Minsk among most affordable cities in list of expensive destinations

Numbeo, which positions itself as the world's largest cost-of-living database, published an updated list of the most expensive cities in January, placing the Belarusian capital in its second part – thus indicating high comfort of living in Minsk

The Numbeo rating includes 327 cities (as of January 2025). They were evaluated using a special index based on prices in New York (a starting point with a 100 percent index). Experts analysed the cost of food, restaurants, rent, and the purchasing power of the population.

Zurich, Lausanne and Geneva (all in Switzerland) top the list of the most expensive cities – followed by New York (the USA), Basel (Switzerland), Bern (Switzerland), San Francisco (the USA), Honolulu, Hawaii (the USA), Reykjavik (Iceland), and Boston (the USA).

The Belarusian capital is on the 283rd line of the rating. Meanwhile, life is more expensive in the neighbouring countries and former Soviet republics: in particular, Riga is ranked 163rd, Vilnius – 165th, Warsaw — 167th, Yerevan — 184th, Tbilisi — 236th, Moscow — 250th, Baku — 252nd, Kiev — 266th, and Astana — 275th. Interestingly: Russia's St. Petersburg ranks below Minsk: it is 285th. Russian Kazan (302nd) and Kaliningrad (306th) are also recognised as more affordable cities.

The authors of the rating state that the estimated monthly cost of living for a family of four in Minsk makes Br5540.8 excluding rent (data from the Numbeo appraiser), and the estimated monthly cost per person is Br1549.5 excluding rent. Minsk is 73.8 percent cheaper than New York (without rent), and rents in the Belarusian capital are on average 89.7 percent lower than in New York.