Average Salary by City 2026: A Data-Driven Global Comparison of 100 Cities

Why Global Salary Comparisons Matter More Than Ever

The era of location-locked careers is fading. Remote work has become a permanent fixture of the global economy, multinational hiring is accelerating, and professionals are increasingly weighing relocation offers against the reality of what their paychecks can actually buy. A headline salary figure in isolation tells you almost nothing. Earning $85,000 in New York and $45,000 in Lisbon are not as far apart in real terms as the numbers suggest, and in some cases the lower number wins.

This analysis aims to cut through the noise. We gathered salary and cost-of-living data across more than 100 cities on six continents, normalized everything to USD equivalents, and computed a salary-to-cost-of-living ratio that reveals where compensation genuinely goes the furthest. Whether you are negotiating a relocation package, benchmarking a remote-work offer, or simply curious about global pay trends, this is the dataset you need.

Data Sources and Methodology

Our data pipeline draws from multiple authoritative sources to ensure reliability and breadth:

• Salary data: Aggregated from Numbeo's salary surveys (Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 cycles), Glassdoor median reported salaries, the OECD Employment Outlook 2026, national statistics offices (BLS, ONS, ABS, Statistics Canada, and equivalents), and proprietary datasets from global staffing firms. All figures represent gross annual full-time salaries across all industries in each metro area, converted to USD at January 2026 exchange rates (IMF SDR-weighted).
• Cost of Living Index (COLI): Sourced from the Numbeo Cost of Living Plus Rent Index (January 2026 edition), cross-referenced with the Mercer Cost of Living Survey and The Economist Intelligence Unit. The index is baselined to New York City = 100. A COLI of 70 means a city is roughly 30% cheaper than NYC across rent, groceries, transportation, healthcare, and other consumer expenditures.
• Salary-to-COLI Ratio: Computed as (Average Annual Salary in USD) / (COLI Index). This derived metric normalizes earnings against local purchasing costs, providing a single comparable number that captures real economic advantage. A higher ratio means your money stretches further.
• Currency conversion: All local salaries converted using the 30-day rolling average exchange rate ending January 31, 2026, sourced from the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve. This smooths short-term volatility while reflecting current conditions.

The resulting dataset covers 100+ cities. We present the top 50 in the comprehensive table below and discuss the full range throughout the analysis. Our methodology intentionally uses all-industry averages rather than tech-only or sector-specific figures to provide the broadest useful benchmark for professionals across fields.

Global Salary Rankings: The Complete Top 50

The table below ranks 55 cities by average annual salary in USD equivalent. The COLI column shows each city's cost of living relative to New York (NYC = 100), and the Salary-to-COLI Ratio reveals purchasing power per unit of cost.

Table: 55 cities ranked by average annual salary in USD. COLI baselined to NYC = 100. Salary/COLI ratio computed as (Salary in USD) / COLI. Sources: Numbeo, OECD, national statistics offices (Q1 2026).

The Top 10 Highest-Paying Cities

The global salary leaderboard is dominated by Swiss financial centers and American tech hubs. Here is what defines each of the ten highest-earning cities and why their numbers look the way they do.

1. Zurich, Switzerland — $95,200

Zurich consistently tops global salary rankings and 2026 is no exception. The city is home to major banking institutions, insurance conglomerates, and an expanding technology sector that has attracted Google, Disney Research, and a growing ecosystem of AI startups. Switzerland's tight labor market, low unemployment rate near 2%, and the sheer concentration of high-value industries push average salaries above virtually every other city on earth. The catch, of course, is the cost. With a COLI of 131, Zurich is the most expensive city in our dataset. Groceries, dining, and especially rent are substantially higher than even Manhattan. The salary-to-COLI ratio of 727 reflects solid but not exceptional purchasing power relative to the headline number.

2. San Francisco, United States — $92,400

The Bay Area remains the capital of the technology industry and its salaries reflect that status. Even as remote work has distributed some talent away from the Bay, compensation packages at companies headquartered in San Francisco continue to set the pace for the entire tech sector. The average is pulled upward by software engineering, product management, and data science roles that routinely exceed six figures. With a COLI of 107, San Francisco is expensive but meaningfully cheaper than Zurich, giving it a stronger salary-to-COLI ratio of 864. The gap between tech workers and service-sector workers in the city is among the widest in the world, which is worth remembering when interpreting the average.

3. Geneva, Switzerland — $90,100

Geneva rounds out the Swiss presence in the top three. Home to the United Nations European headquarters, the World Health Organization, CERN, and a dense cluster of international NGOs and commodity trading firms, Geneva's labor market is uniquely global. The international-organization salary premium is real: tax-advantaged compensation packages at the UN system and related bodies lift the average significantly. Like Zurich, the COLI is punishing at 128, yielding a ratio of 704.

4. New York, United States — $85,300

New York serves as the baseline for our COLI index at 100, and its salary figure reflects the combined pull of Wall Street, a massive media and advertising industry, world-class healthcare systems, and a booming technology sector. New York salaries have seen steady real growth over the past three years as the city has fully recovered from pandemic-era disruptions and financial services compensation has surged. The salary-to-COLI ratio of 853 is strong, reflecting the fact that while New York is expensive, it pays proportionally well.

5. Seattle, United States — $82,600

Seattle punches above its population weight thanks to Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, and a growing cohort of mid-stage tech companies. The absence of a state income tax in Washington gives Seattle earners an effective take-home advantage over peers in California or New York. With a COLI of 93, below the NYC baseline, Seattle achieves the highest salary-to-COLI ratio of any top-10 city at 888. For pure economic efficiency among high-paying cities, Seattle is hard to beat.

6. Boston, United States — $78,400

Biotech, pharmaceuticals, higher education, and financial services drive Boston's compensation landscape. The Kendall Square corridor alone accounts for one of the densest concentrations of biotech R&D spending on the planet. Hospital and research salaries at institutions like Mass General and the Broad Institute further elevate the average. Boston's COLI of 91 keeps the ratio competitive at 861.

7. Singapore — $65,400

Singapore is the highest-paying city in Asia and the only Asian city in the global top 10. Its status as a financial hub, shipping nexus, and increasingly a technology center (particularly for fintech and Southeast Asian operations) supports strong salaries. The government's managed economy, heavy investment in education, and favorable tax regime for high earners create a labor market that attracts top talent regionally. A COLI of 91, comparable to Boston, yields a ratio of 719. Housing costs, particularly for expats, are the largest line item dragging down purchasing power.

8. London, United Kingdom — $62,200

London remains Western Europe's largest economy and its most international city. Financial services in the City and Canary Wharf, a world-class creative and media industry, and the UK's central role in global consulting and legal services support salaries that are the highest in Europe outside Switzerland. However, a weak pound relative to the dollar suppresses the USD-equivalent figure. In GBP terms, London salaries have grown approximately 5% year-over-year. The COLI of 88 and ratio of 707 place London in solid but not exceptional territory for purchasing power.

9. Dubai, UAE — $61,800

Dubai is a fascinating outlier. While its average salary is not the highest in absolute terms, the combination of zero income tax and a COLI of just 67 gives it a salary-to-COLI ratio of 922, one of the strongest in the entire dataset. The emirate has aggressively courted international talent with golden visa programs and free-zone regulations that allow full foreign ownership. Finance, real estate, logistics, and a growing tech startup scene are the primary salary drivers. The caveat is that the average masks significant disparity between high-earning expatriates and lower-wage workers in construction and services.

10. Sydney, Australia — $60,400

Sydney is Australia's financial and corporate capital, and its salary average reflects strong mining-adjacent corporate activity, a large financial services sector, and solid public-sector compensation. The Australian dollar has weakened modestly against USD over the past year, which compresses the USD figure. In AUD terms, Sydney salaries have increased roughly 4.2% year-over-year. The COLI of 83 and ratio of 728 make Sydney a comfortable but not dramatically efficient city for purchasing power.

The Bottom 10: Where Salaries Trail Global Averages

At the other end of the spectrum, cities in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of Southeast Asia report average salaries that are a fraction of the top tier. This does not necessarily mean poor quality of life. Several of these cities have extremely low costs of living, and the salary-to-COLI ratio tells a more nuanced story.

Dhaka ($5,100) and Lagos ($7,600) occupy the lowest positions by absolute salary. Dhaka's garment-industry-heavy economy and massive informal sector suppress the reported average, while Lagos, despite being the commercial heart of Africa's largest economy, faces high underemployment and a devalued naira. Cairo ($6,900) has seen nominal salary growth but the Egyptian pound's continued depreciation has eroded USD-equivalent figures by nearly 20% since 2024.

Ho Chi Minh City ($8,900) is perhaps the most interesting low-salary city in the dataset. Vietnam's rapid industrialization and growing technology sector are driving 8-10% annual salary increases in nominal local-currency terms, the fastest growth rate of any city we tracked. At a COLI of just 22, the salary-to-COLI ratio of 405 provides meaningful purchasing power despite the low absolute number. For digital nomads and remote workers earning in foreign currencies, Ho Chi Minh City offers one of the best cost-of-living arbitrage opportunities globally.

Mumbai ($11,400) and Buenos Aires ($12,800) are mid-range within this group. Mumbai's tech and financial services sectors are genuine bright spots, with IT professionals in the city often earning multiples of the average. Buenos Aires, plagued by Argentina's persistent inflation and currency instability, has an average that is heavily distorted by macroeconomic turmoil, though its cultural richness and low real costs continue to attract international remote workers.

The core takeaway: absolute salary figures are poor proxies for economic well-being. A worker earning $11,400 in Mumbai with a COLI of 24 retains more real purchasing power than many might assume, and the gap with a $62,200 earner in London (COLI 88) narrows considerably when measured in what that money can actually buy locally.

Regional Analysis: How Salaries Cluster by Geography

When we step back from individual cities and look at regional patterns, clear clusters emerge that reflect structural economic differences.

North America

The United States dominates the upper end of the salary distribution with seven cities in the top 12. This is not solely a tech phenomenon: strong salaries in finance (New York, Chicago), government contracting (Washington, D.C.), biotech (Boston), and energy (Houston, not shown in top 50 but averaging $66,200) are the result of deep capital markets, high labor productivity, and the dollar's strength. Canadian cities (Toronto at $54,800, Vancouver at $50,200) sit roughly 20-30% below their nearest American peers, a gap that narrows when accounting for Canada's public healthcare system and lower higher-education costs.

Western Europe

Swiss cities are clear outliers. Excluding Switzerland, Western European salaries cluster in a surprisingly tight band between $35,000 and $58,000. The Nordics (Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki) pay well in gross terms but very high tax rates and cost of living compress net purchasing power. Core EU economies (Germany, France, Netherlands) cluster around $48,000-$56,000 with moderate COLIs, yielding middle-of-the-pack ratios. Southern Europe (Spain, Italy, Portugal) lags at $28,000-$38,000, reflecting lower productivity, higher unemployment rates, and less capital-intensive industry mixes.

Asia-Pacific

This is the most heterogeneous region. Singapore and Hong Kong represent the affluent financial-hub tier. Tokyo and Seoul sit in a middle band where moderate salaries are offset by relatively high costs. Southeast Asian cities (Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City) show the widest gap between salary and cost of living, often resulting in decent purchasing power ratios despite low absolute pay. The key trend in 2026 is the accelerating salary growth in Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines as manufacturing and IT outsourcing continue to scale.

Middle East

Dubai and, to a lesser extent, Riyadh and Doha are defined by the zero-or-low income tax model. Gross salaries look moderate, but net take-home pay and favorable COLIs create strong purchasing power. Dubai's ratio of 922 is the third-highest in our entire dataset, behind only Austin and Seattle. The region's economic diversification efforts, particularly Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, are beginning to push salary averages upward in non-oil sectors.

Latin America

The region clusters at the lower end of the global salary distribution, but with enormous variation in COLI. Santiago ($21,200, COLI 42) and Mexico City ($14,600, COLI 30) offer reasonable purchasing power ratios. Buenos Aires is distorted by macroeconomic instability. Across the region, a growing remote-work economy is creating a two-tier labor market: professionals working for international companies earn significantly above local averages, while domestic-market salaries remain compressed.

Africa

Johannesburg ($16,800) leads the continent and benefits from South Africa's relatively developed financial and mining sectors. Nairobi ($10,200) is the hub of East Africa's tech scene, often called "Silicon Savannah," and is experiencing rapid salary growth in IT and fintech. Lagos, despite its enormous population and economic importance, reports low averages that are heavily influenced by the informal sector and currency weakness. The continent-wide pattern is one of rapid growth off a low base, with tech and financial services leading the charge.

The Salary vs. Cost of Living Paradox

This is the most important section of the analysis. If you are choosing where to live and work, the salary-to-COLI ratio is the metric that matters most. It answers the question: where does each dollar of salary buy the most actual life?

Top 10 Cities by Salary-to-COLI Ratio (Where Money Goes Furthest)

The results are striking. Austin leads the world with a ratio of 938. Its combination of strong tech-sector salaries (driven by the influx of companies relocating from California), no state income tax, and a COLI of just 72 makes it the single most efficient city for earning power globally. Austin's average salary of $67,500 doesn't make headlines the way Zurich's $95,200 does, but in terms of what that money actually buys, Austin wins decisively.

Dubai at 922 is the standout non-American entry. Zero income tax is the decisive factor. A professional earning $61,800 in Dubai takes home essentially the full amount, whereas the same gross salary in Copenhagen ($58,300) would be reduced by Denmark's marginal tax rates to roughly $35,000-$38,000 net. When you further account for Dubai's moderate COLI of 67, the real purchasing power advantage is enormous.

American cities dominate this ranking, occupying eight of the top ten spots. This reflects a structural reality: US salaries are high in absolute terms, US cost of living outside the most expensive metros is moderate by global standards, and income tax rates, while meaningful, are lower than in most of Western Europe and Scandinavia. The American cities that perform best are those that combine strong salaries with below-NYC costs: Austin, Denver, Seattle, and Chicago.

Notably absent from this top-10 are the cities that dominate the absolute salary rankings. Zurich (ratio 727) and Geneva (704) are dragged down by their extreme costs. Copenhagen (614) and Oslo (584) suffer from the combination of high living costs and high taxes. London (707) is respectable but not exceptional. These are all excellent cities with high quality of life, but from a pure financial-efficiency standpoint, they lag behind American and Gulf cities.

Surprising Middle-Tier Performers

Several cities outside the top 10 by salary deliver outsized value on the ratio metric. Warsaw (ratio 688) pays a modest $28,900 but at a COLI of just 42, professionals there enjoy genuine middle-class comfort. Prague (632), Berlin (668), and Kuala Lumpur (613) are similarly efficient. For remote workers earning a Western salary, these cities represent the sweet spot: cosmopolitan amenities, functioning infrastructure, active cultural scenes, and costs low enough to accelerate savings dramatically.

Bangkok (ratio 512) is a popular digital nomad destination precisely because of this dynamic. While the average local salary of $17,400 is low, a remote worker earning $60,000 from a US or European employer would have a personal salary-to-COLI ratio of approximately 1,765, roughly double what they would achieve in New York. This explains the explosion of remote-worker communities in Chiang Mai, Bali, Lisbon, and similar low-COLI cities with high quality-of-life amenities.

Year-Over-Year Trends: Which Cities Saw the Biggest Increases

Comparing 2026 data to our 2025 baselines reveals where the salary momentum is strongest and where stagnation or decline is setting in.

Fastest-Growing Salaries (2025 to 2026, in local currency terms)

• Ho Chi Minh City: +9.8% — Vietnam's tech and manufacturing boom continues to drive aggressive salary inflation as demand for skilled workers outpaces supply.
• Dubai: +8.2% — The UAE's talent visa programs and economic diversification are creating intense competition for skilled professionals, particularly in tech and finance.
• Nairobi: +7.5% — Fintech, mobile payments, and the broader "Silicon Savannah" narrative are accelerating salary growth for tech-sector workers.
• Austin: +6.9% — Continued corporate relocations from California (Tesla, Oracle, and a wave of mid-stage startups) are tightening the labor market.
• Warsaw: +6.4% — Poland's growing role as a nearshore development hub for Western European companies is pushing tech salaries upward.
• Mumbai: +6.1% — India's GCC (Global Capability Center) boom, particularly in Bangalore and Mumbai, is creating fierce competition for engineering and analytics talent.
• Lisbon: +5.8% — Portugal's digital nomad visa and Web Summit effect have brought international capital and remote workers, lifting the salary floor in tech and services.
• Seattle: +5.2% — Amazon's return-to-office push and Microsoft's AI hiring wave have intensified local labor market competition.

Stagnating or Declining Salaries

• Hong Kong: -2.1% (in USD terms) — Continued talent outflows to Singapore, a strong dollar, and regulatory uncertainty have suppressed salary growth.
• Buenos Aires: -14.6% (in USD terms) — Argentina's currency crisis has devastated USD-equivalent salaries despite nominal peso increases of 90%+. This is a currency story, not a labor market story.
• London: +1.2% (in USD terms) — Modest GBP-denominated growth of approximately 5% was largely offset by continued sterling weakness against the dollar.
• Tokyo: +0.4% (in USD terms) — Japan's persistent yen weakness means that decent nominal gains of roughly 3.5% in JPY are almost entirely erased when converted to dollars.
• San Francisco: +2.1% — While still the highest-paying American city, growth has moderated as remote work continues to redistribute tech compensation geographically. The Bay Area's premium over other US tech hubs is gradually narrowing.

The overarching trend is clear: the fastest salary growth is occurring in emerging tech hubs (Vietnam, Kenya, Poland) and in cities actively competing for global talent through tax and visa policy (Dubai, Austin, Lisbon). Established financial centers (London, Hong Kong, Tokyo) are seeing salary growth partially or fully offset by currency depreciation against the dollar. This is reshaping the global talent map in real time.

Key Takeaways for Professionals

If you are evaluating a job offer, considering relocation, or negotiating remote-work compensation, here are the practical conclusions from this data:

1. Never compare gross salaries across borders without adjusting for cost of living and taxes. A $95,000 offer in Zurich and a $67,000 offer in Austin are closer in real value than they appear, and the Austin offer may actually leave you better off financially.
2. The salary-to-COLI ratio is the single most useful metric for financial comparison. It is not perfect (it ignores taxes, savings rates, healthcare, and quality-of-life factors), but it is the best starting point for understanding relative economic position.
3. Tax-free and low-tax jurisdictions have a compounding advantage. Dubai, Austin (Texas), and Seattle (Washington) all benefit from zero or low state/local income tax. Over a career, the difference in net savings between a 45% marginal tax environment and a 25% one is staggering.
4. Emerging-market cities are closing the gap faster than expected. Ho Chi Minh City, Mumbai, Warsaw, and Nairobi are all experiencing salary growth rates of 6-10% annually. Within a decade, several of these cities will move substantially up the rankings.
5. Currency matters enormously for cross-border comparisons. A London salary that looks modest in USD terms is not necessarily modest in GBP terms. If you plan to live and spend in the local currency, the exchange rate at the moment of comparison is less important than the local purchasing power.

How to Use This Data: Compare Your Own Salary

Raw data is most useful when it is personal. Our salary comparison tool lets you input your current salary in any city and see what you would need to earn in another city to maintain the same standard of living. It accounts for cost-of-living differentials, tax structures, and purchasing power parity.

Whether you are weighing an offer in Seattle against one in London, wondering if a move from Toronto to Austin makes financial sense, or simply benchmarking your current compensation against global peers, the data is your starting point. The numbers above provide the macro picture. The converter gives you the micro one, tailored to your specific situation.

Methodology Notes and Limitations

A few important caveats to keep in mind when interpreting this data:

• Industry mix matters. A city's average salary is shaped by its dominant industries. San Francisco's average is pulled up by tech; Zurich's by banking and pharma. Your personal experience will depend heavily on your field.
• Averages vs. medians. We use mean (average) salaries throughout. Medians would be lower in most cities due to right-skewed income distributions. Cities with higher inequality (San Francisco, New York, London) see a larger gap between mean and median.
• Exchange rate sensitivity. All USD conversions are point-in-time (January 2026). Currency movements of 5-10% are common over a year and can meaningfully shift a city's ranking.
• Tax not included in ratio. Our salary-to-COLI ratio uses gross salaries. Incorporating effective tax rates would significantly reshuffle the rankings, further favoring low-tax jurisdictions.
• Quality-of-life factors are excluded. Healthcare access, safety, air quality, public transit, cultural amenities, and climate are not captured in this dataset. These factors are critically important for relocation decisions but are beyond the scope of a purely financial comparison.

This analysis is updated annually. For real-time, personalized comparisons between any two cities, use our salary comparison tool.