Cheapest Cities to Live In (2026)

All 113 cities in our database ranked from cheapest to most expensive by Cost of Living Index (New York = 100).

#1 Cheapest

Cairo

16.8

Median City

Rome

49.3

#1 Most Expensive

Zurich

122.4

Full Rankings — Cheapest Cities to Live In (2026)

#	City	COLI	1BR Rent	Country
1	Cairo	16.8	$300/mo	🇪🇬 Egypt
2	Chennai	18.9	$300/mo	🇮🇳 India
3	Marrakech	19.2	$350/mo	🇲🇦 Morocco
4	Delhi	19.5	$350/mo	🇮🇳 India
5	Medellín	20.4	$350/mo	🇨🇴 Colombia
6	Bangalore	20.8	$400/mo	🇮🇳 India
7	Casablanca	22.1	$400/mo	🇲🇦 Morocco
8	Mumbai	22.3	$700/mo	🇮🇳 India
9	Bucharest	22.5	$500/mo	🇷🇴 Romania
10	Chiang Mai	22.6	$350/mo	🇹🇭 Thailand
11	Bogotá	22.9	$400/mo	🇨🇴 Colombia
12	Istanbul	23.1	$450/mo	🇹🇷 Turkey
13	Krakow	23.8	$550/mo	🇵🇱 Poland
14	Hanoi	24.1	$450/mo	🇻🇳 Vietnam
15	Jakarta	24.5	$500/mo	🇮🇩 Indonesia
16	Nairobi	24.7	$500/mo	🇰🇪 Kenya
17	Phnom Penh	24.8	$450/mo	🇰🇭 Cambodia
18	Bali (Denpasar)	25.3	$450/mo	🇮🇩 Indonesia
19	Riga	25.3	$550/mo	🇱🇻 Latvia
20	Buenos Aires	25.6	$400/mo	🇦🇷 Argentina
21	Lima	25.8	$450/mo	🇵🇪 Peru
22	Budapest	26.1	$600/mo	🇭🇺 Hungary
23	Ho Chi Minh City	26.4	$500/mo	🇻🇳 Vietnam
24	Manila	26.8	$500/mo	🇵🇭 Philippines
25	Lagos	27.3	$600/mo	🇳🇬 Nigeria
26	Cape Town	28.4	$650/mo	🇿🇦 South Africa
27	Warsaw	28.4	$700/mo	🇵🇱 Poland
28	Tallinn	28.9	$650/mo	🇪🇪 Estonia
29	Porto	30.1	$800/mo	🇵🇹 Portugal
30	Phuket	30.5	$500/mo	🇹🇭 Thailand
31	Athens	30.6	$700/mo	🇬🇷 Greece
32	Prague	30.6	$800/mo	🇨🇿 Czech Republic
33	Playa del Carmen	30.8	$500/mo	🇲🇽 Mexico
34	Málaga	31.2	$800/mo	🇪🇸 Spain
35	San José (CR)	31.2	$550/mo	🇨🇷 Costa Rica
36	Split	31.8	$650/mo	🇭🇷 Croatia
37	Mexico City	32.5	$700/mo	🇲🇽 Mexico
38	Montevideo	32.5	$500/mo	🇺🇾 Uruguay
39	Kuala Lumpur	32.8	$550/mo	🇲🇾 Malaysia
40	Santiago	33.2	$550/mo	🇨🇱 Chile
41	Valencia	33.5	$850/mo	🇪🇸 Spain
42	Lisbon	34.7	$1,000/mo	🇵🇹 Portugal
43	Cancún	35.8	$600/mo	🇲🇽 Mexico
44	Bangkok	37.2	$600/mo	🇹🇭 Thailand
45	Madrid	38.0	$1,100/mo	🇪🇸 Spain
46	Guangzhou	38.7	$750/mo	🇨🇳 China
47	São Paulo	41.8	$600/mo	🇧🇷 Brazil
48	Shenzhen	41.9	$900/mo	🇨🇳 China
49	Barcelona	42.1	$1,200/mo	🇪🇸 Spain
50	Panama City	42.3	$1,000/mo	🇵🇦 Panama
51	Riyadh	42.6	$800/mo	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
52	Beijing	43.5	$1,000/mo	🇨🇳 China
53	Taipei	44.8	$800/mo	🇹🇼 Taiwan
54	Shanghai	46.2	$1,100/mo	🇨🇳 China
55	Paris	46.9	$1,400/mo	🇫🇷 France
56	Vienna	48.2	$1,000/mo	🇦🇹 Austria
57	Rome	49.3	$1,200/mo	🇮🇹 Italy
58	Brussels	50.3	$1,100/mo	🇧🇪 Belgium
59	Berlin	51.2	$1,200/mo	🇩🇪 Germany
60	Fukuoka	51.4	$700/mo	🇯🇵 Japan
61	Montreal	52.1	$1,400/mo	🇨🇦 Canada
62	Nice	52.7	$1,100/mo	🇫🇷 France
63	Milan	57.8	$1,400/mo	🇮🇹 Italy
64	Helsinki	58.2	$1,200/mo	🇫🇮 Finland
65	Las Vegas	58.2	$1,400/mo	🇺🇸 United States
66	Raleigh	58.6	$1,450/mo	🇺🇸 United States
67	Phoenix	58.9	$1,450/mo	🇺🇸 United States
68	Charlotte	59.8	$1,500/mo	🇺🇸 United States
69	Houston	60.2	$1,600/mo	🇺🇸 United States
70	Auckland	60.8	$1,400/mo	🇳🇿 New Zealand
71	Minneapolis	61.4	$1,550/mo	🇺🇸 United States
72	Munich	61.5	$1,500/mo	🇩🇪 Germany
73	Edinburgh	62.1	$1,300/mo	🇬🇧 United Kingdom
74	Toronto	62.3	$2,000/mo	🇨🇦 Canada
75	Dallas	62.5	$1,550/mo	🇺🇸 United States
76	Nashville	62.8	$1,700/mo	🇺🇸 United States
77	Osaka	62.8	$1,000/mo	🇯🇵 Japan
78	Atlanta	63.2	$1,650/mo	🇺🇸 United States
79	Perth	63.5	$1,500/mo	🇦🇺 Australia
80	Stockholm	64.3	$1,500/mo	🇸🇪 Sweden
81	Tampa	64.5	$1,700/mo	🇺🇸 United States
82	Austin	64.8	$1,800/mo	🇺🇸 United States
83	Vancouver	65.4	$2,100/mo	🇨🇦 Canada
84	Denver	65.7	$1,900/mo	🇺🇸 United States
85	Portland	67.2	$1,800/mo	🇺🇸 United States
86	Abu Dhabi	67.8	$1,500/mo	🇦🇪 UAE
87	Melbourne	68.2	$1,800/mo	🇦🇺 Australia
88	Luxembourg City	68.4	$1,800/mo	🇱🇺 Luxembourg
89	Philadelphia	68.8	$1,550/mo	🇺🇸 United States
90	Seoul	68.9	$1,200/mo	🇰🇷 South Korea
91	Doha	69.5	$1,600/mo	🇶🇦 Qatar
92	Dubai	72.4	$1,800/mo	🇦🇪 UAE
93	Dublin	72.8	$2,000/mo	🇮🇪 Ireland
94	Chicago	73.2	$2,000/mo	🇺🇸 United States
95	Hong Kong	73.6	$2,500/mo	🇭🇰 China (SAR)
96	Sydney	74.5	$2,200/mo	🇦🇺 Australia
97	Los Angeles	76.3	$2,400/mo	🇺🇸 United States
98	Tokyo	77.3	$1,500/mo	🇯🇵 Japan
99	San Diego	77.5	$2,600/mo	🇺🇸 United States
100	Oslo	78.5	$1,600/mo	🇳🇴 Norway
101	Seattle	79.5	$2,200/mo	🇺🇸 United States
102	Washington DC	79.8	$2,400/mo	🇺🇸 United States
103	Miami	80.1	$2,500/mo	🇺🇸 United States
104	Tel Aviv	81.3	$1,800/mo	🇮🇱 Israel
105	Boston	82.4	$2,800/mo	🇺🇸 United States
106	Amsterdam	82.6	$1,800/mo	🇳🇱 Netherlands
107	Copenhagen	85.7	$1,800/mo	🇩🇰 Denmark
108	London	87.5	$2,500/mo	🇬🇧 United Kingdom
109	Singapore	87.7	$2,200/mo	🇸🇬 Singapore
110	San Francisco	97.6	$3,200/mo	🇺🇸 United States
111	New York	100.0	$3,500/mo	🇺🇸 United States
112	Geneva	118.6	$2,600/mo	🇨🇭 Switzerland
113	Zurich	122.4	$2,800/mo	🇨🇭 Switzerland

Data covers 182 cities worldwide. COLI baseline: New York = 100. Updated 2026.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cheapest city to live in 2026?

According to our 2026 data, Cairo ranks #1. See the full table above for all 182 cities.

How are cities ranked?

Cities are ranked by Cost of Living Index (COLI), where New York = 100. A COLI of 50 means living costs are roughly half of New York.

How often is this data updated?

Our cost-of-living data is reviewed and updated quarterly. This page reflects 2026 data.

Explore More Rankings

Data Sources & Methodology

Cost of living indices (COLI) are benchmarked to New York City = 100 and derived from Numbeo and Expatistan crowd-sourced price surveys, cross-referenced with national statistics agencies.

Salary ranges are compiled from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OES), Glassdoor, PayScale, and the Robert Half Salary Guide. Tax rates use 2026 published brackets from OECD Taxing Wages and national tax authorities. Exchange rates from the European Central Bank. Rent data from Numbeo Property Prices.

Last updated: 2026-02-28. Data is refreshed periodically. All figures are estimates for informational purposes only and should not be used as the sole basis for financial decisions.