Netizens question ranking that says family of 4 needs S$12K monthly in Singapore

SINGAPORE: When an infographic showed that Singapore topped a list of the most expensive cities in Asia, it probably raised very few eyebrows.

However, what netizens questioned was the stated amount of US$9,333 (S$12,476) that a family of four in Singapore allegedly needs each month, which seemed unreasonably high for some.

On Monday (Feb 24), Seasia Stats posted an infographic on its social media accounts of the “Top 10 most expensive cities to live in 2025” in Asia, citing CNBC as the source.

Topping the list is Singapore (US$9,333), closely followed by Hong Kong (US$9,134), with Seoul taking a distant third place at (US$6,651). Tokyo (US$6,065) and Shanghai (US$5,027) rounded out the top 5.

The post cautioned, however, that it was “based solely on the provided image data and may not reflect the full economic picture of these cities.”

A quick check shows that last July, CNBC published a piece about how much a family of four needed every month across 10 Asian cities, based on data from Numbeo, a global cost of living database.

The CNBC piece cited Singapore’s high rental rates and said that the estimated monthly living expenses, without rent, for a family of four would be US$4,025 (S$5,381). If rent for a three-bedroom unit in the city centre would be included, at US$5,308 (S$7,097), this would raise the total to over S$12,000.

Most Singaporean families, however, do not rent but live in HDB housing.

When the Seasia Stats post was shared on Reddit, some users on the platform wrote that their monthly expenses were substantially less than S$12,476 and surmised that the quoted amount was likely to apply to expats rather than Singaporeans.

“My wife and I are living pretty comfortably for less than half as that,” one wrote.

One Reddit user pointed out that expats have no government subsidies and must spend money on private housing, private schools, and, often, private transport. They also tend to go to restaurants rather than rent-controlled hawker centres, and some have memberships in private clubs.

“I’d imagine expats spending more than S$9K for all that,” another commented. Another wrote that for some, US$9,000 may just be the budget for their rental fee.

A local Reddit user wrote that Singaporeans are less likely to feel the pinch of mortgage payments since they are usually deducted from CPF accounts.

One popular comment noted: “It’s cost of living, not cost of surviving.” /TISG

Read also: “What about the struggling middle class?” — Singaporeans ask in response to SG being named the world’s most expensive city