Cost of Living Data & Insights 2026

A $75,000 salary in New York has the purchasing power of $23,400 in Bangkok — your money goes 3.2x further.

The difference between the most expensive (New York: $3,500/mo) and cheapest (Chennai: $300/mo) 1-bedroom rent across 182 cities.

Effective income tax rates range from 0% in Dubai and Doha to over 52% in Copenhagen. Where you live determines nearly half your take-home pay.

A couple can live comfortably on $2,000/month or less in 47 of our 182 tracked cities, including Chiang Mai, Medellín, and Budapest.

Within the same city, living costs can vary up to 2.8x between neighborhoods. Manhattan vs. Queens in New York, or Mayfair vs. Brixton in London.

Average monthly childcare cost in San Francisco — that's $30,000/year, more than the total annual living costs in cities like Bangkok or Medellín.

With a COLI of 44.2 (vs. London's 87.5), Lisbon offers Western European quality of life at roughly half the cost. Porto is even cheaper at 38.6.

A remote worker earning a San Francisco salary ($150K) who moves to Austin gains 42% more purchasing power without a pay cut.

From Tokyo (COLI: 72.5) to Hanoi (COLI: 26.8), Asia has the widest cost-of-living spread of any continent — a 10x range in some categories.