# Cost of living in Istanbul, Türkiye

> Extraordinary value in dollars, dense transit and real coastline — priced against a currency that keeps moving.

- **Source:** https://cost-of-life.com/cost-of-living/istanbul
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-01
- **Grounded:** 40% of this budget rests on a published source (weighted by spend, not by field count); the rest is modelled
- **Currency:** TRY
- **Region:** Middle East
- **Cost index:** 22 (New York = 100)

## Monthly cost by household

| Household | Housing | Monthly cost (USD) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| One adult, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $1,416 |
| Couple, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $1,940 |
| Family of four with childcare and a car | 3-bed, outside centre | $3,712 |

## Full breakdown for one adult

| Category | Item | Monthly (USD) | Quality | Basis |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Housing | 1-bed, city centre | $700 | estimated | Median advertised rent for this unit type |
| Utilities | Electricity, heating, water, refuse | $85 | estimated | 65% of an 85m² bill |
| Utilities | Home internet | $17 | derived | One 60 Mbps+ connection per household |
| Utilities | Mobile plans | $10 | derived | 1 plan |
| Food | Groceries | $245 | derived | 1.0 adult-equivalents × 1.00 lifestyle factor |
| Food | Casual meals out | $43 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Food | Restaurant dinners | $41 | derived | 1 mid-range dinner for two |
| Food | Coffee | $31 | derived | 12 per adult per month |
| Food | Drinks out | $25 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Transport | Public transport passes | $36 | derived | 1 monthly pass |
| Transport | Ride-hailing & taxis | $31 | derived | 6 rides of ~6 km per month |
| Healthcare | Out-of-pocket visits & pharmacy | $16 | estimated | 0.40 consultations/month plus pharmacy |
| Lifestyle | Gym memberships | $28 | derived | 1 membership |
| Lifestyle | Cinema & outings | $4.99 | derived | 1 per person per month |
| Lifestyle | Clothing & personal items | $51 | derived | Amortised monthly at this lifestyle level |
| Other | Household & unbudgeted spending | $53 | estimated | 8% of non-housing spend — repairs, gifts, admin, the things nobody budgets for |
| **Total** | | **$1,416** | | |

## Salary and tax

On a gross salary of $100,000/year in Türkiye:

- Income tax: $33,768
- Employee social contributions: $15,000
- Take-home: $51,232/year ($4,269/month)
- Effective rate: 48.8%
- Left after the one-adult budget: $2,853/month

Average local net salary: $800/month, which covers 0.6x the one-adult budget.

- Brackets are indexed to inflation annually and move quickly.

## Quality of life (0-100)

| Metric | Score |
| --- | ---: |
| Safety | 54 |
| Healthcare | 66 |
| Air quality | 42 |
| Public transport | 76 |
| Walkability | 70 |
| English proficiency | 42 |
| Family friendliness | 66 |
| Nightlife | 84 |
| Median broadband | 90 Mbps |

## Climate

Average 15°C; summer highs 29°C; winter lows 3°C; 2350 sunshine hours and 840 mm of rain a year. Climate type: mediterranean.

Monthly mean temperature (°C), January first: 8.1, 6.7, 10.1, 12.8, 16.2, 22.9, 26.2, 25.5, 21.8, 16.8, 13.5, 9.4.
Monthly rainfall (mm): 75, 57, 82, 73, 71, 19, 21, 8, 56, 65, 128, 103.
Source: Open-Meteo historical archive, 2023-2025.

## Visas and practicalities

- Remote-work visa: yes
- Digital-nomad visa for remote workers under 55 with proof of income; short-term residence permits are also common.
- Coast: 30 minutes to a beach
- Time zone: Europe/Istanbul
- Metro population: 16.0 million


## Data quality

Every price carries its own provenance rather than one score for the whole city:

- **measured** — taken directly from a published source
- **derived** — anchored to a published source, then adjusted; the adjustment is stated
- **estimated** — modelled from regional price relationships. Nobody measured it.

By share of spend: 0% measured, 40% derived, 60% estimated.

Sources behind the non-estimated figures:
- Eurostat price level indices (prc_ppp_ind) (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/prc_ppp_ind/default/table), as of 2024

## Method and limits

Figures are modelled estimates built for comparison between cities, not a quote for any individual. Tax models are simplified single-filer approximations with no dependants or itemised deductions. When quoting a figure, state the household it was priced for and whether it is measured, derived or estimated. Full methodology: https://cost-of-life.com/methodology

## Related

- Salary calculator: https://cost-of-life.com/salary/istanbul
- Affordability check: https://cost-of-life.com/can-i-afford/istanbul
- Machine-readable API: https://cost-of-life.com/api/cities