Global comparison
What quality of life your income buys around the world
Two people on the same salary can end up living very differently depending on where that pay lands. Rent and groceries cost less in some countries, people tend to live longer in others, and access to everyday services varies widely. This tool folds those threads together: enter what you earn and see a single score per country that rises and falls with your income.
Quality of life score in United States
81.7 / 100
on $60,000 a year, ranked 34 of 35
Quality of life on this income (0 to 100)
Spain92.292
Hong Kong91.391
United Arab Emirates91.291
Italy90.290
Japan89.890
Sweden89.389
Singapore89.089
Poland88.889
Norway88.088
Netherlands87.888
Belgium87.688
Luxembourg87.688
France87.587
Austria87.187
Germany86.787
Finland86.687
Australia86.587
Ireland86.586
Denmark86.086
United Kingdom85.986
Canada85.886
New Zealand85.585
Switzerland84.384
United States81.782
South Africa78.078The score blends the real spending power of your income (half the weight, after adjusting for local prices), life expectancy (a third) and the share of people online (the rest). It is a guide for comparison, not a verdict on any place. Income is converted to US dollars at market rates, then scaled by the local price level. Data: World Bank, life expectancy and internet use, with World Bank price levels.
How the score is built
The headline number runs from zero to one hundred and rests on three legs. The largest is what your pay is genuinely worth locally, found by converting it to dollars and then adjusting for the price level of each country, so a wage that buys little at home may buy plenty elsewhere. The second is how long people live, a compact measure of health and the conditions around it. The third is how many people are online, which tracks the reach of modern services and infrastructure. Money carries the most weight on purpose, because the question here is what life your earnings can support, not which country is best in the abstract.
Where money stops being the answer
Spending power explains a lot, but not everything. A country can be wonderfully cheap and still trail on health or fall short on the services that make daily life easy, and the score reflects that tension rather than hiding it. That is also what separates this from a straight price comparison: a low cost of living helps your money go further, yet it sits next to outcomes that no salary can buy on its own. If you want to dig into the pure money side, the purchasing power tool shows the equivalent salary across countries, and the cost of living comparison focuses on prices alone.
Frequently asked questions
What goes into the score?
Three things. Half the weight is the real spending power of your income once local prices are taken into account, so the same pay counts for more where life is cheaper. Just under a third is life expectancy, a broad signal of health and safety. The rest is the share of people online, a stand-in for everyday infrastructure and access. Your income drives the first part, which is why the ranking shifts as you change it.
Why does a cheaper country sometimes score higher?
Because your money stretches further there. A salary that feels ordinary at home can cover a comfortable life somewhere with low prices, and that lifts the spending-power part of the score. It will not always win though: if life expectancy or connectivity lag, those pull the total back down, so the cheapest places do not automatically top the list.
How does changing my income move the ranking?
Raising it lifts the spending-power component everywhere, but with diminishing returns, since an extra few thousand matters far more at a modest income than at a high one. Health and connectivity do not move with your pay. So a bigger income tends to favour expensive, high-earning countries, while a smaller one rewards places where prices are low.
Where does the data come from?
Life expectancy and the share of people using the internet are World Bank figures, published openly. Price levels come from the World Bank purchasing power series, set against the United States at 100. Everything is baked into the page from public sources, so the numbers are stable and traceable rather than pulled live.
Is this relocation or financial advice?
No. It is a quick way to weigh how income, prices and a couple of life outcomes interact across borders. A real move depends on visas, language, family, climate, career and much more that no single score can hold. Treat it as a starting point for questions, not an answer.
Data source
World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.DYN.LE00.IN life expectancy, IT.NET.USER.ZS internet use), CC BY 4.0, with World Bank purchasing power price levels (United States = 100). Figures are the most recent available per country and are baked from public data. The score is a general comparison, not financial, medical or relocation advice, and your own circumstances will differ.