SINGAPORE: In Southeast Asia, Singapore currently holds the top spot on Numbeo’s Current Cost of Living Index by City. Singapore received a score of 71.1, while Phuket, which is in second place on the index, scored 38.1.
Here’s how the rest of the top 11 cities scored: Bangkok (37), Phnom Penh (36.9), Manila (34.4), Pattaya (33.2), Kuala Lumpur (33.1), Chiang Mai (29.5), Ho Chi Minh City (28.6), Jakarta (28.5) and Hanoi (27.8).
A graphic published by Numbeo further illustrates the wide gap between the cost of living in Singapore versus the rest of Southeast Asia.
These results should not come as a surprise to anyone, as Singapore has topped Numbeo’s Cost of Living Index in Southeast Asia for the past 10 years.
There has also been a large gap between the scores Singapore has received on the index versus the scores other Southeast Asian cities received over the same time period.
The scores on the index are based on the following categories: rent, groceries, restaurant prices, and local purchasing power. Singapore scored 67.9 on the rent index, 70.9 for groceries, and 53.1 for restaurant prices.
The Little Red Dot scored well when it came to local purchasing power, receiving a score of 93.2. Only Kuala Lumpur, which scored 109.2, did better than the city-state in this category.
Numbeo’s numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, however.
The company gathers and analyses crowdsourced data on perceived consumer prices, real property prices, and quality of life metrics and is used by many to share and compare the cost of living between cities and countries.
Singapore’s entry on the site says that a family of four needs $5,439.90 per month for its needs, without rent. A single person in Singapore, meanwhile, would need $1,505.70, also without rent.
In runner-up Phuket, Numbeo’s data says that the cost of living, including rent, is 59 per cent lower than in Singapore.
Rental rates are nearly 70 per cent lower in Phuket than in Singapore, and restaurant prices are almost half what they are in Singapore. Groceries are over 36 per cent more expensive in Singapore than in Phuket.
However, in Singapore’s favour, the local purchasing power in Phuket is nearly 60 per cent lower than in Singapore.
Interestingly, Numbeo also says that a person earning $12,000 in Singapore would only need to earn $4,915 in Phuket to enjoy the same standard of living. /TISG
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