Cost of Living in Malta
Image credit: Mstyslav Chernov
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Malta: $62,700/capita.
Cities in Malta
Income Category
Happiness
6.3 / 10
#39 globally
GDP per Capita
Population
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 43% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
How realistic the local public-school path is for a relocating family in Malta.
Quality
Good public schools
Assessment snapshot: 2022
Expat access
Resident families can use it
conditionalInstruction
Not specified
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
459
Below OECD avg
PISA 2022 · OECD avg ~480
Why this quality rating
This is based on the current quality snapshot and local-school fit for relocating families.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Access depends on residency, language fit, and how realistic the public route is for non-local families.
📋 Homeschooling
Legal with authorizationMalta allows homeschooling with approval from the Director of Education. Parents must submit an educational plan and students are subject to periodic assessment. Malta's English-medium environment and EU membership make it attractive for expat families.
Homeschool legality in Malta — check current regulations before committing.
Source: oecd-pisa-2022 (2026-04-03)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Current city samples for the family-support costs we track in Malta.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$875-$1,125
1 tracked city, not a national average
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$1,500-$1,975
1 tracked city, not a national average
Source: curated family relocation research
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Malta.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
StrongGood national coverage, strong doctor availability, and deep nursing capacity support this rating.
Public care
GoodBroad public coverage, country-level outcomes are comparatively strong, and a visible public hospital footprint support this rating.
Private care
MixedSelf-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
82/100
2023
Physicians
4.51/1k
2022
Hospital beds
4.09/1k
2022
Out of pocket
31%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
83.0 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
8/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
3.6/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedMultiple facilities have websites and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedMultiple facilities have crawlable websites help, but published self-pay prices are scarce.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Malta yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2022 annual wages in Malta · Source: Eurostat SES 2022
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can stay up to 90 days without a visa.
Long-Term Visa Programs
digital nomad
Nomad Residence Permit
Migrated from legacy digital_nomad_visas row 9
retirement
Malta Retirement Programme
investment
Malta MPRP Real Estate
About Malta
Malta is a small Mediterranean EU country with Valletta as its capital, and for relocators it sits firmly in a moderate-to-high cost bracket rather than a budget destination. EUR pricing and Southern Europe-style living costs mean it will usually feel expensive beside lower-cost regions, but the tradeoff is a high-income infrastructure tier: excellent public and private healthcare, fast reliable internet, and very high English proficiency alongside Maltese. The country is notably safe, with low crime rates, and its residence-permit options, including digital nomad visas, make it more administratively approachable than many small island markets. The climate is livable if you want mild winters and can tolerate hot, dry summers, occasional rain, and sirocco winds. Its compact size is convenient, but also means housing and daily choices can feel constrained.
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Common questions about Malta
Sourced from SortaRich's public-data ranking engine — every figure links to its institutional source.
Is Malta a good country to live in?
Malta is a good country to live in per the World Happiness Report (6.3 of 10, ranking #39 globally). Whether it's right for you depends on your priorities — use SortaRich's free quiz to see how Malta ranks for your specific income, family, and visa profile.
Sources: World Happiness Report, SortaRich Methodology
How much does it cost to live in Malta?
The cost of living in Malta is about 43% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), with an overall cost-of-living index of 57. SortaRich personalizes these numbers to your home city's purchasing power so the comparison is real, not nominal.
Sources: SortaRich Cost of Living, World Bank ICP 2021
How far does $1 go in Malta?
$1 goes about 1.5x further in Malta than in the baseline market — your home-country income stretches that much more (current PPP ratio: 1.48). The figure adjusts every year as exchange rates and local prices shift. SortaRich uses World Bank ICP 2021 as the anchor and Penn World Tables 11.0 for cross-validation.
Sources: World Bank ICP 2021, Penn World Tables 11.0
What visa do I need to move to Malta?
To move to Malta you have these visa options: Malta's digital-nomad visa "Nomad Residence Permit" is valid for 12 months and requires a minimum income of $2,700/month. Tourist entry: visa_free (90 days). Visa rules change frequently — confirm the current terms with the official immigration authority before booking flights.
Source: SortaRich Visa Database
What are the best cities to live in Malta?
The best cities to live in Malta are Valletta — those are the most-searched options among the 1 cities profiled in the SortaRich database. Each city page includes a personalized PPP comparison versus your home city plus subnational price data where available.
Source: SortaRich City Index