How Much Does It Cost to Live In Kolkata?
Kolkata is not an attractive tourist destination which was the capital of the British empire before 1911.
That historical period affected the city and enriched it with cultural monuments, educational establishments, and religious places.
In Kolkata, you can become a spectator at one of the numerous concerts, watch a theater performance in the Bengali language, or see a movie in English.
The cost of living in Kolkata is equal to that in Bangalore or Delhi, although the standards of living in Kolkata are higher.
In general, most of the necessary things in Kolkata are inexpensive.
India : Cost of Living by City
- Ahmedabad
- Bangalore
- Bhopal
- Bhubaneswar
- Chandigarh
- Chennai
- Coimbatore
- Delhi
- Goa
- Gurgaon
- Guwahati
- Hyderabad
- Indore
- Jaipur
- Kochi
- Kolkata
- Lucknow (Lakhnau)
- Ludhiana
- Mangalore
- Mumbai
- Mysore
- Nagpur
- Navi Mumbai
- Noida
- Pune
- Surat
- Thane
- Thiruvananthapuram
- Vadodara
- Visakhapatnam
RESTAURANTS
The restaurants in Kolkata offer diverse meals due to the fact that Indian cuisine here prevails.
You can try all the possible dishes of meat and fish, as well as vegetarian meals.
Street food and combo meals similar to McDonald’s are really popular and cheap.
A cup of coffee in Kolkata is $1.84, a glass of imported beer $3.02, the three-course meal for two in a mid-range restaurant is $14.40.
MARKETS
The most popular shopping destination in Kolkata is the New Market where you can buy nearly everything from books and flowers to fresh products, local cheese, dairy products, and pastry.
Moreover, this one and many other markets in the city are open every day which does not limit you in your time and gastronomic desires.
The most expensive are the cheeses, red meat, wine, and cigarettes.
TRANSPORTATION
The electric train is considered one of the cheapest and fastest means of getting around the city.
Remember that the Indian peculiarity is the absence of doors in the trains and the presence of singers on board who are trying to make money this way.
Kolkata has tram lines, bus routes, rickshaws, and taxis.
UTILITIES (MONTHLY)
Kolkata is one of the Indian cities with an established city telephone network.
The mobile phones are operated by private companies and the national BSNL firm.
A prepaid minute of the mobile connection, a local tariff is $0.01.
The city is connected to the broadband Internet.
The unlimited data cable or ADSL connection at the minimum speed of 60 Mbps is $9.05 per month.
SPORTS & LEISURE
Cricket and football are the two most played games in Kolkata.
This city is often called the most football city of India.
Interestingly, the second largest stadium in the world is located here in Kolkata.
As for the cultural leisure time, people visit museums, theatres, library, and one of the largest book fairs in the world which rather presents than sells the books.
CLOTHING & SHOES
Kolkata cannot be called an extremely popular tourists destination, so the shops and boutiques are not that diverse and umpteen.
Nevertheless, the city has a few nice street markets in every region in the south, west, and north.
Modern shopping centers sell inexpensive leather shoes and clothes and have popular chain stores.
RENT PER MONTH
The price of the monthly rent in Kolkata depends a lot on the district of the city, the recency of the building and the availability of furniture.
The cheapest are one-bedroom apartments outside of the city center with the prices ranging between $57 and $144 per month.
The most expensive are three-bedroom apartments in the city center.
Cost of Living Averages Table for Kolkata
*Note: All prices are indicated in USD.| Average Restaurant Prices | |
|---|---|
| Meal (Inexpensive Restaurant) | $2.86 |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 Liter) | $1.71 |
| Water (0.33 Liter) | $0.17 | Average Market Prices |
| Milk (1 Liter) | $0.55 |
| Loaf Bread (500g) | $0.30 |
| Eggs (12) | $0.88 | Average Transport Prices |
| One Way Ticket | $0.14 |
| Monthly Pass | $4.28 |
| Gasoline | $1.13 | Average Utilities Prices |
| Basic (Water, Electricity, Garbage, Heating, Cooling) | $38.30 |
| 1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local | $0.01 |
| Internet (Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | $9.05 | Average Leisure Prices |
| Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | $17.42 |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour) | $9.32 |
| Cinema, 1 Seat, International Release | $8.97 | Average Clothing Prices |
| 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Comparable) | $33.64 |
| 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, etc...) | $33.18 |
| 1 Pair of Adidas Walking Shoes (Mid-Range) | $45.87 | Average Rent Prices |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Center | $144.63 |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Center | $82.37 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Center | $358.63 |
How Does the Average Person Spend Their Money in Kolkata?
Monthly rent is not the biggest issue for people in Kolkata.
They pay only 16.4% to the landlords and leasing companies.
Raw food in the markets is the largest item of expenditure for most citizens.
They are ready to spend 40.6% of their money on markets monthly.
The cheapest things for Kolkata citizens are utilities and shopping which get 4.3% equally.
The transportation expenses are 12.6% per month, and the transport is often used to travel to work, to the other cities in the state, or to the nearest restaurant in Kolkata.
The latter take as much as 14.3% of the average person’s income which is a really high percentage for this type of cities in India.
Also, a big percentage of money is spent on sports and leisure which means that an average Kolkata citizen is interested in being mentally and physically fit.
Average Costs Breakdown
Kolkata: Average Salary, Minimum Wage & Mortgages
The average salary in Kolkata is $373.20 per employee per month.
This sum of money is usually paid to well-qualified local or foreign workers in industries like software engineering, accountancy, IT consulting, and software development.
The lowest salaries of $54.5 nationwide are paid to the least skilled or unskilled workers with minimum qualifications.
A lot of real estate agencies in Kolkata are offering their services of taking mortgage loans in different parts of the city at an absolutely wide range of
At that, the average interest rate for all the mortgages in the area is $9.32 which is an average interest rate for the housing loans in the world.
Kolkata Safety Overview
READ THE FULL REPORT: Kolkata Safety Review
Safety Index:
- OVERALL RISK: MEDIUM
- TRANSPORT & TAXIS RISK: MEDIUM
- PICKPOCKETS RISK: HIGH
- NATURAL DISASTERS RISK: MEDIUM
- MUGGING RISK: LOW
- TERRORISM RISK: LOW
- SCAMS RISK: HIGH
- WOMEN TRAVELERS RISK: MEDIUM
Cost of Living by City in Kolkata
| City | Cost of Living Index |
|---|---|
| Ahmedabad | 24.24 |
| Bangalore | 26.83 |
| Bhopal | 22.37 |
| Bhubaneswar | 22.4 |
| Chandigarh | 26 |
| Chennai | 25.2 |
| Coimbatore | 22.38 |
| Delhi | 28.67 |
| Goa | 24.34 |
| Gurgaon | 30.71 |
| Guwahati | 22.68 |
| Hyderabad | 23.59 |
| Indore | 25.4 |
| Jaipur | 25.46 |
| Kochi | 21.73 |
| Lucknow (Lakhnau) | 24.75 |
| Ludhiana | 27.17 |
| Mangalore | 22.4 |
| Mumbai | 29.03 |
| Mysore | 22.4 |
| Nagpur | 22.76 |
| Navi Mumbai | 19.3 |
| Noida | 28.55 |
| Pune | 27.41 |
| Surat | 23.77 |
| Thane | 25.31 |
| Thiruvananthapuram | 19.26 |
| Vadodara | 22.28 |
| Visakhapatnam | 21.52 |
