The cheapest cities to live in (and how we measure cost)
CityLivably Editorial Team · Built on World Bank, WorldClim, USGS and FEMA/INFORM open data · Updated 2026
'Cheap' should mean real purchasing power, not a guess. Here's how we price cost of living from open World Bank data — and the cities that come out cheapest.
Cheapest cities
- Kotor, Montenegro — cost score 57/100
- Playa del Carmen, Mexico — cost score 57/100
- Tivat, Montenegro — cost score 56/100
- Boquete, Panama — cost score 56/100
- Puerto Vallarta, Mexico — cost score 56/100
- Atenas, Costa Rica — cost score 56/100
- Valletta, Malta — cost score 56/100
- Quepos, Costa Rica — cost score 56/100
- Tamarindo, Costa Rica — cost score 56/100
- Punta del Este, Uruguay — cost score 55/100
- Grand Baie, Mauritius — cost score 55/100
- Queenstown, New Zealand — cost score 55/100
- Las Vegas, United States — cost score 55/100
- Portland, United States — cost score 55/100
- Porto, Portugal — cost score 54/100
- Herceg Novi, Montenegro — cost score 54/100
- Cetinje, Montenegro — cost score 54/100
- Albufeira, Portugal — cost score 54/100
- Budva, Montenegro — cost score 54/100
- Tavira, Portugal — cost score 54/100
- Centre de Flacq, Mauritius — cost score 54/100
- Bar, Montenegro — cost score 54/100
- Goodlands, Mauritius — cost score 54/100
- Telavi, Georgia — cost score 54/100
How we measure cost (legally and openly)
Instead of copying a crowd-sourced database, we use the World Bank's price-level ratio (PPP vs exchange rate) — open, citable data — so the cost score is original and verifiable. City-level refinement (US BEA/HUD rent) is the next layer.
Why these numbers are trustworthy
Every figure on this page is reproducible from open, citable sources rather than crowd-sourced guesses: cost from the World Bank price level (PPP ÷ exchange rate), climate from WorldClim v2.1 temperature normals, earthquakes from real USGS event history, and flood, storm, wildfire, heat, drought, cold and tsunami exposure modelled from each city's geography. We score 1,103 cities across 68 countries on the same 0–100 scales, so comparisons are like-for-like. The numbers are planning indicators, not promises — verify rent, visas, healthcare and tax for your own situation before you move, and treat the modelled hazard tiers as a relative guide between cities rather than an absolute forecast.
FAQ
Where is it cheapest to live?
Lower-cost countries; Kotor is among the cheapest in our data.
Is cheaper always better?
No — cheap cities are often higher-risk or have harsher climates; that's why we score all three pillars.