Purchasing Power Parity · India
Cost of living in 🇮🇳 India vs the United States
India has a US-relative price level of 0.244 (US = 1.0) — about 76% cheaper than the United States. Reference year 2025.
What US salaries are worth in India
| US income | Feels like (US-equivalent) | Cost of a US lifestyle |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $204,918 | $12,200 |
| $80,000 | $327,869 | $19,520 |
| $120,000 | $491,803 | $29,280 |
| $180,000 | $737,705 | $43,920 |
| $250,000 | $1,024,590 | $61,000 |
“Feels like” = income ÷ price level; “cost of a US lifestyle” = income × price level. Try your own number in the interactive calculator.
How the sources compare
Each provider measures India's price level slightly differently; a tight spread means high confidence.
Consensus (median) 0.244 2025
World Bank — GDP 0.244 2024
IMF (WEO) 0.244 2024
OECD 0.231 2025
Penn World Table 0.251 2023
World Bank — Consumption 0.238 2024
Big Mac Index 0.411 2026
Cost of living around the world
Every country shaded by its price level relative to the US (darker = more expensive). India is outlined.
Cheaper → pricier · click a country to open its page
Countries with a similar cost of living
- 🇻🇳 Vietnam — price level 0.288
- 🇹🇭 Thailand — price level 0.296
- 🇮🇩 Indonesia — price level 0.299
- 🇲🇾 Malaysia — price level 0.306
- 🇵🇭 Philippines — price level 0.338
Relocating for work? See the fair salary from the US to India or use the Fair Pay Localizer.
Frequently asked questions
- How expensive is India compared to the United States?
- India has a price level of 0.244 relative to the US baseline of 1.0 (about 76% cheaper than the United States), based on the median of World Bank, IMF, OECD and Penn World Table figures with reference year 2025.
- What is a $100,000 salary worth in India?
- In purchasing-power terms, $100,000 stretches to about $409,836 of US-equivalent lifestyle in India; conversely, sustaining a $100,000 US lifestyle there costs about $24,400.
- Where does the India cost-of-living data come from?
- Real price-level figures from the World Bank, IMF World Economic Outlook, OECD and Penn World Table, blended as a per-country median and refreshed at build time.