Cost of Living Index by Country

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

Top 5 Ranked

Singapore

79% more expensive

Iceland

42% more expensive

Switzerland

33% more expensive

4 Israel

5 Hong Kong

Singapore

79% more expensive

Iceland

42% more expensive

Switzerland

33% more expensive

4 Israel 15% more expensive

5 Hong Kong 13% 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	179	159	98	461	65	173	124	116
2	Iceland	142	131	135	143	161	154	199	111
3	Switzerland	133	109	141	118	163	165	184	139
4	Israel	115	86	98	165	135	142	146	106
5	Hong Kong	113	124	104	131	47	154	103	91
6	Luxembourg	111	108	104	116	128	103	135	78
7	Norway	104	79	108	133	124	122	148	39
8	United States	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
9	Netherlands	96	86	88	119	118	93	124	46
10	Denmark	95	65	96	144	115	99	151	28
11	Ireland	94	91	81	112	102	119	111	33
12	United Kingdom	90	80	69	110	100	113	108	95
13	Australia	89	78	84	80	94	137	121	79
14	Belgium	84	60	82	101	111	83	128	93
15	Austria	83	62	96	87	102	89	122	68
16	Puerto Rico	81	64	97	113	80	64	100	45
17	Canada	80	74	87	80	86	87	94	57
18	Malta	79	67	74	90	93	103	107	44
19	France	79	50	91	98	98	87	124	54
20	United Arab Emirates	78	82	56	99	51	122	99	34
21	Germany	78	55	81	94	97	84	123	68
22	Finland	76	48	76	104	91	100	126	53
23	Italy	76	45	86	101	96	93	118	43
24	Qatar	75	74	54	82	41	177	89	40
25	Sweden	74	51	84	94	82	88	127	29
26	Cyprus	73	55	71	90	86	104	104	30
27	Jamaica	73	39	93	129	63	97	75	33
28	Spain	72	54	70	101	87	79	105	37
29	Lebanon	72	37	58	156	58	98	126	30
30	New Zealand	72	59	75	71	73	94	101	68
31	Brunei	70	44	75	108	39	110	125	38
32	Costa Rica	70	47	86	67	73	100	117	55
33	South Korea	69	34	111	83	43	91	101	80
34	Portugal	69	56	62	98	72	73	104	42
35	Uruguay	69	39	78	87	89	87	130	30
36	Maldives	68	59	63	95	49	119	77	12
37	Bahrain	68	53	52	99	44	134	95	40
38	Slovenia	67	46	71	85	73	74	128	46
39	Saudi Arabia	67	37	54	130	42	146	88	35
40	Trinidad and Tobago	67	34	80	114	55	85	105	43
41	Czech Republic	64	45	63	87	58	87	110	34
42	Croatia	63	42	63	78	75	85	106	34
43	Greece	62	36	69	83	80	84	108	28
44	Guatemala	62	45	67	98	47	66	99	27
45	Estonia	62	35	60	82	83	82	120	42
46	Panama	61	47	77	70	55	79	80	30
47	Colombia	60	41	66	72	55	66	129	33
48	Taiwan	59	25	88	96	30	65	89	70
49	Argentina	59	32	58	78	86	62	137	23
50	Slovakia	58	40	64	76	58	73	90	43
51	Lithuania	58	30	57	80	68	74	134	39
52	Poland	58	42	51	89	61	64	100	30
53	Montenegro	58	37	53	86	68	69	107	29
54	Hungary	57	31	59	86	63	82	100	34
55	Armenia	57	32	49	102	66	67	93	41
56	Albania	56	30	58	89	57	82	111	20
57	Turkey	56	27	40	126	49	79	86	55
58	Kuwait	56	44	44	59	47	139	80	26
59	Latvia	55	26	59	77	63	77	103	62
60	Russia	54	28	49	94	53	59	126	40
61	Mexico	54	35	63	64	61	64	95	23
62	Japan	53	32	73	62	38	86	73	45
63	Oman	52	31	63	64	47	103	74	27
64	Malaysia	51	21	55	119	26	63	82	32
65	South Africa	50	28	48	95	50	54	91	20
66	Serbia	50	23	47	88	61	50	117	29
67	Mauritius	50	28	51	91	38	59	92	28
68	Cameroon	49	24	71	79	31	51	97	14
69	Bulgaria	49	22	55	88	62	54	78	26
70	Georgia	49	26	48	60	64	73	114	18
71	Thailand	49	23	55	85	31	75	80	47
72	Moldova	48	26	43	94	55	52	84	22
73	Cambodia	48	23	61	93	33	68	57	28
74	Dominican Republic	48	36	53	52	48	71	78	24
75	Kazakhstan	48	23	50	76	52	62	103	26
76	Nicaragua	48	19	59	67	43	56	131	24
77	Romania	48	23	46	79	57	65	87	29
78	Iran	47	17	23	173	26	26	74	6
79	Bosnia and Herzegovina	47	18	51	85	47	47	96	39
80	Venezuela	45	13	61	78	60	53	85	16
81	Macedonia	45	18	43	97	41	49	95	17
82	Chile	44	27	54	47	49	67	70	31
83	Belarus	43	19	41	60	46	51	99	69
84	Brazil	43	20	45	69	44	47	88	33
85	Tunisia	42	12	45	109	27	44	86	10
86	Ukraine	42	18	41	85	40	43	86	27
87	Vietnam	42	21	44	90	19	32	72	58
88	Paraguay	42	27	46	50	41	54	94	18
89	Jordan	42	17	41	77	35	70	76	24
90	China	41	18	45	55	25	64	78	75
91	Zimbabwe	40	19	50	69	38	64	44	25
92	Uzbekistan	40	17	36	74	34	80	67	26
93	Azerbaijan	40	18	29	66	44	50	118	32
94	Ecuador	40	20	40	62	34	56	95	22
95	Morocco	40	16	38	93	31	44	70	21
96	Peru	40	23	46	60	31	55	67	29
97	Kyrgyzstan	39	22	34	71	36	56	69	19
98	Zambia	38	17	61	22	32	79	52	65
99	Ghana	37	21	58	23	49	69	38	36
100	Tajikistan	37	24	43	48	31	55	63	22
101	Philippines	37	17	49	61	22	48	62	28
102	Sri Lanka	37	14	51	87	26	32	47	3
103	Tanzania	36	17	40	49	32	81	33	43
104	Indonesia	35	16	44	68	16	37	69	23
105	Algeria	35	8	38	92	21	36	68	16
106	Kenya	34	13	42	58	32	56	36	40
107	Syria	32	13	37	52	37	34	79	6
108	Iraq	32	18	32	46	34	60	50	11
109	Egypt	32	8	25	92	23	32	72	7
110	Nigeria	32	22	40	53	22	32	36	17
111	Bangladesh	28	5	31	87	19	29	34	5
112	Libya	27	13	30	58	17	32	54	4
113	Nepal	27	5	28	78	26	29	36	10
114	Bolivia	27	16	28	41	22	37	56	11
115	Pakistan	26	9	24	69	22	31	46	7
116	India	20	7	24	37	18	29	37	6

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.

Rankings are based on the weighted average of category indices. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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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