How CityVerdict works
Every score is built on official data where possible. Heuristic indices (opportunity, lifestyle) are clearly labelled as such and documented here. No invented precision.
Scoring model
savings_score
Earning power relative to cost of living. A high salary in an expensive city scores lower than a moderate salary in an affordable one. Normalised to a 0–100 scale across the dataset.
career_score
Job market quality and salary ceiling. Opportunity is weighted more heavily than raw salary — a city with strong career upside but average pay outscores a high-pay city with a weak market.
pressure_score
Financial stress from housing costs, expressed as rent relative to local median income. Higher = more pressure. This score is inverted when calculating overall fit — lower pressure contributes positively.
overall_fit_score
Your personalised city score. A weighted blend of savings, career, and comfort (inverted pressure) — weight distribution shifts based on your selected priority. See table below.
Priority weights
| Priority | Savings | Career | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Save more | 60% | 20% | 20% |
| Grow career | 20% | 60% | 20% |
| Better balance | 33% | 34% | 33% |
Comfort = 100 − pressure_score (inverted so higher = better in all dimensions)
Index definitions and sources
salary_index
0–100Earning potential relative to the dataset average (50 = average across all 68 cities). Derived from median gross annual income for full-time workers in each city, sourced from national statistics agencies.
Source: ONS, Destatis, INE, INSEE, CBS, Statistics Canada, ABS, OECD IDD
cost_index
0–100Relative cost of living. Composite of median rent and general living costs. Higher = more expensive relative to dataset average (50 = average). Based on SpendVerdict benchmark data.
Source: ONS, Destatis, INE, Numbeo (adjusted for high-cost cities without full official data)
rent_index
0–100Rent as a share of median income, relative to dataset average. Higher = more rental pressure. Directly comparable to SpendVerdict's rent-to-income methodology.
Source: SpendVerdict benchmark data (national statistics agencies)
opportunity_index
0–100Career and job market upside. A scored heuristic combining: presence of major tech/finance employers, international labour market access, economic growth trajectory, and remote-work infrastructure. This is not a statistical measure — see limitations.
Source: Heuristic. Informed by LinkedIn Workforce Reports, OECD economic outlook, and editorial judgement. Updated annually.
lifestyle_index
0–100Quality of life heuristic. Combines: climate, public infrastructure, leisure and culture access, expat community size, and safety. Subjective by design — used for balance priority weighting only.
Source: Heuristic. Informed by Mercer Quality of Living survey, The Economist EIU, and editorial judgement.
Financial delta model
The 1-year and 3-year financial impact estimates are intentionally simple:
Adjusted salary
Salary in target city = your current salary × (target salary_index / current salary_index). This estimates what a comparable role would pay in the target market.
Adjusted costs
Monthly living costs in target = current costs × (target cost_index / current cost_index). Assumes 65% of gross monthly income is spent on living costs.
Net delta
Monthly delta = (target net) − (current net). Annualised and projected over 3 years with no compounding.
Limitations and caveats
opportunity_index and lifestyle_index are scored heuristics, not statistical measures. They reflect editorial judgement informed by external sources. Treat them as directional, not precise.
The financial delta model does not account for tax, pension contributions, relocation costs, visa/immigration costs, currency risk, or individual spending patterns.
City averages mask significant neighbourhood and sector variation. A software engineer in Berlin earns very differently to a retail worker in Berlin.
Salary indices are based on all-sector medians. High-skill roles (tech, finance, law) typically see higher salary uplift in financial hubs (New York, London, Zurich) than indices suggest.
Data vintages vary by city (2023–2025). Cost and rent indices are updated when new official data is published.
CityVerdict covers 68 cities across 44 countries. Cities outside this dataset are not included in comparisons or rankings.
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Get my verdict →Methodology last reviewed Q1 2026 · City dataset updated when new official data is published · 68 cities across 44 countries