Meridian Tools · Updated October 2026

Can I afford to live there?

Enter your monthly remote income and see, instantly, which of 126 cities you could live in comfortably — and how much you'd have left over each month. Based on live prices for rent, coworking, transit, and daily dining.

Your monthly take-home income (USD)

/ month

A $3,000/month income covers a comfortable life (essentials under half your income) in 60 cities, is doable in 48 more, and falls short in 18.

CityEssentials/moLeft overStatus

Chennai, India$400+$2,600Comfortablesave 87%Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia$423+$2,577Comfortablesave 86%Havana, Cuba$448+$2,552Comfortablesave 85%Hyderabad, India$462+$2,538Comfortablesave 85%Goa, India$512+$2,488Comfortablesave 83%New Delhi, India$541+$2,459Comfortablesave 82%Kathmandu, Nepal$555+$2,445Comfortablesave 82%Colombo, Sri Lanka$564+$2,436Comfortablesave 81%Tunis, Tunisia$593+$2,407Comfortablesave 80%Da Nang, Vietnam$661+$2,339Comfortablesave 78%Kampala, Uganda$674+$2,326Comfortablesave 78%Cebu, Philippines$680+$2,320Comfortablesave 77%Uruapan, Mexico$705+$2,295Comfortablesave 77%Dakar, Senegal$750+$2,250Comfortablesave 75%Morelia, Mexico$750+$2,250Comfortablesave 75%Kigali, Rwanda$785+$2,215Comfortablesave 74%Amman, Jordan$793+$2,207Comfortablesave 74%Bali, Indonesia$793+$2,207Comfortablesave 74%Bangalore, India$819+$2,181Comfortablesave 73%Plovdiv, Bulgaria$830+$2,170Comfortablesave 72%Jakarta, Indonesia$832+$2,168Comfortablesave 72%Bangkok, Thailand$867+$2,133Comfortablesave 71%Tashkent, Uzbekistan$870+$2,130Comfortablesave 71%Cusco, Peru$940+$2,060Comfortablesave 69%Manila, Philippines$942+$2,058Comfortablesave 69%Brno, Czech Republic$958+$2,042Comfortablesave 68%Quito, Ecuador$962+$2,038Comfortablesave 68%Johannesburg, South Africa$975+$2,025Comfortablesave 68%Marrakech, Morocco$993+$2,007Comfortablesave 67%Granada, Spain$1,003+$1,997Comfortablesave 67%Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala$1,025+$1,975Comfortablesave 66%Tbilisi, Georgia$1,025+$1,975Comfortablesave 66%Florianópolis, Brazil$1,033+$1,967Comfortablesave 66%Koh Samui, Thailand$1,043+$1,957Comfortablesave 65%Asunción, Paraguay$1,047+$1,953Comfortablesave 65%Maputo, Mozambique$1,050+$1,950Comfortablesave 65%Osaka, Japan$1,050+$1,950Comfortablesave 65%Bucharest, Romania$1,053+$1,947Comfortablesave 65%Bogota, Colombia$1,060+$1,940Comfortablesave 65%Sofia, Bulgaria$1,107+$1,893Comfortablesave 63%Accra, Ghana$1,109+$1,891Comfortablesave 63%Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic$1,130+$1,870Comfortablesave 62%Yerevan, Armenia$1,139+$1,861Comfortablesave 62%Tartu, Estonia$1,158+$1,842Comfortablesave 61%Busan, South Korea$1,159+$1,841Comfortablesave 61%Medellin, Colombia$1,178+$1,822Comfortablesave 61%Muscat, Oman$1,179+$1,821Comfortablesave 61%Lima, Peru$1,207+$1,793Comfortablesave 60%Almaty, Kazakhstan$1,263+$1,737Comfortablesave 58%Santiago, Chile$1,290+$1,710Comfortablesave 57%Buenos Aires, Argentina$1,313+$1,687Comfortablesave 56%Taipei, Taiwan$1,332+$1,668Comfortablesave 56%Riga, Latvia$1,345+$1,655Comfortablesave 55%São Paulo, Brazil$1,355+$1,645Comfortablesave 55%Palermo, Italy$1,369+$1,631Comfortablesave 54%Zagreb, Croatia$1,375+$1,625Comfortablesave 54%Budapest, Hungary$1,391+$1,609Comfortablesave 54%Istanbul, Turkey$1,447+$1,553Comfortablesave 52%Rio de Janeiro, Brazil$1,447+$1,553Comfortablesave 52%Split, Croatia$1,480+$1,520Comfortablesave 51%Montevideo, Uruguay$1,520+$1,480Doablesave 49%Guadalajara, Mexico$1,527+$1,473Doablesave 49%Warsaw, Poland$1,530+$1,470Doablesave 49%Beijing, China$1,530+$1,470Doablesave 49%Porto, Portugal$1,531+$1,469Doablesave 49%San Jose, Costa Rica$1,545+$1,455Doablesave 49%Athens, Greece$1,553+$1,447Doablesave 48%Tallinn, Estonia$1,605+$1,395Doablesave 47%Vilnius, Lithuania$1,621+$1,379Doablesave 46%Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago$1,639+$1,361Doablesave 45%Marseille, France$1,663+$1,337Doablesave 45%Málaga, Spain$1,692+$1,308Doablesave 44%Mexico City, Mexico$1,707+$1,293Doablesave 43%Monterrey, Mexico$1,726+$1,274Doablesave 42%Prague, Czech Republic$1,766+$1,234Doablesave 41%Seville, Spain$1,790+$1,210Doablesave 40%Nice, France$1,820+$1,180Doablesave 39%Lyon, France$1,843+$1,157Doablesave 39%Riyadh, Saudi Arabia$1,847+$1,153Doablesave 38%Valencia, Spain$1,854+$1,146Doablesave 38%Tokyo, Japan$1,857+$1,143Doablesave 38%Panama City, Panama$1,901+$1,099Doablesave 37%Montreal, Canada$1,916+$1,084Doablesave 36%Berlin, Germany$1,918+$1,082Doablesave 36%Vienna, Austria$1,953+$1,047Doablesave 35%Brussels, Belgium$1,958+$1,042Doablesave 35%Lisbon, Portugal$1,958+$1,042Doablesave 35%Houston, United States$1,989+$1,011Doablesave 34%Funchal, Portugal$2,097+$903Doablesave 30%Florence, Italy$2,099+$901Doablesave 30%Madrid, Spain$2,156+$844Doablesave 28%Hamburg, Germany$2,159+$841Doablesave 28%Hobart, Australia$2,172+$828Doablesave 28%Barcelona, Spain$2,215+$785Doablesave 26%Helsinki, Finland$2,224+$776Doablesave 26%Auckland, New Zealand$2,225+$775Doablesave 26%Paris, France$2,295+$705Doablesave 24%Victoria, Canada$2,345+$655Doablesave 22%Atlanta, United States$2,364+$636Doablesave 21%Munich, Germany$2,405+$595Doablesave 20%Nashville, United States$2,514+$486Doablesave 16%Edinburgh, United Kingdom$2,525+$475Doablesave 16%Toronto, Canada$2,543+$457Doablesave 15%Denver, United States$2,625+$375Doablesave 13%Portland, United States$2,660+$340Doablesave 11%Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates$2,670+$330Doablesave 11%Stockholm, Sweden$2,757+$243Doablesave 8%Copenhagen, Denmark$2,891+$109Doablesave 4%Amsterdam, Netherlands$3,105−$105Out of reach Oslo, Norway$3,115−$115Out of reach Doha, Qatar$3,212−$212Out of reach Dublin, Ireland$3,228−$228Out of reach Washington, United States$3,287−$287Out of reach Reykjavik, Iceland$3,294−$294Out of reach Vancouver, Canada$3,317−$317Out of reach Chicago, United States$3,336−$336Out of reach Dubai, United Arab Emirates$3,481−$481Out of reach Singapore, Singapore$3,559−$559Out of reach San Diego, United States$3,562−$562Out of reach Washington DC, United States$3,683−$683Out of reach

Showing the 120 most affordable of 126. Narrow with the filters above.

Reference · October 2026

The salary you need to live comfortably

Monthly take-home income at which core essentials stay under half your budget, for the 20 most affordable cities. Free to cite with a link to Meridian.

How it works

For each city we sum four location-driven monthly costs in USD — a 1-bedroom apartment in the city center, a coworking membership, a monthly transit pass, and one casual restaurant meal per day. We compare that basket to the income you enter. A city is comfortable when essentials are ≤ 50% of your income, doable at 50–100%, and out of reach above 100%. This is a defined basket, not total cost of living — groceries, utilities, and healthcare are excluded so every figure traces to a named price. Data is AI-sourced and refreshed continuously (October 2026).

Frequently asked questions

How much money do I need to live as a digital nomad?

It depends heavily on the city. To live comfortably (with your core monthly essentials — rent, coworking, transit, and daily dining — under half your income), you need about $800/month in the cheapest city we track (Chennai) and $3,060/month in the median city. Enter your income above to see all 126 cities.

Can I live in Chennai on a remote salary?

Yes — Chennai, India is the most affordable city in our index. Core monthly essentials run about $400, so even a $800/month remote income leaves you living comfortably with room to save.

What counts as a comfortable salary in this calculator?

We call a city "comfortable" when its four core monthly essentials — a 1-bedroom rent, a coworking membership, a transit pass, and one casual meal out per day — add up to 50% or less of your take-home income. "Doable" means essentials are 50–100% of income. "Out of reach" means they exceed your income before groceries, utilities, or savings.

How accurate is the cost data?

Prices are AI-retrieved from live web sources and refreshed continuously — this snapshot is from October 2026. Figures are typical market rates for a defined basket, not total cost of living. Verify major numbers before committing to a move.

Get notified when costs shift

We track prices across 200+ cities. Get the quarterly rundown of where it got cheaper — and pricier — to live.

Go deeper on any city

See the full cost breakdown, compare two cities side by side, or read the 2026 Nomad Essentials Index behind these numbers.

Compare cities →Read the Cost Index