Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Average rent in Surat: ₹10,000/month — ₹3,446 below the India median of ₹13,446/month. Rent-to-income ratio: 27%. Compared to Gujarat cities below.
Average rent in Surat: ₹10,000/month — ₹3,446 below the India median of ₹13,446/month. Rent-to-income ratio: 27%. Compared to Gujarat cities below.
Surat: cost index 82 (-11 vs national avg 93), rent ₹10,000/month.
Gujarat region average cost index: 93. Surat is -11 vs region peers.
Quality of life: 59/100 — safety 72, healthcare 65, walkability 42.
Safety score: 72/100 (crime rate 25.2/1k). National average: 62/100.
Strip away assumptions, and something unexpected emerges. Surat has a cost index of 82 — 11 points below the India national average of 93. Median income is ₹4,50,000 with rent at ₹10,000/month, putting the rent-to-income ratio at 27%. This combination is rare — and valuable.
Here's where it gets complicated: looking at Gujarat as a whole, the spread across all 28 cities is 60 points on the cost index. Mumbai sits at the other end with index 142 and rent of ₹35,000/mo. That's not a marginal difference — it reshapes your monthly budget.
On quality of life, Surat scores a composite score of 59/100 — reflecting its safety (72), healthcare (65), and walkability (42) metrics. But here's the flip side: affordability and QoL don't always move in the same direction, and India is a good example of that tension.
| # | City | Cost Index | Rent/mo | Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Surat | 82 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,50,000 |
| 2 | Raipur | 68 | ₹7,000 | ₹3,40,000 |
| 3 | Patna | 68 | ₹7,500 | ₹3,20,000 |
| 4 | Ranchi | 70 | ₹7,500 | ₹3,50,000 |
| 5 | Bhubaneswar | 72 | ₹8,000 | ₹3,60,000 |
| 6 | Bhopal | 72 | ₹8,500 | ₹3,60,000 |
| 7 | Indore | 75 | ₹9,000 | ₹3,80,000 |
| 8 | Guwahati | 75 | ₹9,000 | ₹3,80,000 |
| 9 | Nagpur | 78 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,20,000 |
| 10 | Coimbatore | 82 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,20,000 |
| 11 | Thiruvananthapuram | 88 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,40,000 |
| 12 | Visakhapatnam | 82 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,20,000 |
| 13 | Dehradun | 82 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,20,000 |
| 14 | Lucknow | 78 | ₹10,000 | ₹4,00,000 |
| 15 | Jaipur | 85 | ₹11,000 | ₹4,20,000 |
| 16 | Kolkata | 88 | ₹12,000 | ₹4,50,000 |
| 17 | Ahmedabad | 88 | ₹12,000 | ₹4,80,000 |
| 18 | Kochi | 95 | ₹12,000 | ₹4,80,000 |
| 19 | Chandigarh | 98 | ₹14,000 | ₹5,20,000 |
| 20 | Panaji | 105 | ₹15,000 | ₹4,80,000 |
Surat — cost index 82, rent ₹10,000/mo, income ₹4,50,000, QoL 59/100.
Raipur — cost index 68, rent ₹7,000/mo, income ₹3,40,000, QoL 59/100.
Patna — cost index 68, rent ₹7,500/mo, income ₹3,20,000, QoL 51/100.
Ranchi — cost index 70, rent ₹7,500/mo, income ₹3,50,000, QoL 59/100.
Bhubaneswar — cost index 72, rent ₹8,000/mo, income ₹3,60,000, QoL 63/100.
The median rent in Surat is ₹10,000/month — £3446 below the India national median of ₹13,446.
The Gujarat region of average QoL score is 57/100. Surat leads with 59/100, 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.
Surat: cost index 82, rent ₹10,000/mo, income ₹4,50,000/yr, QoL 59/100. Raipur: cost index 68, rent ₹7,000/mo, income ₹3,40,000/yr, QoL 59/100.
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.