Delhi Among World’s Cheapest Cities for Property and Dating, but Salaries Rank Near Bottom: Deutsche Bank

• Delhi is one of the world’s most affordable major cities for buying property, accessing broadband internet and enjoying several everyday services, but residents also earn some of the lowest salaries among globally compared cities, according to Deutsche Bank’s Mapping the World’s Prices 2026 report.
• The report compares prices, post-tax salaries and quality-of-life indicators across 69 major cities.
• Delhi recorded the lowest cost for the report’s “cheap date” basket and the least expensive monthly broadband connection in the entire sample.
• However, the national capital ranked 66th out of 69 cities for monthly net salaries, highlighting the difference between low nominal prices and the actual purchasing power available to residents.

What Is Mapping the World’s Prices 2026?

Mapping the World’s Prices is an annual Deutsche Bank Research publication that compares living costs, salaries, housing expenses and quality-of-life conditions across major international cities.

The 2026 edition covers 69 cities and examines items such as:

• Net monthly salaries
• Apartment prices
• Residential rents
• Broadband charges
• Restaurant bills
• Public transport
• Petrol
• Coffee
• Clothing
• Entertainment
• Quality of life

The report was authored by Jim Reid and Galina Pozdnyakova and primarily uses crowdsourced Numbeo data that Deutsche Bank says was reviewed, cleaned and cross-checked by its research team.

Is Delhi Really the World’s Cheapest City for Property?

• The finding requires some qualification.
• Delhi was not ranked the single cheapest city for property in the report. Its average city-centre purchase price of $2,465 per square metre, approximately ₹2.37 lakh, placed it 65th among 69 cities.
• This means Delhi was among the five least expensive cities in the sample for purchasing centrally located property, rather than necessarily being the absolute cheapest.
• Its property prices were substantially below those of expensive global centres such as Hong Kong, Zurich, London, Singapore and New York.
• However, a citywide average does not mean every part of Delhi is affordable. Premium neighbourhoods in South and Central Delhi can command prices far above the report’s average.
• The ranking is therefore most useful as an international comparison, not as a description of affordability for every Delhi resident.

Delhi Property Prices Over the Past Decade

• According to the report, Delhi’s city-centre property prices declined 9.8% in US dollar terms over the past decade.
• However, prices recovered by 15.7% between 2019 and 2026.
• Changes measured in dollars can be affected by both local property-market movements and fluctuations in the rupee-dollar exchange rate.
• A decline in dollar terms does not necessarily mean that home prices fell by the same amount when measured in Indian rupees.

Delhi Salaries Rank Among the World’s Lowest

Delhi ranked 66th out of 69 cities for average post-tax monthly salary in 2026.

The estimated monthly net salary stood at:

• $538
• Approximately ₹51,800
• Around 10% of the comparable salary level in New York

Only three cities in the sample ranked lower.

In comparison, Zurich led the salary ranking with average monthly net pay of approximately $8,363, or about ₹8.05 lakh.

Delhi’s Historical Salary Trend

The report provided the following estimated average monthly net salary figures for Delhi:

• Delhi salaries declined 17.7% in dollar terms over the past decade and 3.3% since 2019, according to the report.
• These figures should again be interpreted carefully because dollar-based comparisons are influenced by exchange-rate movements as well as changes in local wages.

Why Low Prices Do Not Automatically Mean High Affordability

• A city can have relatively inexpensive homes, food and services but still feel unaffordable to residents when local salaries are low.
• True affordability depends on the relationship between income and expenses.
• For example, an apartment priced far below homes in London or New York may still be beyond the reach of an average salaried household in Delhi. Similarly, inexpensive restaurants and broadband services do not compensate for weak household purchasing power in major areas such as housing, education, healthcare and transportation.
• This distinction explains why Delhi performs well on several price indicators but does not rank highly for overall quality of life.

Delhi Has the World’s Cheapest Broadband

The report found that a monthly broadband connection in Delhi cost an average of $7.30, or roughly ₹703.

This was the lowest broadband price among all 69 cities covered.

Affordable internet connectivity can support:

• Remote work
• Online education
• Digital payments
• E-commerce
• Streaming and entertainment
• Access to government services
• Small-business digitisation

Delhi’s low broadband prices reflect the highly competitive nature of India’s telecommunications market and the widespread availability of low-cost digital services.

Delhi Is the Cheapest Major City for a Romantic Date

Delhi ranked as the least expensive city in Deutsche Bank’s “cheap date” index.

The complete basket cost approximately $103, compared with $475 in Geneva, the most expensive city for the same combination of products and activities.

The basket includes:

• One bottle of wine
• One pair of jeans
• One dress
• Two cappuccinos
• A restaurant meal for two
• Two cinema tickets
• Two one-way public transport tickets
• A five-kilometre taxi ride

Bengaluru and Mumbai were also among the cheapest cities in this category, underlining the relatively low nominal cost of entertainment and consumer services in major Indian cities.

How Much Does Renting in Central Delhi Cost?

The report estimated that a three-bedroom apartment in Delhi’s city centre rented for approximately:

• $685 per month
• Around ₹65,970

This was low compared with rents in major global financial centres.

However, the figure represents an estimated city-level average. Actual rents can vary significantly based on location, property type, age, security, connectivity and access to commercial centres.

Prime locations may be substantially more expensive than the reported average.

Delhi Among the Cheapest Cities for Coffee

A regular cappuccino in Delhi cost approximately $2.40, or around ₹231.

This placed Delhi among the 10 cheapest cities included in the survey.

The report also identified Delhi as relatively inexpensive for:

• Mid-range restaurant dining
• Basic utilities
• Branded jeans
• Summer clothing
• Gym memberships
• Some forms of public transport

Several of these expenses had also declined in dollar terms over the past decade.

Everyday Expenses That Declined

The report recorded significant declines in the dollar value of several Delhi expenses over the previous decade.

These included:

Such declines may result from a combination of local market competition, changing consumption patterns, rupee depreciation and differences in data collection over time.

They do not necessarily indicate that consumers paid less in rupee terms each year.

Delhi’s Petrol Price Close to New York

Despite Delhi’s low ranking for several consumer prices, petrol was almost as expensive as in New York when compared in US dollars.

The average price was:

• Delhi: $1.05 per litre
• New York: $1.08 per litre

This is notable because Delhi’s average salary was only a fraction of New York’s.

As a share of income, fuel costs can therefore place a much heavier burden on a Delhi household than on a typical New York earner.

What Is the Oasis Index?

Deutsche Bank also uses an informal “Oasis” index, named after the British rock band.

It measures the combined price of:

• Five beers
• Two packets of cigarettes

Delhi ranked 52nd out of 69 cities on this measure, with the complete basket costing approximately $18.80, or about ₹1,800.

This was around 35% of the equivalent price in New York.

Delhi improved seven positions from 2025 on this index, although it was one position lower than its 2016 ranking.

Delhi’s Quality-of-Life Ranking

Delhi did not appear among the top 50 cities in Deutsche Bank’s quality-of-life ranking.

The assessment considers factors including:

• Purchasing power
• Safety
• Healthcare
• Housing affordability
• General cost of living
• Pollution
• Commute times
• Climate

Low prices alone are not sufficient to deliver a high quality-of-life score. Pollution, congestion, public services, safety and income levels can significantly affect a city’s overall position.

Limitations of the Ranking

The report’s findings should be read with several limitations in mind.

Crowdsourced Data

The underlying price data largely comes from Numbeo, which depends on user submissions.

Citywide Averages

A single average cannot capture major differences between neighbourhoods.

Exchange-Rate Effects

Long-term trends measured in dollars can change significantly because of currency movements.

Different Consumption Patterns

The standardised baskets may not reflect how typical households in every city actually spend.

Income Inequality

Average salaries may conceal large differences across occupations and income groups.

The rankings are therefore useful for broad international comparison but should not be treated as precise measures of every resident’s experience.

Key Highlights

• Delhi had the world’s cheapest “date” basket at $103, or approximately ₹9,920.
• Monthly broadband cost just $7.30, the lowest among 69 cities.
• City-centre property averaged $2,465 per square metre.
• Delhi ranked 65th for city-centre property prices, placing it among the five cheapest cities covered.
• The average monthly net salary was $538, approximately ₹51,800.
• Delhi ranked 66th out of 69 cities for salaries.
• Its average salary was around 10% of New York’s level.
• A three-bedroom city-centre apartment rented for approximately $685 per month.
• Delhi did not enter the top 50 in the quality-of-life ranking.
• Cappuccino, basic utilities, restaurants and branded clothing were also comparatively inexpensive.

Conclusion

Deutsche Bank’s Mapping the World’s Prices 2026 report portrays Delhi as a globally inexpensive but relatively low-income major city.

The capital had the cheapest broadband and romantic-date basket among 69 cities. Property and rental prices were also among the lowest internationally, while coffee, utilities, dining and clothing remained comparatively affordable.

However, Delhi ranked 66th for monthly net salaries and failed to enter the top 50 for quality of life.

The central lesson is that low nominal prices do not automatically translate into strong affordability. For Delhi residents, purchasing power depends not simply on how much goods and property cost compared with New York or Zurich, but on whether local incomes are sufficient to meet those expenses.