Cheapest Cities in the Americas — Cost of Living Index (2026)

86 cities in the Americas across 16 countries, ranked from cheapest to most expensive. New York City is the baseline at 100 — a city at 40 is roughly 60% cheaper than New York for the same basket of rent, food, transport, and utilities.

Cities ranked

Countries

Cheapest

Cuenca · 30.3

Most expensive

Honolulu · 101.9

Cheapest cities (one per country)

1.Cuenca, Ecuador30.3
2.Asuncion, Paraguay31.5
3.Cali, Colombia31.6
4.Salvador, Brazil33
5.Lima, Peru34.7
6.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic41.4
7.San Salvador, El Salvador42
8.Mérida, Mexico42.1
9.Santiago, Chile44
10.Panama City, Panama47.1
11.Kingston, Jamaica55.1
12.Montevideo, Uruguay57.1

Most expensive cities

1.Honolulu, United States101.9
2.New York City, United States100
3.Washington, D.C., United States89.1
4.Seattle, United States88.9
5.San Jose, United States88.4
6.Oakland, United States84
7.Los Angeles, United States82.2
8.San Diego, United States81
9.Sacramento, United States78.8
10.Philadelphia, United States78.5
11.New Orleans, United States78
12.Portland, United States77.3

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Full ranking

#	City	Country	Index	vs. New York	1BR rent
1	Cuenca	Ecuador	30.3	70% cheaper	$446
2	Asuncion	Paraguay	31.5	69% cheaper	$504
3	Cali	Colombia	31.6	68% cheaper	$406
4	Salvador	Brazil	33	67% cheaper	$495
5	Belo Horizonte	Brazil	33.5	67% cheaper	$510
6	Porto Alegre	Brazil	34.1	66% cheaper	$410
7	Quito	Ecuador	34.1	66% cheaper	$486
8	Fortaleza	Brazil	34.3	66% cheaper	$408
9	Lima	Peru	34.7	65% cheaper	$706
10	Florianópolis	Brazil	34.8	65% cheaper	$573
11	Bogota	Colombia	34.9	65% cheaper	$563
12	Barranquilla	Colombia	35	65% cheaper	$415
13	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	35.1	65% cheaper	$639
14	Campinas	Brazil	35.4	65% cheaper	$422
15	Guayaquil	Ecuador	36.3	64% cheaper	$450
16	Medellín	Colombia	36.5	64% cheaper	$686
17	Brasilia	Brazil	36.9	63% cheaper	$493
18	Santo Domingo	Dominican Republic	41.4	59% cheaper	$770
19	San Salvador	El Salvador	42	58% cheaper	$899
20	São Paulo	Brazil	42	58% cheaper	$659
21	Mérida	Mexico	42.1	58% cheaper	$592
22	Guadalajara	Mexico	42.2	58% cheaper	$883
23	Santiago	Chile	44	56% cheaper	$607
24	Santiago de Querétaro	Mexico	45.3	55% cheaper	$868
25	Panama City	Panama	47.1	53% cheaper	$1,320
26	Mexico City	Mexico	48.3	52% cheaper	$1,169
27	Monterrey	Mexico	50	50% cheaper	$1,003
28	Kingston	Jamaica	55.1	45% cheaper	$1,479
29	Montevideo	Uruguay	57.1	43% cheaper	$664
30	San Jose	Costa Rica	57.3	43% cheaper	$984
31	Windsor	Canada	57.9	42% cheaper	$1,209
32	Brampton	Canada	58	42% cheaper	$1,398
33	Québec	Canada	59.4	41% cheaper	$947
34	Winnipeg	Canada	59.4	41% cheaper	$1,008
35	Huntsville	United States	59.5	41% cheaper	$1,445
36	Montreal	Canada	60.1	40% cheaper	$1,294
37	London	Canada	61.9	38% cheaper	$1,284
38	Regina	Canada	62	38% cheaper	$1,078
39	Ottawa	Canada	62.3	38% cheaper	$1,472
40	Halifax	Canada	62.7	37% cheaper	$1,540
41	Cincinnati	United States	62.9	37% cheaper	$1,613
42	Mississauga	Canada	62.9	37% cheaper	$1,745
43	Saskatoon	Canada	62.9	37% cheaper	$1,058
44	Cleveland	United States	63.3	37% cheaper	$1,638
45	Calgary	Canada	63.6	36% cheaper	$1,371
46	San Antonio	United States	64.4	36% cheaper	$1,550
47	Tucson	United States	64.7	35% cheaper	$1,313
48	Houston	United States	64.9	35% cheaper	$1,708
49	Jacksonville	United States	64.9	35% cheaper	$1,584
50	Kitchener	Canada	65	35% cheaper	$1,392
51	Rochester	United States	65.1	35% cheaper	$1,350
52	Wichita	United States	65.5	35% cheaper	$993
53	Salt Lake City	United States	65.7	34% cheaper	$1,570
54	Detroit	United States	66.5	34% cheaper	$1,520
55	Milwaukee	United States	67	33% cheaper	$1,772
56	Toronto	Canada	67.1	33% cheaper	$1,950
57	Pittsburgh	United States	68.2	32% cheaper	$1,603
58	Victoria	Canada	68.4	32% cheaper	$1,655
59	Indianapolis	United States	68.9	31% cheaper	$1,718
60	Austin	United States	69.1	31% cheaper	$2,054
61	San Juan	Puerto Rico (US)	69.9	30% cheaper	$1,704
62	Richmond	United States	70.1	30% cheaper	$1,566
63	Las Vegas	United States	70.6	29% cheaper	$1,576
64	Orlando	United States	71	29% cheaper	$1,843
65	Spokane	United States	71	29% cheaper	$1,708
66	Oklahoma City	United States	71.2	29% cheaper	$1,287
67	Nashville	United States	71.7	28% cheaper	$1,944
68	Baltimore	United States	72.2	28% cheaper	$1,864
69	Saint Louis	United States	72.7	27% cheaper	$1,424
70	Dallas	United States	73.5	27% cheaper	$1,747
71	Phoenix	United States	73.9	26% cheaper	$1,778
72	Reno	United States	75.8	24% cheaper	$1,962
73	Denver	United States	76.5	24% cheaper	$2,082
74	Jersey City	United States	76.5	24% cheaper	$3,246
75	Portland	United States	77.3	23% cheaper	$2,063
76	New Orleans	United States	78	22% cheaper	$1,821
77	Philadelphia	United States	78.5	22% cheaper	$1,922
78	Sacramento	United States	78.8	21% cheaper	$2,036
79	San Diego	United States	81	19% cheaper	$3,173
80	Los Angeles	United States	82.2	18% cheaper	$2,600
81	Oakland	United States	84	16% cheaper	$2,093
82	San Jose	United States	88.4	12% cheaper	$3,163
83	Seattle	United States	88.9	11% cheaper	$2,506
84	Washington, D.C.	United States	89.1	11% cheaper	$2,659
85	New York City	United States	100	0% cheaper	$3,800
86	Honolulu	United States	101.9	2% pricier	$2,609

Related rankings

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How this works

Every city is scored on a single index where New York City = 100. The score blends rent, groceries, restaurants, transport, and utilities into one comparable number, so a city at 50 costs about half what New York does for the same lifestyle.

We rank city-level data only — never a country average painted across its cities. A city is included only when it has genuine local price coverage (real rent and meal prices), which keeps the ranking credible at both ends. Countries under active-conflict travel advisories are excluded.

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