Mid-career New York baseline: $52,000. Each city lists local-market pay and a COLI-scaled lifestyle equivalent — the equivalent is not market pay.
| # | City | Local market | Lifestyle equivalent | COLI | Take-Home % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zurich | CHF 51,570 | CHF 51,570 | 122.4 | 64.2% |
| 2 | Geneva | CHF 49,969 | CHF 49,969 | 118.6 | 60.5% |
| 3 | New York | $52,000 | $52,000 | 100.0 | 69.6% |
| 4 | San Francisco | $50,752 | $50,752 | 97.6 | 70.8% |
| 5 | Singapore | S$59,409 | S$59,409 | 87.7 | 76.8% |
| 6 | London | £34,262 | £34,262 | 87.5 | 74.1% |
| 7 | Copenhagen | kr 282,887 | kr 282,887 | 85.7 | 61.1% |
| 8 | Amsterdam | €36,419 | €36,419 | 82.6 | 63.0% |
| 9 | Boston | $42,848 | $42,848 | 82.4 | 71.9% |
| 10 | Tel Aviv | ₪152,168 | ₪152,168 | 81.3 | 75.0% |
| 11 | Miami | $41,652 | $41,652 | 80.1 | 80.9% |
| 12 | Washington DC | $41,496 | $41,496 | 79.8 | 72.4% |
| 13 | Seattle | $41,340 | $41,340 | 79.5 | 80.9% |
| 14 | Oslo | kr 410,044 | kr 410,044 | 78.5 | 68.6% |
| 15 | San Diego | $40,300 | $40,300 | 77.5 | 71.6% |
| 16 | Tokyo | ¥6,226,748 | ¥6,226,748 | 77.3 | 72.1% |
| 17 | Los Angeles | $39,676 | $39,676 | 76.3 | 71.6% |
| 18 | Sydney | A$55,047 | A$55,047 | 74.5 | 86.7% |
| 19 | Hong Kong | HK$299,720 | HK$299,720 | 73.6 | 88.7% |
| 20 | Chicago | $38,064 | $38,064 | 73.2 | 76.0% |
| 21 | Dublin | €32,098 | €32,098 | 72.8 | 76.0% |
| 22 | Dubai | AED 136,389 | AED 136,389 | 72.4 | 100.0% |
| 23 | Doha | QAR 131,715 | QAR 131,715 | 69.5 | 100.0% |
| 24 | Seoul | ₩45,486,452 | ₩45,486,452 | 68.9 | 78.4% |
| 25 | Philadelphia | $35,776 | $35,776 | 68.8 | 77.9% |
| 26 | Luxembourg City | €30,158 | €30,158 | 68.4 | 76.0% |
| 27 | Melbourne | A$50,392 | A$50,392 | 68.2 | 88.3% |
| 28 | Abu Dhabi | AED 127,723 | AED 127,723 | 67.8 | 100.0% |
| 29 | Portland | $34,944 | $34,944 | 67.2 | 71.1% |
| 30 | Denver | $34,164 | $34,164 | 65.7 | 76.6% |
| 31 | Vancouver | C$46,044 | C$46,044 | 65.4 | 70.5% |
| 32 | Austin | $33,696 | $33,696 | 64.8 | 81.0% |
| 33 | Tampa | $33,540 | $33,540 | 64.5 | 81.0% |
| 34 | Stockholm | kr 304,399 | kr 304,399 | 64.3 | 61.0% |
| 35 | Perth | A$46,919 | A$46,919 | 63.5 | 89.6% |
| 36 | Atlanta | $32,864 | $32,864 | 63.2 | 75.6% |
| 37 | Nashville | $32,656 | $32,656 | 62.8 | 81.1% |
| 38 | Osaka | ¥5,058,729 | ¥5,058,729 | 62.8 | 73.7% |
| 39 | Dallas | $32,500 | $32,500 | 62.5 | 81.1% |
| 40 | Toronto | C$43,861 | C$43,861 | 62.3 | 69.1% |
| 41 | Edinburgh | £24,316 | £24,316 | 62.1 | 76.2% |
| 42 | Munich | €27,116 | €27,116 | 61.5 | 67.4% |
| 43 | Minneapolis | $31,928 | $31,928 | 61.4 | 73.2% |
| 44 | Auckland | NZ$50,947 | NZ$50,947 | 60.8 | 80.7% |
| 45 | Houston | $31,304 | $31,304 | 60.2 | 81.1% |
| 46 | Charlotte | $31,096 | $31,096 | 59.8 | 76.6% |
| 47 | Phoenix | $30,628 | $30,628 | 58.9 | 78.6% |
| 48 | Raleigh | $30,472 | $30,472 | 58.6 | 76.6% |
| 49 | Helsinki | €25,661 | €25,661 | 58.2 | 82.2% |
| 50 | Las Vegas | $30,264 | $30,264 | 58.2 | 81.1% |
| 51 | Milan | €25,484 | €25,484 | 57.8 | 67.0% |
| 52 | Nice | €23,236 | €23,236 | 52.7 | 72.3% |
| 53 | Montreal | C$36,680 | C$36,680 | 52.1 | 63.2% |
| 54 | Fukuoka | ¥4,140,425 | ¥4,140,425 | 51.4 | 75.6% |
| 55 | Berlin | €22,574 | €22,574 | 51.2 | 70.0% |
| 56 | Brussels | €22,177 | €22,177 | 50.3 | 79.1% |
| 57 | Rome | €21,737 | €21,737 | 49.3 | 67.2% |
| 58 | Vienna | €21,252 | €21,252 | 48.2 | 74.0% |
| 59 | Paris | €20,678 | €20,678 | 46.9 | 73.0% |
| 60 | Shanghai | ¥161,728 | ¥161,728 | 46.2 | 68.0% |
| 61 | Taipei | NT$736,771 | NT$736,771 | 44.8 | 88.2% |
| 62 | Beijing | ¥152,276 | ¥152,276 | 43.5 | 68.6% |
| 63 | Riyadh | SAR 83,070 | SAR 83,070 | 42.6 | 90.2% |
| 64 | Panama City | $21,996 | $21,996 | 42.3 | 82.8% |
| 65 | Barcelona | €18,562 | €18,562 | 42.1 | 73.0% |
| 66 | Shenzhen | ¥146,675 | ¥146,675 | 41.9 | 69.0% |
| 67 | São Paulo | R$109,662 | R$109,662 | 41.8 | 68.7% |
| 68 | Guangzhou | ¥135,473 | ¥135,473 | 38.7 | 69.4% |
| 69 | Madrid | €16,754 | €16,754 | 38.0 | 73.4% |
| 70 | Bangkok | ฿599,504 | ฿599,504 | 37.2 | 91.4% |
| 71 | Cancún | MX$315,407 | MX$315,407 | 35.8 | 82.2% |
| 72 | Lisbon | €15,299 | €15,299 | 34.7 | 72.2% |
| 73 | Valencia | €14,770 | €14,770 | 33.5 | 73.9% |
| 74 | Santiago | CLP 16,185,000 | CLP 16,185,000 | 33.2 | 78.7% |
| 75 | Kuala Lumpur | RM 69,354 | RM 69,354 | 32.8 | 83.8% |
| 76 | Mexico City | MX$286,333 | MX$286,333 | 32.5 | 82.9% |
| 77 | Montevideo | $U 710,105 | $U 710,105 | 32.5 | 78.2% |
| 78 | Split | €14,021 | €14,021 | 31.8 | 60.0% |
| 79 | Málaga | €13,756 | €13,756 | 31.2 | 74.2% |
| 80 | San José (CR) | ₡8,209,735 | ₡8,209,735 | 31.2 | 89.3% |
| 81 | Playa del Carmen | MX$271,355 | MX$271,355 | 30.8 | 83.2% |
| 82 | Athens | €13,492 | €13,492 | 30.6 | 73.8% |
| 83 | Prague | Kč 366,647 | Kč 366,647 | 30.6 | 74.0% |
| 84 | Phuket | ฿491,529 | ฿491,529 | 30.5 | 92.7% |
| 85 | Porto | €13,271 | €13,271 | 30.1 | 73.1% |
| 86 | Tallinn | €12,742 | €12,742 | 28.9 | 90.7% |
| 87 | Cape Town | R 269,116 | R 269,116 | 28.4 | 81.0% |
| 88 | Warsaw | zł 57,827 | zł 57,827 | 28.4 | 80.5% |
| 89 | Lagos | ₦22,448,494 | ₦22,448,494 | 27.3 | 68.9% |
| 90 | Manila | ₱781,801 | ₱781,801 | 26.8 | 82.4% |
| 91 | Ho Chi Minh City | ₫343,200,000 | ₫343,200,000 | 26.4 | 75.3% |
| 92 | Budapest | Ft 4,874,883 | Ft 4,874,883 | 26.1 | 66.5% |
| 93 | Lima | S/49,704 | S/49,704 | 25.8 | 83.7% |
| 94 | Buenos Aires | AR$14,835,663 | AR$14,835,663 | 25.6 | 53.7% |
| 95 | Bali (Denpasar) | Rp 203,085,843 | Rp 203,085,843 | 25.3 | 83.0% |
| 96 | Riga | €11,155 | €11,155 | 25.3 | 69.5% |
| 97 | Phnom Penh | $12,896 | $12,896 | 24.8 | 100.0% |
| 98 | Nairobi | KSh 1,658,694 | KSh 1,658,694 | 24.7 | 67.8% |
| 99 | Jakarta | Rp 196,664,157 | Rp 196,664,157 | 24.5 | 83.1% |
| 100 | Hanoi | ₫313,300,000 | ₫313,300,000 | 24.1 | 75.8% |
| 101 | Krakow | zł 48,460 | zł 48,460 | 23.8 | 81.7% |
| 102 | Istanbul | ₺384,420 | ₺384,420 | 23.1 | 63.6% |
| 103 | Bogotá | COP 49,497,108 | COP 49,497,108 | 22.9 | 90.7% |
| 104 | Chiang Mai | ฿364,215 | ฿364,215 | 22.6 | 93.7% |
| 105 | Bucharest | lei 49,514 | lei 49,514 | 22.5 | 55.0% |
| 106 | Mumbai | ₹964,878 | ₹964,878 | 22.3 | 92.9% |
| 107 | Casablanca | MAD 111,632 | MAD 111,632 | 22.1 | 75.1% |
| 108 | Bangalore | ₹899,976 | ₹899,976 | 20.8 | 93.2% |
| 109 | Medellín | COP 44,093,494 | COP 44,093,494 | 20.4 | 92.0% |
| 110 | Delhi | ₹843,727 | ₹843,727 | 19.5 | 93.4% |
| 111 | Marrakech | MAD 96,983 | MAD 96,983 | 19.2 | 77.4% |
| 112 | Chennai | ₹817,767 | ₹817,767 | 18.9 | 93.5% |
| 113 | Cairo | E£426,275 | E£426,275 | 16.8 | 69.9% |
Data covers 113 cities. Local market = verified / OECD / COLI badge (same as /is-my-salary-good/). Lifestyle equivalent = NYC baseline × city COLI / 100 — not market pay. Updated 2026.
Typical journalist salary range (New York baseline, USD):
The mid-career journalist New York baseline is $52,000. Each city shows two numbers: local-market pay (verified national stats, OECD estimate, or COLI fallback) and a lifestyle equivalent (NYC baseline scaled by city COLI). The equivalent is not what someone earns locally.
The highest COLI-scaled lifestyle equivalent for a journalist is Zurich at $63,648 USD. That figure is purchasing-power scaled from the New York baseline, not local market pay. See both columns in the table for all 113 cities.
Local-market pay uses the same country multipliers as /is-my-salary-good/ (verified national statistics, OECD wage ratios, or COLI fallback). Lifestyle equivalent starts from the New York baseline and scales by city COLI (NYC = 100). Take-home percentage is tax and social contributions on the local-market figure.