§ Ledger · Cost of Living

Every city, four budgets, one table.

85 cities, each audited line by line: a shoestring month, the honest middle, comfortable, and the everything-in number most guides leave out. All in USD. The figures lean a little high on purpose, so the surprise on arrival runs in your favour.

This is not a calculator and it is not a crowd average. No formula, no submissions, no guesses. A row is what the audit found in that city, with a date on it. Nothing here knows what you earn, and nothing here is a promise.

85Cities auditedOne row each, all four tiers.
1,248Itemized lines14 to 23 receipts per city.
Sep 2, 2026Latest auditReviewed quarterly, city by city.
MendozaCheapest headline$1,000 at the monthly tier.
New York CityPriciest headline$5,000 at the monthly tier.
§ The ledger

Sort it, filter it, then compare two.

USD / MONTH · SORTED CHEAPEST FIRST
Compare side by side

Any two of the audited cities. The pair page lines up all four tiers and every itemized line.

85 OF 85 CITIES
RegionYoYVerdictCompare
MendozaArgentinaSouth America$650$1,000$1,500Volatile in pesos, roughly flat to up in USD since the 2025 reformsGo, but quiet scene
ArmeniaColombiaSouth America$750$1,050$1,450$1,900+7% YoYGo, but quiet scene
ManizalesColombiaSouth America$750$1,050$1,450$1,900+7% YoYGo, but quiet scene
AsunciónParaguaySouth America$700$1,100$1,300$2,000+6% YoYGo, but quiet scene
BucaramangaColombiaSouth America$780$1,100$1,500$2,000+7% YoYGo, but quiet scene
BarranquillaColombiaSouth America$850$1,200$1,650$2,150+8% YoYGo, but quiet scene
Cebu CityPhilippinesSoutheast Asia$850$1,250$1,900$2,600+6% YoY (central condo rents)Go, but weak wifi
NatalBrazilSouth America$750$1,250$1,500$2,300+6% YoY (BRL roughly flat vs USD)Go, but stay alert
Chiang MaiThailandSoutheast Asia$900$1,300$1,900$2,400+6% YoY (Nimman rents)Go
CuritibaBrazilSouth America$850$1,300$1,700$2,300+6% YoY (BRL stable ~5.2/USD)Go, but quiet scene
Da NangVietnamSoutheast Asia$850$1,300$1,900$2,500+8% YoY (beach-area rents)Go, but short stays
HanoiVietnamSoutheast Asia$950$1,300$1,900$2,400+6% YoY (central rents)Go, but short stays
João PessoaBrazilSouth America$750$1,300$1,700$2,200+6% YoYGo, but quiet scene
Phnom PenhCambodiaSoutheast Asia$950$1,300$1,800$2,200+8% YoY (rents and cafes)Go, but stay alert
TbilisiGeorgiaEurope$850$1,300$1,700$2,300+4% YoY · rents off their 2023 peakGo
CaliColombiaSouth America$800$1,400$1,600$2,100+8% YoYGo, but stay alert
Ho Chi Minh CityVietnamSoutheast Asia$950$1,400$2,000$2,700+6% YoY (central rents)Go, but short stays
MedellínColombiaSouth America$900$1,400$1,800$2,400+15% YoYGo, but stay alert
Oaxaca CityMexicoNorth America$950$1,400$2,000Go
Kuala LumpurMalaysiaSoutheast Asia$850$1,450$1,900$3,000+6% YoY (condo rents)Go
BelgradeSerbiaEurope$950$1,500$2,100Go
BogotáColombiaSouth America$950$1,500$1,900$2,600+10% YoYGo, but stay alert
ChaniaGreeceEurope$1,050$1,500$2,050Go, but visa hassle
FortalezaBrazilSouth America$980$1,500$1,750$2,600+6% YoY (USD, stable real)Go, but stay alert
LimaPeruSouth America$1,050$1,500$2,400Go, but short stays
ThessalonikiGreeceEurope$1,050$1,500$2,050+5% YoY (rent-driven)Go, but visa hassle
TiranaAlbaniaEurope$1,100$1,500$2,100$2,500+10% in USD (strong lek + tourism boom)Go, but banking hassle
PenangMalaysiaSoutheast Asia$1,100$1,600$2,200$2,900+6% YoY (central rents)Go
GuadalajaraMexicoNorth America$1,150$1,650$2,400Go, but stay alert
Balneário CamboriúBrazilSouth America$1,250$1,700$2,300$2,600+6% YoY (BRL)Go, but pricey
BudapestHungaryEurope$1,100$1,700$2,200$2,900+7% in USD (firm forint + rent growth)Go, but short stays
FlorianópolisBrazilSouth America$1,150$1,700$1,900$2,300+9% YoY (BRL roughly stable vs USD)Go
TaipeiTaiwanAsia$1,150$1,700$2,400Go
AthensGreeceEurope$1,150$1,800$2,350$3,200+9% YoY (rent-driven)Go, but visa hassle
IstanbulTürkiyeEurope$1,050$1,800$2,200$3,000+15% YoY (USD)Go, but short stays
KrakówPolandEurope$1,050$1,800$2,100$2,900+5% YoY (USD)Go, but visa hassle
MontevideoUruguaySouth America$1,250$1,850$2,100$2,900+8% YoY (USD)Go, but pricey
Viña del MarChileSouth America$1,150$1,850$2,700Go, but pricey
BangkokThailandSoutheast Asia$1,250$1,900$2,600$3,400+5% YoY (central rents)Go
MéridaMexicoNorth America$1,250$1,900$2,600Go
Rio de JaneiroBrazilSouth America$1,100$1,900$2,400$2,900+6% YoY (BRL roughly stable near R$5.2)Go, but stay alert
San Miguel de AllendeMexicoNorth America$1,150$1,900$2,900+6% YoYGo
São PauloBrazilSouth America$1,300$1,900$2,050$2,800+6% YoY (USD)Go, but stay alert
SevilleSpainEurope$1,250$1,900$2,500+5% YoY (rent-driven)Go, but visa hassle
SplitCroatiaEurope$1,200$1,900$2,500Go
Buenos AiresArgentinaSouth America$1,300$2,000$2,500$3,400+27% in USD (post-reform repricing)Go, but stay alert
CangguIndonesiaSoutheast Asia$1,150$2,000$2,600$3,400+12% YoY (Canggu villa rents)Go, but banking hassle
Cape TownSouth AfricaAfrica$1,200$2,000$2,600Go, but stay alert
Playa del CarmenMexicoNorth America$1,200$2,000$2,700Go, but stay alert
BolognaItalyEurope$1,270$2,080$2,890+3% YoY (rent + CPI)Go, but visa hassle
MálagaSpainEurope$1,500$2,100$2,900+6% YoY (rent-driven)Go
Panama CityPanamaCentral America$1,400$2,100$3,000Go, but stay alert
SeoulSouth KoreaAsia$1,300$2,100$3,000Go
Mexico CityMexicoNorth America$1,400$2,200$2,800$3,800+9% YoYGo, but stay alert
PhuketThailandSoutheast Asia$1,400$2,200$3,000$3,800+6% YoY (high-season rents)Go, but stay alert
PragueCzech RepublicEurope$1,250$2,200$2,500$3,500+6% YoY (rents doing the damage)Go
Puerto VallartaMexicoNorth America$1,150$2,200$2,900Go
TallinnEstoniaEurope$1,500$2,200$3,000+3-6% YoY (Tallinn asking rents; paid rents flatter)Go, but quiet scene
Las PalmasSpainEurope$1,500$2,250$2,750$3,400+9% YoY (rents driving it)Go
FunchalPortugalEurope$1,400$2,300$2,850Go
ValenciaSpainEurope$1,600$2,300$2,750$3,400+8% YoY (rent-driven)Go
MadridSpainEurope$1,700$2,350$3,200+8% YoY (rent-driven)Go, but visa hassle
RomeItalyEurope$1,500$2,350$3,100+5% YoY (rent-driven)Go, but visa hassle
BarcelonaSpainEurope$1,400$2,500$3,300$4,500+3% YoYGo, but pricey
FlorenceItalyEurope$1,700$2,500$3,300+7% YoY (rent-driven)Go
PortoPortugalEurope$1,400$2,500$2,900$3,600+5% in USD (weak dollar outpaced cooling rents)Go
TokyoJapanAsia$1,650$2,600$3,600Go, but visa hassle
MilanItalyEurope$1,730$2,650$3,450+1% YoY (services up, rents flat)Go, but pricey
LisbonPortugalEurope$1,900$2,900$3,300$4,100+12% YoY (central rents)Go, but pricey
MelbourneAustraliaOceania$1,900$2,900$3,900Go, but visa hassle
NashvilleUnited StatesNorth America$1,950$2,900$4,200+2% YoY (rents flat to slightly up)Go
TorontoCanadaNorth America$2,000$2,950$3,900-0.6% YoY (rents stabilizing)Go, but pricey
MykonosGreeceEurope$1,925$2,970$4,180+5% to +10% YoY (rents up)Go, but short stays
EdinburghUnited KingdomEurope$1,900$3,000$4,200flat YoY (Citylets Q1 2026: Edinburgh rents ~0%)Go, but visa hassle
VancouverCanadaNorth America$2,100$3,100$4,300-4% YoY (rents softening)Go, but pricey
ChicagoUnited StatesNorth America$2,300$3,250$4,900+1.4% YoY (rents up modestly)Go, but stay alert
Las VegasUnited StatesNorth America$2,400$3,300$4,200+6.8% (rents and utilities up)Go, but quiet scene
DubaiUnited Arab EmiratesMiddle East$2,000$3,400$5,00010Go, but pricey
SantoriniGreeceEurope$2,400$3,600$4,600Go, but short stays
SydneyAustraliaOceania$2,200$3,600$5,000+7% YoY (rent-driven)Go, but visa hassle
IbizaSpainEurope$2,700$3,900$5,500Go, but pricey
LondonUnited KingdomEurope$2,300$4,000$5,500+2.2% YoY (ONS PIPR, London, to Jun 2026)Go, but pricey
MiamiUnited StatesNorth America$2,700$4,200$6,000-2% YoY (rents cooling)Go, but pricey
SingaporeSingaporeSoutheast Asia$2,300$4,300$4,800$6,500+5% YoY (condo rents)Go, but pricey
New York CityUnited StatesNorth America$2,500$5,000$7,500~flat citywide, +10-13% in nomad-path boroughsGo, but pricey
§ Methodology

How the ledger is built

Shoestringthe floor

A room or a small place off the main strip, most meals cooked, buses and your feet, one night out a week. Doable. Not fun for long.

Monthlythe headline

A one-bedroom in a normal neighbourhood, a coworking desk or a cafe habit, dinner out a few times a week, a ride when it rains. The middle. The number we lead with.

Comfortthe nicer flat

The flat in the area you actually want, a gym, weekends away, no counting coffees. Comfortable without pretending money is no object.

Bakedeverything in

Everything in, at the nicer end: the extras that land every month whether you planned them or not. The honest number for a professional who is not counting. Blank where the audit has not finished that math.

The lines under the headline

Under every tier sit 14 to 23 receipts per city: a specific rent in a named neighbourhood, a coworking desk, a grocery run, a ride across town. Each line carries a percent against the site median for that same line, so you can see where a city is cheap and where it quietly is not.

Labels differ from city to city because the cities do. A pair page keeps the category shared and the receipts honest, rather than forcing two lists to rhyme.

Snapshots, dated, reviewed quarterly

Figures are audited snapshots, not live feeds. Each city carries the date of its last audit and the whole ledger is reviewed on a quarterly cycle. The most recent audit landed Sep 2, 2026.

Prices lean a little high on purpose. Rents move, currencies move, landlords notice foreigners. Nothing here is a promise, and none of it should be your lease.

Figures are Nomad Insiders audited snapshots in USD, last reviewed Sep 2, 2026. Rents move; treat anything older than a quarter as a floor, not a quote.