Cost of Living score
Affordability, essential costs, and day-to-day financial pressure for residents.
Cost of Living in Singapore60/100
Cost of Living
Cost of Living in Singapore
Singapore is expensive on rent and vehicles, balanced by strong transit, public services, and food-court price stability. Cost of Living in Singapore scores 60/100, placing it in the developing group of the indexed set.
- Last updated
- 2026-05-05
- Data year
- 2025
- Module score
- 60/100
Affordability score
60/100
Mid-tier affordability with strong public-service offsets.
Housing pressure
High
Public housing programs improve access; private rents remain high.
Vehicle cost
Very high
Vehicle entitlement costs structurally limit private-car ownership.
Singapore cost of living data table
This HTML table mirrors the visible score cards so important comparison data is never trapped in a browser-only chart.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Affordability score | 60/100 | Public transport and food-courts moderate daily expense. |
| Housing pressure | High | Most residents access HDB housing at managed prices. |
| Vehicle cost | Very high | Transit and ride-hail offset most household needs. |
Cost of Living city comparison
A crawlable comparison across every indexed city makes it easy to scan how this module changes between metros.
| City | Score | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore (this page) | 60/100 | Singapore is expensive on rent and vehicles, balanced by strong transit, public services, and food-court price stability. |
| Nairobi | 80/100 | Nairobi offers favorable affordability for a major regional capital, with strong variation across districts and household profiles. |
| Bangkok | 78/100 | Bangkok offers favorable affordability for a major Asian capital, with strong food and transit cost stability supporting daily life. |
| Mexico City | 78/100 | Mexico City offers favorable affordability for a major capital, with strong food and transit cost stability supporting daily life. |
| Cape Town | 76/100 | Cape Town offers comparatively favorable affordability for a major coastal city, with rising rent pressure in central neighborhoods. |
| São Paulo | 74/100 | São Paulo offers comparatively favorable affordability for a major global capital, with strong variation across districts and household profiles. |
| Vienna | 72/100 | Vienna offers strong housing access for a major European capital, supported by mature social-housing programs and reliable public services. |
| Berlin | 70/100 | Berlin is more affordable than most major European capitals, with rent pressure rising over time. |
| Tokyo | 68/100 | Tokyo is not cheap, but transit access, service density, and varied housing formats improve practical affordability. |
| Copenhagen | 66/100 | Copenhagen is expensive in rent and services, but strong public infrastructure reduces some hidden mobility and health costs. |
| Barcelona | 64/100 | Barcelona is more affordable than peer Western capitals, with rising rent pressure tied to tourism and demand for central living. |
| Dubai | 62/100 | Dubai is mid-tier on cost of living, with housing and services costs varying widely across districts and household profiles. |
| Amsterdam | 60/100 | Amsterdam carries elevated rent and services costs, partly offset by cycling, transit, and broad public-service quality. |
| Seoul | 60/100 | Seoul carries elevated rent and education costs, balanced by transit reach, dense services, and broad opportunity access. |
| Auckland | 56/100 | Auckland is expensive on housing and central services, partially offset by outdoor amenity and service quality. |
| Paris | 55/100 | Paris has high housing pressure, but compact mobility and public amenities reduce some day-to-day costs. |
| Toronto | 55/100 | Toronto offers strong public services but housing prices and rents drive elevated cost pressure. |
| London | 52/100 | London is expensive in housing and central services, partially offset by transit reach and broad opportunity access. |
| Zurich | 52/100 | Zurich is among the most expensive global cities on rent and services, with strong wages and public-service quality offsetting some pressure. |
| Sydney | 50/100 | Sydney is expensive on housing and central services, partially offset by outdoor amenity and service quality. |
| Hong Kong | 50/100 | Hong Kong is among the most expensive global cities on housing, with very strong transit and services partly offsetting daily costs. |
| San Francisco | 50/100 | San Francisco offers exceptional opportunity access, with housing costs placing heavy pressure on household resilience. |
| New York | 49/100 | New York offers exceptional access to work and services, but housing costs place heavy pressure on household resilience. |
Interpretation
Cost-of-living scoring weighs visible rent and services against transit and food-court offsets. Singapore performs well on offsets despite high housing pressure. Across the indexed cities the cost of living average is 62/100, so Singapore is close to the median for this dimension. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-05. Drawn from 3 institutional references.
Read this module with the main open the singapore city profile and the read the scoring methodology page so single-topic pages do not hide tradeoffs across dimensions.
This page uses a typed sample dataset shaped to demonstrate the indexable content structure. Values are directional and not official measurements.
Sources
3 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Mock values are typed and ready to be replaced by API-backed city datasets without changing route structure.
- UN-Habitat: World Cities Report 2024
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
- IPCC: AR6 WGII Chapter 6: Cities, settlements and key infrastructure
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.
- Numbeo: Cost of Living Index
Used for directional affordability framing alongside official housing and price datasets.
Continue exploring
These links connect module pages back to city, ranking, and sibling topic paths with crawlable href values.
Singapore city profile
Return to the complete Singapore profile with all module scores and source context.
Air Quality in Singapore
Health-oriented air-quality conditions with context from WHO, EEA, and EPA benchmarks.
Energy in Singapore
Clean-energy readiness, grid resilience, and solar or efficiency opportunity signals.
Safety in Singapore
Personal safety, institutional trust, and resilience signals informed by international safety and crime data.
Internet Speed in Singapore
Broadband and mobile connectivity quality, latency, and digital-readiness signals for residents and remote workers.
Climate Risk in Singapore
Climate exposure, hazard frequency, and adaptation context for floods, heat, storms, and wildfires.
Overall Intelligence
A balanced ranking of cities across affordability, air quality, clean-energy readiness, and resilience.
Quality of Life
Cities that combine strong services, mobility, safety, clean air, and resilience into a healthy day-to-day profile.