Cost of Living in Singapore
What a month actually costs, with rent and salary context
Singapore is consistently among the most expensive cities in the world for foreigners, and the two reasons are housing and cars. Citizens largely live in subsidised public flats that foreigners cannot buy, so a foreign household rents privately or buys with a substantial additional stamp duty, and the gap between the national cost-of-living statistics and a foreign family's actual budget is wide. Cars are made deliberately scarce through a bidding system for the right to own one, which routinely costs more than the vehicle. Against that, income tax is low, food at hawker centres is inexpensive, and public transport is cheap and comprehensive.
| Median monthly income of residents | Roughly SGD 5,500 to 6,000 including employer CPF, on official figures source |
| Private one-bedroom rent, central | Commonly SGD 3,500 to 5,000 per month |
| Room in a shared flat | Commonly SGD 1,000 to 2,000 per month |
| Goods and Services Tax | 9% source |
| Top personal income tax rate | 24% on the highest band, with low effective rates on ordinary salaries source |
Housing is the whole story
Roughly four in five resident households live in flats built by the Housing and Development Board, bought at subsidised prices with grants and long tenures. Foreigners cannot buy new flats from the board at all, and cannot buy resale flats either; permanent residents may buy resale flats only after a waiting period and subject to eligibility rules. Foreigners buying private property pay a very substantial additional buyer's stamp duty on top of the price, which was raised sharply in recent years.
The practical result is that a foreign household competes in the private rental market, which is small relative to the public stock and highly sensitive to demand. Rents rose steeply in the years after the pandemic and remain the largest single item in almost every expatriate budget.
Renting a room in a public flat is legal and common, and it is the main way lower-paid foreigners keep housing costs down, subject to the board's rules on subletting and on the number of occupants.
An illustrative monthly budget for one person
| Item | Central private (SGD) | Room in a flat (SGD) |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | 4,000 | 1,400 |
| Utilities and internet | 220 | 120 |
| Groceries and some eating out | 700 | 600 |
| Public transport | 110 | 110 |
| Mobile phone | 30 | 30 |
| Total before discretionary spending | 5,060 | 2,260 |
Cars, and why almost nobody buys one
Owning a vehicle requires a Certificate of Entitlement, won at a public auction held twice a month, which grants the right to register a car for ten years. The certificate is a quota instrument rather than a fee: the government fixes the number available and the price is whatever bidders pay. In recent years the winning bids for ordinary cars have frequently exceeded SGD 100,000, and that sits on top of the vehicle price, registration fees and duties.
The rational response for most residents is to use public transport, which is inexpensive and covers the island densely, with taxis and ride-hailing for the rest. A foreign household that assumes it will run a car should price the certificate first, because it commonly changes the affordability of the whole move.
Where Singapore is genuinely cheap
- Personal income tax, which is progressive but low at ordinary professional salaries and has no separate social security charge for foreign pass holders, who do not contribute to the Central Provident Fund.
- Hawker centre food, where a full meal commonly costs a few dollars and is a normal daily habit rather than a novelty.
- Public transport, where monthly commuting costs are a small fraction of the equivalent in comparable global cities.
- There is generally no tax on capital gains, and dividends from Singapore companies are not normally taxed in the recipient's hands.
The CPF effect for permanent residents
Foreigners on work passes do not contribute to the Central Provident Fund, so their take-home pay is close to their gross pay less income tax. On becoming a permanent resident, both employee and employer contributions begin, phased in over the first years of residence, and the employee's share is deducted from salary.
The money is not lost — it accrues in retirement, housing and Medisave accounts — but it is not spendable income either, and a newly minted permanent resident commonly sees monthly take-home pay fall noticeably despite no change in the job or the gross salary. This surprises people often enough to be worth stating explicitly.
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Official sources
Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.