Methodology
How the first version estimates cost of living
CityCostCompare uses a structured data file with city-level indexes, selected price benchmarks, source links, update dates, and confidence labels. User-entered expenses are adjusted by the relative index difference between the current city and the target city.
Current data model
The current audited sample covers 20 global cities in cities.csv. Cost, rent, grocery, and restaurant
indexes are separated from absolute monthly estimates so each field can be reviewed and replaced independently.
Remaining seed cities are labeled as low-confidence estimates until they are audited.
Calculation approach
Rent is adjusted with the rent index, food with a blended grocery and restaurant index, transport with the transport index, utilities with the utilities index, and other spending with the overall cost index.
Confidence labels
- medium: core indexes have a named public source, but some absolute prices still need audit.
- low: MVP seed estimate retained for product testing only.
- high: reserved for fields verified against official datasets, downloadable reports, or dated market reports.
Next data upgrades
- Verify absolute rents against Zillow, official statistics, or dated rental market reports.
- Verify monthly transport prices against local transit agencies.
- Split monthly costs into single-person, couple, and family profiles.
- Add source notes directly to future city and comparison pages.
Data source details
Methodology explains how estimates are calculated. The data sources page lists source types, confidence labels, update dates, and known limitations for each published city.
View data sources