Cost of Living in Hong Kong

Summary of cost of living in Hong Kong, Hong Kong (China):

Restaurants
Edit Range
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 66.50 HK$ 50.00-100.00
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 500.00 HK$ 300.00-900.00
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) 45.00 HK$ 41.00-50.00
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) 50.00 HK$ 27.00-75.00
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 50.00 HK$ 30.00-80.00
Cappuccino (regular) 40.67 HK$ 30.00-50.00
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) 10.24 HK$ 7.90-20.00
Water (12 oz small bottle) 8.60 HK$ 7.00-15.00
Markets
Edit
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) 94.70 HK$ 64.35-113.56
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) 16.00 HK$ 10.89-27.22
Rice (white), (1 lb) 8.78 HK$ 5.44-14.51
Eggs (regular) (12) 31.14 HK$ 18.00-42.00
Local Cheese (1 lb) 95.89 HK$ 40.82-253.56
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) 36.70 HK$ 15.88-71.67
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) 83.17 HK$ 36.29-176.90
Apples (1 lb) 14.00 HK$ 8.16-22.68
Banana (1 lb) 8.80 HK$ 4.54-15.88
Oranges (1 lb) 13.68 HK$ 4.54-30.00
Tomato (1 lb) 11.38 HK$ 5.44-20.00
Potato (1 lb) 9.26 HK$ 3.63-14.97
Onion (1 lb) 9.28 HK$ 4.54-13.61
Lettuce (1 head) 11.30 HK$ 6.00-22.00
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 12.79 HK$ 7.50-20.00
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 120.00 HK$ 80.00-250.00
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 17.32 HK$ 8.00-30.00
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 21.94 HK$ 10.00-40.00
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) 78.00 HK$ 74.00-103.00
Transportation
Edit
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 12.00 HK$ 8.00-20.00
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 500.00 HK$ 400.00-700.00
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 27.00 HK$ 25.00-30.00
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) 16.09 HK$ 12.87-43.45
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 114.00 HK$ 96.00-156.00
Gasoline (1 gallon) 88.71 HK$ 62.46-94.64
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) 259,800.00 HK$ 250,000.00-350,000.00
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) 254,231.40 HK$ 215,000.00-300,000.00
Utilities (Monthly)
Edit
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment 1,832.16 HK$ 1,000.00-3,500.00
Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data 147.67 HK$ 90.00-288.00
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 165.94 HK$ 118.00-300.00
Sports And Leisure
Edit
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 674.16 HK$ 350.00-1,600.00
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 63.96 HK$ 48.00-80.00
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 100.00 HK$ 80.00-135.00
Childcare
Edit
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child 7,081.16 HK$ 3,500.00-13,500.00
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child 159,130.43 HK$ 120,000.00-231,500.00
Clothing And Shoes
Edit
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 611.23 HK$ 255.00-1,000.00
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 315.57 HK$ 180.00-500.00
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 704.12 HK$ 400.00-900.00
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes 1,068.68 HK$ 500.00-2,000.00
Rent Per Month
Edit
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 17,851.35 HK$ 12,000.00-28,000.00
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 12,567.57 HK$ 9,000.00-18,000.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 36,100.00 HK$ 25,000.00-50,000.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 24,605.88 HK$ 18,000.00-35,000.00
Buy Apartment Price
Edit
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre 20,608.24 HK$ 16,399.86-27,870.68
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 13,606.37 HK$ 11,148.27-18,580.45
Salaries And Financing
Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 32,428.74 HK$
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate 3.83 2.90-5.00

Prices in Hong Kong

This city had 2427 entries in the past 12 months by 343 different contributors.
Last update: March 2024
Sources and References
Distribution of Expenses Using Our Statistical Model:
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27 Comments so far
Anonymous on Jan 29, 2024:
Lots of millennials with princess syndrome who date beta boys that are easy to manipulate into showering them with louis vuitton handbags. If you are local + rich + lacking in assertiveness you will be an ideal catch. If not pack your bags and go home..it's a trap
Anonymous on Aug 09, 2023:
What savings can one expect with a gross salary of 1,20,000 hkd per month?
1. One child in primary school
2. Spouse
3. Planning to buy a small car
4. Rent a place not too far from the airport
5. Vegetarian diet
Rafal on Jun 10, 2023:
@Johnny
Ssince, as you wrote, you lived in Hong Kong, could I somehow contact you and talk about life there? I would love to move there, but first I'm doing some research on the cost of living and the like. I believe that talking to someone who lives there or has lived recently would give me a lot of answers. please send me a message
Johnny on Jun 02, 2023:
@ Adnan

You mentioned the salary of HKD 105k in Hong Kong, are you talking about an annual salary or a monthly salary?
If it's a monthly salary, that's really a lot.

I'm a Hong Kong local and recently moved out to another country. If you need recommendations, I might be able to give some.
Adnan on Apr 26, 2023:
I have been offered a salary of hkd 105k in Hong Kong. Will be coming with spouse and 4 kids. 3 kids will immediately need to go to school. Saving is not big priority. Need recommendations for school which is affordable and a decent 2 to 3 bedroom living.
No name on Apr 04, 2023:
Is 30k hkd too much to ask for an ESL teacher with no experience but holds a professional teaching qualification? Is it enough to survive while living modestly in Hong Kong and still save some good amount as an expat?
Anonymous on Oct 20, 2022:
ajay dueman, you can live there alright. However, it will not be a comfortable life with only 4500 USD per month.
Capt. Gaurav Chaturvedi on Oct 01, 2022:
Hi All,

I am a 43-Year-old Shipping professional with about 7 years of experience in Dry Bulk Chartering and commercial Operations. I have applied for a job in HK and cleared all technical rounds, now it’s time for salary negotiation and my company has asked me to give my side of expectation first instead of making an offer from their side.

Now to give idea about my background:

I will be moving to HK with my family of 4 (wife, 2 kids – 13 & 9 years and me) for first year and then as I would like my mother (dependent on me) to move with me from say 2nd year onwards. I have some doubts about the living expenses.

With almost 7 years of dry bulk chartering and operations experience, I am being offered this job of AVP (Head of Commercial); I am exciting to get this opportunity as this gives me a chance to have international exposure and a leadership role. Challenges attached to this job will be lot of travelling so family had to stay back, thus will need a decent house in a good neighborhood.

I am a well-paid employee right now in India and combining it with my wife’s added support thanks to her job, I am able to save almost 40% of our monthly income (after Indian tax-30% here. I have checked the comparable analysis on various online forums like Read More and Read More and it looks like living cost in HK is almost 300% higher than what I pay in India (Mumbai).

Now as I earn almost 23000HK/month(after tax) in India and save almost 9000HK/month after my expenditure (which is not a cost- saving lifestyle in India, I enjoy my lifestyle and keep a standard living including weekend fun and a nice rented apartment).

After going through these websites, I got to know that comparable income figure in HK for me should be around 130K HK/Month (after tax) which I put in 12 months a year salary format after checking my tax and all from the HK government website (Read More) and the final figure as CTC comes up to about 1.8M (which in my opinion is quite high).

After checking various salary estimation websites like (Payscale, Glassdoor) and reading through various salary survey for HK, I got to know that I may not easily get above mentioned figure for this job of mine. The figure goes in wide range from 900,000-1.3M HKD/year depending on various sources.

Now the questions from my side are:

1) How much salary I should quote so that it looks reasonable and i don't freak out my prospective employer? Keeping that mind 17% tax structure of HK, how much I should ask so that I can maintain my current lifestyle with this challenging and exciting job?

2) I see in various responses, that in HK your package(CTC here) is divided into 13 months instead of 12 months, Can somebody confirm that, as till now I have calculated everything assuming 12 months’ salary structure.

3) Do we need to pay double tax in first year of employment in HK?

4) How salary structure is in general, I see allowance as 240,000 for married persons, except that, is house allowance, travel allowance also a component of salary or not?

5) My office will be in Central and as I have no clue about HK but heard that their public transport is great and I will stick to public transport only for daily commute, can you please suggest some areas for rented flats within 30 min distance. I will need a 3 BHK apartment as planning to move with my parents next year. How much budget I should keep for that? Will 25000 HKD/ month be good enough in those areas? If not please suggest a budget as well?

6) In Case of rent deposit, what is a bargain, I saw people having different answers for that, varying from 1.5 month-3 months of advance rent as deposit. How much is agent fee in general and how do they have agreement, is it always 1 yearly or we can have a flexible duration as well?

7) In rented flats, what all things they provide, I saw various houses and many of them have Refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioners (I heard due to hot weather it’s mandatory to have one) and microwave? Are these photos just to fool future tenants or does all these things really come with rented apartments. As I will be getting relocation, thus would like to avoid carrying the items which we get in these rented apartments otherwise will add them as well in my list of relocation.

I believe I have done some extensive research but an opinion of the people in this forum will definitely help me in deciding to go for this opportunity or not.
Anonymous on Jun 10, 2022:
A comfortable level for a family of two is 60k hkd. It was around 50k 7 years ago, when I moved in. If you have a kid, through in another 15k for school and expenses.
Anonymous on Jun 09, 2022:
Anonymous, I'd be looking at an income of around 50-70, 000 HKD monthly. Depending of course on the lifestyle you choose to live. School fees will work out around 24 - 36,000 per month total for two, and rent anywhere from 20K - any imaginable number! Add in transport, food, bills, entertainment etc... It all adds up very quickly!
Anonymous on May 05, 2022:
Hi
How much money is sufficient for a Family of four to survive in Hongkong which includes two kids one 8 years and one 4 years. Assuming both will go in international school.
MK on Dec 28, 2021:
@NewAtThis
If you earning 22000HKD per month.
50% for Rental + Electricity, Water (around 150-200ft non-sharing flat). You can save more if you can find 7-9K rent, i think it is okay for single person. But ask above the safety etc.
On average if you spend $150/day for food, it is $4650/month. But say you need to party per week, then maybe 8K per month for food. (40%)
So actually cannot save much. You can find cheap takeaway in HK (Like <$40 per meal), or cook at home (probably just $20 per meal).
Anonymous on Dec 28, 2021:
Hi all, I lived in hk for 46 years.
Here’s my comment:
For anyplace rental price below $10,000 in either hk island or Kowloon, you r expecting tiny small space of around 60 to 150 sq feet.
For a salary of $ 20,000, u can survive after paying 50% for food and 50% for rental.
For a 310sq feet, 3x to 4x year old apartment in Jordan, (close to TST), I paid $12888-14500 for 3 years
For a 430 sq feet 40 year old apartment, rental was $16000-18,000, depends on condition.
Everything in hk are expensive, be prepared to living very minimally if u earn below $30,000/ month as a single person.
hkppl123 on Dec 20, 2021:
Hi @NewAtThis
You could find a single place to rent for around 6k~12k hkd, depends on the quality.
22k HKD is just fine. Not much taxes you need to pay.
NewAtThis on Nov 04, 2021:
Hi everyone,
I am looking at immigrating to Hong Kong and so far, the vacancies I've seen offer a minimum salary of 22000HKD which is roundabout $2800USD and I am assuming this amount is the gross. Would it be a good move as a single person (no husband and no kids)? Would I have any disposable income after paying taxes and rent? Areas mentioned were Kowloon or New Territories side - is that central or will I find affordable accommodation as I prefer not to share a living space? Will I be able to have any leftover income to put into my savings? Many thanks.
Donia Saadallah on Oct 08, 2021:
is 10,000 hk/per month for one person in hk is enough ? not including the rent ofc
Anonymous on Aug 18, 2021:
@Daniel (Pataa): I am currently living in HK and based on the figures showing here, it should be monthly.
Daniel Pataa on Aug 07, 2021:
Please I want to know if the rent is a yearly rent?
Anonymous on Apr 28, 2021:
Hi Rich, 35k will be enough for one person or a couple but definitely not with kids (international schools are VERY expensive). 20k will be enough on a basic level only for at most 2 people,and you should expect to pay half of your pay (i.e. >10k) to pay the rent in this situation.
Rich on Apr 06, 2021:
I have been offered 20k-35k per month need to live in city center of Hong Kong for this job. can I make it or is it not paying enough
SCheng on Mar 29, 2021:
I make about $50000 and it is not enough to cover monthly expenses with clothing and travel expenses. However, this year I saved the money for travel ... Mortgage is around $21000 already. Management fee $3300 or so.
John on Mar 08, 2021:
I am a doctor working in the public sector and earn HK$70000 a month. To be honest, it's just enough for buying a decent flat and paying the mortgage since I was 28.
Edmond on Feb 20, 2021:
Buying 8 cans of coke is much cheaper here, on average 3.5 per can so the data is tricky
gopanda on Dec 14, 2020:
Rent : $5000 / room for one person ; $8000 studio for 2 person ; $11000 one bedroom flat for 2 person
John DeCarlos on Oct 03, 2020:
I earn only HK$9,600. And I am still living here happily. I go to bar every Friday. I enjoy cooking at my tiny apartment. I enjoy sleeping near my wife and near kids. I love tiny apartment and love to clean it. I use million dollars value MTR and my driver drive me to my office by my bus. I don’t need a car.
Thank you very much Gid for blessing me nice life.
Herra Dwima on May 13, 2020:
with 13000 HKD sallary per month , can I survive in Hong Kong?
Herra on May 13, 2020:
13000 HKD per month, can i survive in Hong Kong?