Nomad Girl uses cost of living data from Numbeo, the world’s largest cost of living database, which uses crowd sourced data. It is a descent but not perfect indicator, to find out the cost of living in a certain place. The comparison tool is great to compare the cost of living in cities around the world. The indexes are based on the following crowd sourced data.
Numbeo Data
Numbeo collects data on the following 54 items and services.
Restaurants
- Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant
- Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course
- McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal)
- Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
- Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
- Cappuccino (regular)
- Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle)
Markets
- Milk (regular), (1 liter)
- Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g)
- Rice (white), (1kg)
- Eggs (regular) (12)
- Local Cheese (1kg)
- Chicken Fillets (1kg)
- Beef Round (1kg)
- Apples (1kg)
- Banana (1kg)
- Oranges (1kg)
- Tomato (1kg)
- Potato (1kg)
- Onion (1kg)
- Lettuce (1 head)
- Water (1.5 liter bottle)
- Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range)
- Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
- Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
- Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro)
Transportation
- One-way Ticket (Local Transport)
- Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
- Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
- Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff)
- Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
- Gasoline (1 liter)
- Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline
- Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort
Utilities (Monthly)
- Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment
- 1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans)
- Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL)
Sports And Leisure
- Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult
- Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend)
- Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat
Childcare
- Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child
- International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child
Clothing And Shoes
- 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
- 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, …)
- 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range)
- 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes
Rent Per Month
- Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre
- Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre
- Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre
- Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre
Buy Apartment Price
- Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment in City Centre
- Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre
Salaries And Financing
- Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
- Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate
Numbeo Cost of living Index by country
The following indexes are compared to the cost of living in New York City (100). So if the cost of living index is 80 this means that it is 20% cheaper than New York. It is the same for the other indexes. This index has been updated in July 2023.
Drawbacks of Numbeo Data
The Numbeo data has some drawbacks which make it harder to compare.
- The food that is compared is based upon western style food. In non-western countries this type of food is relatively more expensive than local food.
- Inflation and currency devaluation make some high inflation countries cheaper than they are. Turkey with its 100% inflation is not as cheap as Numbeo makes it out to be.
- Some items are very subjective and will create a large range of prices.