Numbeo Index: Tirana, the most expensive capital in the region, high living costs from rent to food

Out of 141 European cities, Tirana ranked 92nd for high living costs according to the index published earlier this year by "Numbeo", a global database that measures living costs worldwide.

According to the index for January 2025, Tirana is the most expensive capital in the region, leaving behind Serbia, Skopje, Sarajevo, Podgorica, and even Sofia, Bucharest, Budapest, etc.

The cost of living index is calculated as a percentage of the cost of living in New York. For example, the cost of living in Tirana is 41.9% of NY. In Belgrade, the cost of living is 39.4% of New York, in Podgorica 35%, in Sarajevo 33.5%, in Skopje 31.7% and in Prishtina 25.3%

The cost of living index takes into account rental costs, other monthly non-rent expenses, the food product index, restaurant prices, and the local purchasing power index.

The high cost of living in Tirana is mostly influenced by food prices. According to Numbeo, in 2025 the food price index marked 42.5%, which means that a resident of Tirana spends 42.5% of the amount a resident of New York spends per month.

The cost of food has a high weight in the cost of living in Tirana, as unlike other European countries, Albanians spend more than 43% of their monthly income on food purchases.

While Albania has the lowest salaries in the Region on average (30% lower) according to official data, on the other hand it has higher food prices.

On the other hand, Albania has the cheapest rental index. The expenses of a resident in Tirana are 13.6% of those of a citizen in New York.

The high cost of living in Tirana is due, on the one hand, to high prices and, on the other hand, to low incomes to afford the purchase of goods and services.

Tirana, along with the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, ranked lowest of all other European cities for the local purchasing power index.

In Tirana, purchasing power is 43.1% of the New York average, while half of European cities have purchasing power above the NY average. Meanwhile, in Sarajevo, purchasing power is 63.1% of NY, in Podgorica it is 62.4%, in Skopje 59.8%, Belgrade 57.7% and in Pristina 56.9%

Tirana is also the most expensive city in the region after Serbia for restaurant prices. Prices in Tirana are 39.6% of the NY average, while in Belgrade they are 40.9%, in Podgorica 34.8%, in Sarajevo 25.1% and in Skopje 26.6%.

Pristina is the cheapest with restaurants that have prices that are 21.8% of the New York average./ Monitor