Cost of Living in Chennai

Updated:

Livingcost

Cost of living One person Family of 4
💰 Total with rent
$433
$1143
🛋️ Without rent
$273
$764
🏨 Rent & Utilities
$159
$379
🍽️ Food
$167
$419
🚐 Transport
$66
$184
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$868
😀 Quality of life
66
🏙️ Population
6.6M

The average cost of living in Chennai is $433, which is in the top 4% of the least expensive cities in the world, ranked 8907th out of 9294 in our global list, 20th out of 220 in India, and 1st out of 14 in Tamil Nadu.

The median after-tax salary is $868, which is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months. Ranked 4094th (TOP 44%) in the list of best places to live in the world and 2nd best city to live in India, and 1st most liveable city in Tamil Nadu. With an estimated population of 6.6M, Chennai is the 6th largest city in India.

✈️ Closest airport 16 km Chennai International Airport
😷 Air quality Moderate 28 µg/m³
🎓 Best university rank 542 Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Cost of living in Chennai infographic

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Prices in Chennai

Prices for goods and services in Chennai are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$1.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$10.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.79
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.1
 Cappuccino
$1.82
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.47
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in city Center, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$187
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$109
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in city Center, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$526
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$282
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$24.9
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$38.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$9.96
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
9.43%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1926
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$804
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.36
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$12
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$3.59
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.24
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.66
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.56
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.76
🥚 Eggs, x12
$0.92
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.43
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.59
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.83
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.9
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.41
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.49
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.47
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.5
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.23
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.05
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.38
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.84
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.33
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$0.85
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.64
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.6
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$18.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.01
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$12
💇 Haircut, simple
$2.49
👖 Brand Jeans
$26
👟 Brand Sneakers
$47.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$82.6
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$1425

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