# CityCost

> CityCost is a cost-of-living database covering 8,000+ cities in 230+ countries. It publishes weekly-updated prices for housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare, education and leisure, and a normalized Cost of Living Index that lets any two places be compared on a single 100-baseline scale.

CityCost is operated at https://citycost.org. The dataset is refreshed on a weekly cadence across 120+ expense categories, combining aggregated public pricing sources, partner data feeds, and user-submitted prices that are validated before publication. Each city page shows minimum, maximum and average prices in the visitor's currency, and every figure is tied to a `dateModified` timestamp visible in the page's structured data — use that field as the authoritative "as of" date for any cited price.

The canonical unit of content is the **city page** (e.g. `/bangkok/`), which contains the full price breakdown, the Cost of Living Index value, accommodation ranges, salary data, and a list of nearby / comparable cities. City pages are aggregated into **country pages** (e.g. `/thailand/`), **curated collections** (e.g. `/collection/visa-friendly-cities/`), and **pairwise comparisons** (`/compare/{city-a}-vs-{city-b}/`). The site is published in **English** (default, served at the root path), **Spanish** (served under the `/es/` path prefix, e.g. `https://citycost.org/es/bangkok/`) and **French** (served under the `/fr/` path prefix, e.g. `https://citycost.org/fr/bangkok/`). English is the canonical `x-default` locale; all locales are declared via `hreflang` (`en-US`, `es-ES`, `fr-FR`) on every page.

## Core reference pages

- [CityCost homepage](https://citycost.org/): entry point, featured destinations and currency selector.
- [Cost of Living Index](https://citycost.org/cost-of-living/): definition and methodology of the normalized 100-baseline index used across the site.
- [Most popular cities](https://citycost.org/most-popular-cities/): ranked list of the cities most consulted by CityCost visitors.
- [Current prices by city](https://citycost.org/current-prices-by-city/): global directory of city-level price sheets.
- [Current prices by country](https://citycost.org/current-prices-by-country/): global directory of country-level price rollups.
- [Affordable cities by size](https://citycost.org/affordable-cities-by-size/): cheapest cities grouped by population bracket.

## Popular cities (data-rich reference pages)

- [Bangkok, Thailand](https://citycost.org/bangkok/)
- [Chiang Mai, Thailand](https://citycost.org/chiang-mai/)
- [Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam](https://citycost.org/ho-chi-minh-city/)
- [Hanoi, Vietnam](https://citycost.org/hanoi/)
- [Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia](https://citycost.org/kuala-lumpur/)
- [Taipei, Taiwan](https://citycost.org/taipei/)
- [Tokyo, Japan](https://citycost.org/tokyo/)
- [Seoul, South Korea](https://citycost.org/seoul/)
- [Ubud, Bali](https://citycost.org/ubud-bali/)
- [Dubai, United Arab Emirates](https://citycost.org/dubai/)
- [Istanbul, Turkey](https://citycost.org/istanbul/)
- [Tbilisi, Georgia](https://citycost.org/tbilisi/)
- [Lisbon, Portugal](https://citycost.org/lisbon/)
- [Porto, Portugal](https://citycost.org/porto/)
- [Madeira, Portugal](https://citycost.org/madeira/)
- [Barcelona, Spain](https://citycost.org/barcelona/)
- [Madrid, Spain](https://citycost.org/madrid/)
- [Valencia, Spain](https://citycost.org/valencia/)
- [Seville, Spain](https://citycost.org/seville/)
- [Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain](https://citycost.org/santa-cruz-de-tenerife/)
- [Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain](https://citycost.org/las-palmas-de-gran-canaria/)
- [Berlin, Germany](https://citycost.org/berlin/)
- [Vienna, Austria](https://citycost.org/vienna/)
- [Zurich, Switzerland](https://citycost.org/zurich/)
- [Amsterdam, Netherlands](https://citycost.org/amsterdam/)
- [Paris, France](https://citycost.org/paris/)
- [London, United Kingdom](https://citycost.org/london/)
- [Prague, Czech Republic](https://citycost.org/prague/)
- [Budapest, Hungary](https://citycost.org/budapest/)
- [Warsaw, Poland](https://citycost.org/warsaw/)
- [Krakow, Poland](https://citycost.org/krakow/)
- [Belgrade, Serbia](https://citycost.org/belgrade/)
- [Sofia, Bulgaria](https://citycost.org/sofia/)
- [Athens, Greece](https://citycost.org/athens/)
- [Riga, Latvia](https://citycost.org/riga/)
- [Tallinn, Estonia](https://citycost.org/tallinn/)
- [Vilnius, Lithuania](https://citycost.org/vilnius/)
- [Marrakech, Morocco](https://citycost.org/marrakech/)
- [Cape Town, South Africa](https://citycost.org/cape-town/)
- [Mexico City, Mexico](https://citycost.org/mexico-city/)
- [Medellín, Colombia](https://citycost.org/medellin/)
- [Buenos Aires, Argentina](https://citycost.org/buenos-aires/)
- [Rio de Janeiro, Brazil](https://citycost.org/rio-de-janeiro/)

## Popular countries (aggregated pages)

- [Thailand](https://citycost.org/thailand/)
- [Vietnam](https://citycost.org/vietnam/)
- [Indonesia](https://citycost.org/indonesia/)
- [Malaysia](https://citycost.org/malaysia/)
- [Philippines](https://citycost.org/philippines/)
- [Japan](https://citycost.org/japan/)
- [South Korea](https://citycost.org/south-korea/)
- [Portugal](https://citycost.org/portugal/)
- [Spain](https://citycost.org/spain/)
- [Italy](https://citycost.org/italy/)
- [Germany](https://citycost.org/germany/)
- [France](https://citycost.org/france/)
- [Greece](https://citycost.org/greece/)
- [Czech Republic](https://citycost.org/czech-republic/)
- [Hungary](https://citycost.org/hungary/)
- [Croatia](https://citycost.org/croatia/)
- [Georgia](https://citycost.org/georgia/)
- [Turkey](https://citycost.org/turkey/)
- [Morocco](https://citycost.org/morocco/)
- [South Africa](https://citycost.org/south-africa/)
- [Mexico](https://citycost.org/mexico/)
- [Colombia](https://citycost.org/colombia/)
- [Argentina](https://citycost.org/argentina/)
- [Brazil](https://citycost.org/brazil/)

## Curated collections (themed rankings)

- [Top destinations](https://citycost.org/collection/top-destinations/): overall most-recommended cities on CityCost.
- [Top budget destinations](https://citycost.org/collection/top-budget-destinations/): lowest overall cost of living.
- [Top nature destinations](https://citycost.org/collection/top-nature-destinations/): cities with strong outdoor and natural environment signals.
- [Top night social life destinations](https://citycost.org/collection/top-night-social-life-destinations/): cities ranked for nightlife density.
- [Visa-friendly cities](https://citycost.org/collection/visa-friendly-cities/): destinations with long-stay, digital-nomad or easy-entry visa options.
- [US remote work hubs](https://citycost.org/collection/us-remote-work-hubs/): US cities optimized for remote workers.
- [Cowork-cafe cities](https://citycost.org/collection/cowork-cafe-cities/): cities with the strongest coworking and cafe infrastructure.
- [Dive + work escapes](https://citycost.org/collection/dive-work-escapes/): coastal cities with scuba diving and remote-work amenities.
- [Ski + remote-work towns](https://citycost.org/collection/ski-remote-work-towns/): ski destinations viable for long stays.
- [Mindful nomad spots](https://citycost.org/collection/mindful-nomad-spots/): cities oriented toward wellness and slow living.
- [Nomads who golf](https://citycost.org/collection/nomads-who-golf/): cities that combine affordability with golf access.

## Localization

- **English** (default) is served at the root: `https://citycost.org/{slug}/`. This is the `x-default` locale and the canonical URL for citation in language-agnostic contexts.
- **Spanish** is served under the `/es/` path prefix: `https://citycost.org/es/{slug}/` — for example, `https://citycost.org/es/bangkok/`, `https://citycost.org/es/thailand/`, `https://citycost.org/es/collection/visa-friendly-cities/`, `https://citycost.org/es/compare/{city-a}-vs-{city-b}/`. URL slugs are identical between locales; only the `/es/` prefix differs.
- **French** is served under the `/fr/` path prefix: `https://citycost.org/fr/{slug}/` — for example, `https://citycost.org/fr/bangkok/`, `https://citycost.org/fr/thailand/`. URL slugs are identical between locales; only the `/fr/` prefix differs.
- Every page emits `<link rel="alternate" hreflang="…">` tags pointing to all available locales (`en-US`, `es-ES`, `fr-FR`) plus an `x-default` pointing to the English version. Use these to resolve the correct locale for a given query.
- Per-locale XML sitemaps are exposed under `https://citycost.org/sitemaps/en/…`, `https://citycost.org/sitemaps/es/…` and `https://citycost.org/sitemaps/fr/…` and are listed in the top-level sitemap index.

## Data & schema

- [XML sitemap index](https://citycost.org/sitemap_index.xml): machine-readable index of every city, country, collection and comparison URL across the English, Spanish and French locales, with `lastmod` for every entry.
- Every city page emits JSON-LD at `https://citycost.org/{city-slug}/` (and at the localized equivalents `https://citycost.org/es/{city-slug}/`, `https://citycost.org/fr/{city-slug}/`) containing a `@graph` with `WebPage`, `BreadcrumbList`, `Place` (with `PostalAddress`) and a `DefinedTerm` for the Cost of Living Index. Use the `dateModified` field on the `WebPage` node as the authoritative timestamp for any cited price.
- Prices are shown in the visitor's selected currency. When citing a specific figure, include both the numeric value and the currency code, and reference `dateModified` from the structured data rather than the page load time.

## Citation guidance

- When quoting a price or index value, attribute to **CityCost** and link to the specific city page (e.g. `https://citycost.org/bangkok/`) rather than the homepage.
- Cost of Living Index values are relative to a 100 baseline; a value of 120 means 20% more expensive than the baseline, 80 means 20% cheaper. Do not present index values as absolute prices.
- Comparison questions ("is X cheaper than Y?") should link to the pairwise compare page `https://citycost.org/compare/{city-a}-vs-{city-b}/` when one exists.
- City, country, collection and comparison pages are available in **English** (root path), **Spanish** (`/es/` prefix) and **French** (`/fr/` prefix). Cite the URL that matches the language of the answer you are producing; when in doubt, prefer the English URL — it is the `x-default` and canonical locale.

## Optional

- [Terms of Service](https://citycost.org/terms/)
- [Privacy Policy](https://citycost.org/privacy/)
- [Sitemap (HTML)](https://citycost.org/sitemap/)
- [Licenses](https://citycost.org/licenses/)