensive

Iceland

43% more expensive

Switzerland

42% more expensive

4 Luxembourg

5 Hong Kong

Singapore

77% more expensive

Iceland

43% more expensive

Switzerland

42% more expensive

4 Luxembourg 23% more expensive

5 Hong Kong 11% more expensive

Overview

This ranking uses a weighted cost index calculated from user-contributed price data across 7 categories. For each country, we compute the average price in each category and compare it to the United States (baseline = 100). A score below 100 means cheaper; above 100 means more expensive.

Housing (35%): Rent, utilities, and accommodation costs

Groceries (20%): Food, beverages, and household supplies

Transportation (15%): Public transit, fuel, and vehicle costs

Dining (10%): Restaurants, cafes, and takeout meals

Entertainment (8%): Leisure activities, movies, and sports

Clothing (7%): Apparel, footwear, and accessories

Childcare (5%): Daycare, babysitting, and child-related services

Global Rankings

Rank	Country	Overall	Housing	Groceries	Transport	Dining	Entertain	Clothing	Childcare
1	Singapore	177	168	97	430	56	179	122	123
2	Iceland	143	130	135	152	153	146	203	126
3	Switzerland	142	110	162	126	174	176	198	147
4	Luxembourg	123	132	120	144	120	83	134	65
5	Hong Kong	111	128	99	119	48	136	120	95
6	United States	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
7	Israel	99	73	85	140	123	127	145	54
8	Netherlands	98	89	93	114	120	98	130	51
9	Ireland	97	93	80	128	101	124	111	33
10	Denmark	97	64	95	149	125	100	150	39
11	Norway	92	70	96	105	121	112	134	38
12	Austria	89	65	106	94	105	96	137	65
13	United Kingdom	89	79	69	112	98	108	112	85
14	Belgium	85	60	84	102	114	90	143	73
15	United Arab Emirates	84	80	57	126	52	128	119	35
16	Australia	83	71	78	86	90	120	111	62
17	Qatar	82	94	52	76	40	186	90	47
18	Germany	82	57	90	98	98	85	128	69
19	France	81	50	95	109	99	90	126	45
20	Malta	81	68	71	96	95	103	121	42
21	Canada	81	76	87	76	87	89	97	52
22	Sweden	78	54	88	98	86	94	135	17
23	Finland	77	48	78	108	91	101	125	46
24	Cyprus	76	58	73	88	94	109	119	36
25	Italy	76	46	84	101	98	96	121	42
26	Puerto Rico	74	51	89	107	80	75	94	42
27	Spain	74	55	69	113	86	81	107	37
28	Uruguay	74	39	79	111	96	89	132	36
29	New Zealand	73	59	76	77	79	94	107	57
30	Brunei	72	44	77	126	34	101	124	51
31	Portugal	72	57	62	108	74	75	108	45
32	Costa Rica	71	45	75	113	65	92	106	41
33	Slovenia	69	46	72	85	79	78	133	44
34	Bahrain	69	53	53	100	48	147	96	31
35	Croatia	68	42	62	108	81	87	112	39
36	Czech Republic	67	47	66	98	59	91	112	39
37	Lithuania	66	34	57	119	68	79	135	41
38	Greece	65	37	70	94	81	87	112	29
39	Jamaica	63	32	82	132	48	79	62	12
40	South Korea	63	30	99	82	41	81	100	63
41	Trinidad and Tobago	63	32	82	99	54	80	104	26
42	Estonia	63	34	60	90	81	90	120	35
43	Panama	62	46	75	72	53	80	90	40
44	Poland	62	44	53	104	63	66	107	32
45	Montenegro	61	41	56	90	74	69	111	33
46	Taiwan	61	24	85	110	33	66	93	70
47	Latvia	60	31	58	88	67	78	118	69
48	Slovakia	60	39	67	84	61	75	93	35
49	Turkey	60	28	41	148	47	77	95	43
50	Saudi Arabia	58	29	53	80	43	159	94	28
51	Armenia	57	28	47	104	56	76	130	30
52	Albania	57	29	57	97	59	80	112	17
53	Kuwait	57	45	43	63	51	143	79	26
54	Guatemala	56	42	69	60	39	73	109	25
55	Japan	56	32	75	70	39	95	76	55
56	Mexico	54	34	63	74	60	64	95	24
57	Hungary	54	30	54	83	59	79	95	31
58	Cambodia	54	20	58	151	32	54	53	22
59	Serbia	54	26	50	96	61	54	121	28
60	Argentina	54	23	57	85	67	56	135	15
61	Iran	53	18	25	206	26	28	76	4
62	Lebanon	52	31	45	89	51	70	101	18
63	Yemen	52	16	84	52	55	95	109	9
64	Moldova	51	26	45	98	51	51	108	27
65	Russia	51	25	46	97	48	55	105	33
66	Romania	51	24	49	84	60	70	93	34
67	Bulgaria	51	21	56	98	59	54	82	29
68	Thailand	50	23	55	94	31	79	78	47
69	Cameroon	50	25	65	87	38	47	93	13
70	Malaysia	49	20	56	111	25	60	74	26
71	Mauritius	48	26	47	95	41	63	83	18
72	Dominican Republic	48	28	47	85	43	50	88	22
73	Oman	48	24	46	64	44	107	79	34
74	Bosnia and Herzegovina	46	18	54	84	49	48	105	14
75	Nicaragua	46	21	54	71	36	56	110	25
76	Macedonia	46	18	45	101	40	53	94	8
77	Chile	46	28	55	52	51	68	73	23
78	Nigeria	45	41	51	70	23	48	54	6
79	Venezuela	45	11	60	82	57	53	79	18
80	Georgia	44	25	41	57	56	67	102	14
81	Morocco	44	16	41	111	33	48	81	18
82	South Africa	44	27	44	66	46	52	89	17
83	Tunisia	44	12	43	120	26	46	86	12
84	Ecuador	42	21	43	71	34	58	93	22
85	Vietnam	42	18	41	103	19	32	69	51
86	Kyrgyzstan	42	20	34	94	38	53	70	15
87	Uzbekistan	41	17	36	83	36	74	69	24
88	Ukraine	41	18	38	88	37	38	85	19
89	Jordan	41	17	39	76	32	81	70	16
90	Philippines	40	16	54	75	23	49	69	23
91	China	39	17	43	59	25	63	76	65
92	Brazil	39	18	42	67	40	43	81	29
93	Peru	39	21	46	61	31	54	72	22
94	Colombia	39	20	43	58	39	40	95	24
95	Sri Lanka	38	16	58	76	36	37	48	2
96	Kazakhstan	38	19	37	65	41	48	80	20
97	Algeria	38	10	44	101	21	35	76	12
98	Azerbaijan	38	16	29	63	42	55	102	22
99	Indonesia	37	16	44	78	17	39	71	25
100	Belarus	36	16	33	54	40	44	90	33
101	Egypt	35	8	25	104	27	35	79	7
102	Paraguay	35	22	36	48	30	43	77	12
103	Ghana	32	16	55	25	41	53	39	21
104	Kenya	32	12	40	60	31	49	34	31
105	Iraq	32	18	31	49	34	58	48	9
106	Nepal	29	5	29	89	24	31	40	10
107	Bangladesh	29	5	30	93	20	29	36	4
108	Libya	26	11	30	46	23	37	53	4
109	Pakistan	24	7	23	63	20	25	47	6
110	India	21	8	25	41	19	30	40	7

Index value of 100 = United States. Lower values indicate cheaper cost of living.

Global Cost Heatmap

Interactive map showing cost of living by country. Larger, redder circles indicate higher cost of living.

Lower

Below avg

Above avg

Higher

What Drives Cost of Living Differences?

Cost of living is shaped by economic development, local wages, currency strength, and supply chain efficiency. Countries with strong currencies and high wages tend to have higher costs, while developing nations often offer lower prices but also lower incomes. Housing costs are particularly variable, driven by urbanization, population density, and real estate markets. Transportation costs depend on fuel prices, infrastructure, and public transit availability. Understanding these factors helps explain why some destinations are more affordable than others.

Source: User-contributed price data. Rankings are based on the weighted average of category indices.

Last updated: January 2026

Continue Reading

Cost of Living Index by US State

Compare cost of living index across all 50 US states. See which states are most and least expensive for housing, groceries & more.

View ranking

Cost of Living Index by City

Compare cost of living index for cities worldwide. Find the most and least expensive cities ranked by housing, food, transport & more.

View ranking

Most Expensive Cities in the US

Ranked list of the most expensive US cities to live in. Cost of living index comparing housing, groceries, transportation & more.

View ranking

Most Expensive Cities in North America

Ranked list of the most expensive cities in North America. Compare cost of living index for US, Canada & Mexico cities.

View ranking

Most Expensive Cities in Europe

Ranked list of the most expensive European cities to live in. Cost of living index comparing Zurich, London, Paris & more.

View ranking

Most Expensive Cities in Asia

Ranked list of the most expensive Asian cities to live in. Cost of living index comparing Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo & more.

View ranking

Nice to see you!

Cost of Living Index by Country

Top 5 Ranked

Singapore

Iceland

Switzerland

Singapore

Iceland

Switzerland

Overview

Global Rankings

Global Cost Heatmap

What Drives Cost of Living Differences?

Continue Reading

Cost of Living Index by US State

Cost of Living Index by City

Most Expensive Cities in the US

Most Expensive Cities in North America

Most Expensive Cities in Europe

Most Expensive Cities in Asia