Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Is Ahmedabad good for expats? It's worth considering — QoL score 56/100, safety 65/100, rent ₹12,000/mo, median income ₹4,80,000/yr. Compared to 27 other Gujarat cities below.
Is Ahmedabad good for expats? It's worth considering — QoL score 56/100, safety 65/100, rent ₹12,000/mo, median income ₹4,80,000/yr. Compared to 27 other Gujarat cities below.
Ahmedabad: cost index 88 (-5 vs national avg 93), rent ₹12,000/month.
Gujarat region average cost index: 93. Ahmedabad is -5 vs region peers.
Quality of life: 56/100 — safety 65, healthcare 72, walkability 48.
Safety score: 65/100 (crime rate 38.5/1k). National average: 62/100.
| # | City | Cost Index | Rent/mo | Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ahmedabad | 88 | ₹12,000 | ₹4,80,000 |
| 2 | Thiruvananthapuram | 88 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,40,000 |
| 3 | Kochi | 95 | ₹12,000 | ₹4,80,000 |
| 4 | Coimbatore | 82 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,20,000 |
| 5 | Dehradun | 82 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,20,000 |
| 6 | Chandigarh | 98 | ₹14,000 | ₹5,20,000 |
| 7 | Panaji | 105 | ₹15,000 | ₹4,80,000 |
| 8 | Indore | 75 | ₹9,000 | ₹3,80,000 |
| 9 | Bhopal | 72 | ₹8,500 | ₹3,60,000 |
| 10 | Bhubaneswar | 72 | ₹8,000 | ₹3,60,000 |
| 11 | Nagpur | 78 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,20,000 |
| 12 | Visakhapatnam | 82 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,20,000 |
| 13 | Guwahati | 75 | ₹9,000 | ₹3,80,000 |
| 14 | Surat | 82 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,50,000 |
| 15 | Ranchi | 70 | ₹7,500 | ₹3,50,000 |
| 16 | Raipur | 68 | ₹7,000 | ₹3,40,000 |
| 17 | Kolkata | 88 | ₹12,000 | ₹4,50,000 |
| 18 | Chennai | 112 | ₹18,000 | ₹5,80,000 |
| 19 | Lucknow | 78 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,00,000 |
| 20 | Pune | 108 | ₹18,000 | ₹6,20,000 |
Strip away assumptions, and something unexpected emerges. Ahmedabad has a cost index of 88 — 5 points below the India national average of 93. Median income is ₹4,80,000 with rent at ₹12,000/month, putting the rent-to-income ratio at 30%. That's a strong position by any measure.
And here's the trade-off: looking at Gujarat as a whole, the spread across all 28 cities is 54 points on the cost index. Mumbai sits at the other end with index 142 and rent of ₹35,000/mo. This combination is rare — and valuable.
On quality of life, Ahmedabad scores a composite score of 56/100 — reflecting its safety (65), healthcare (72), and walkability (48) metrics. Context matters here. affordability and QoL don't always move in the same direction, and India is a good example of that tension.
Ahmedabad — cost index 88, rent ₹12,000/mo, income ₹4,80,000, QoL 56/100.
Thiruvananthapuram — cost index 88, rent ₹10,000/mo, income ₹4,40,000, QoL 70/100.
Kochi — cost index 95, rent ₹12,000/mo, income ₹4,80,000, QoL 67/100.
Coimbatore — cost index 82, rent ₹10,000/mo, income ₹4,20,000, QoL 65/100.
Dehradun — cost index 82, rent ₹10,000/mo, income ₹4,20,000, QoL 65/100.
Ahmedabad scores 56/100 on the relevant index for expats — with rent of ₹12,000/month and cost index 88 (5 points below the national average of 93).
The Gujarat region of average QoL score is 57/100. Ahmedabad leads with 56/100, reflecting safety, healthcare access, walkability, and green space.
Our index is benchmarked to 100 (national median). Sub-categories cover housing, food, transport, utilities, and healthcare. Data sources include MoSPI CPI, RBI, NHB RESIDEX, PLFS.
Ahmedabad: cost index 88, rent ₹12,000/mo, income ₹4,80,000/yr, QoL 56/100. Thiruvananthapuram: cost index 88, rent ₹10,000/mo, income ₹4,40,000/yr, QoL 70/100.
This analysis uses data from MoSPI CPI, RBI, NHB RESIDEX, PLFS to rank cities in India. The cost of living index is benchmarked to 100 (national median). Quality of life scores combine safety, healthcare, walkability, air quality, green space, and transit metrics. Salary ranges use national occupation data adjusted for local cost differences. Data is updated regularly to reflect current market conditions.