3.78/5
1,342 reviews
Photo by Pieter Levels via Unsplash

Cost of Living in Hong Kong

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taipei

stay

good

restaurants

big

expensive

food

hikes

bit

put

culture

contrasts

day

beaches

island

cheap

travel

plan

Hong Kong is a unique and dynamic city offering a mix of dense urban life and easy access to scenic nature, often just 15 minutes away. It blends east and west, from cultural richness and historical depth to a wide array of food options ranging from street-level local eats to high-end restaurants. Transport is excellent and inexpensive, making it easy to get around. Despite its density, there are quiet parks and great hiking trails if you plan ahead. It's also considered very safe, even with ongoing political changes.

The cost of housing is extremely high, often compared to New York or Paris prices, though strategies like co-living or living off HK Island can make it more manageable. Food and alcohol can be inexpensive with local choices. That said, the city can feel crowded and fast-paced. The political climate has introduced uncertainty for some, and locals may seem blunt compared to neighboring cultures. While it may not be for everyone long-term, it’s still a worthwhile city to visit and experience for its contrasts, energy, and uniqueness.

AI-generated summary of reviews
8 months ago

It's very solid. I'm glad I visited here and Macao, but TBH I didn't like it as much as Singapore or Taipei. If you like it here, you'd probably like Taipei even more. Also, people are a bit "blunt" to put it euphemistically, it may be a bit of a culture shock if you're used to Thai, Taiwanese, Japanese, etc kindness. Definitely recommended for a visit, long term stay comes down to your preferences and priorities. I will say the history of the city is obvious (in a good way).

10 months ago

Hong Kong is a great city with dense urban areas but also nature and hiking routes only 15 minutes away. There are restaurants for every taste and budget, from the best US fast casual chains to high end Michelin star restaurants. It's also extremely safe, despite recent political instability.

5 years ago

HK is a city of contrasts. You can spend your day in skyscrapers as well as on deserted beaches. You can eat as western or eastern as you like. You can find expats lured here by big banks and tech startups as well as painters and musicians attracted to the deep cultural scene. These contrasts create a depth that invites discovery and keeps me coming back. You'll just never know how your day will end up here or who you'll meet.

HK housing is one of the most expensive in the world. Often compared to NY and Paris. Though it is possible to live frugally in HK. Get a share-house or small room away from HK island. I use CoLiving's mostly for a better price, good location and making friends. Food and transport can be had quite cheap. The subway and busses are a breeze to travel with and for food local restaurants offer cheap, often delicious food. Use 7/11's for beer. Just like Tokyo you have to get some good practices and plan more in order to make your stay affordable.

HK is one of the most densest cities in the world. But take some side streets and you'll find empty parks and quiet spaces lushly filled with tropical green. There's many hikes and islands around HK to go out and explore. Here it also helps to plan some places and hikes beforehand so you'll have an escape whenever HK starts to feel overcrowded.

Politically there is unrest. Some HK'ers have moved to London and Taipei after protests crackdowns and there are also many that stay put and carry-on. Nobody exactly knows where HK will end up and I hope it's culture and people will endure over time because this place is truly unique.

5 years ago

Hong Kong is a fabulous city - from big city living, to isolated beaches, outlying islands and hikes through mountainous terrain. The big downside is it's EXPENSIVE. You need to have a decent salary to live here - otherwise, it would be tough. Hong Kong island is the most expensive, but more affordable places are possible, the further you are willing to travel. It's quite a transient city, so probably pretty easy to make connections!

6 years ago

✅ Very safe

✅ Great food variety

✅ Excellent public transport

✅ Easy access to nature

✅ Fast internet

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ Not a lot of alcohol abuse

❌ Very expensive housing

❌ Overcrowded

❌ Political instability

❌ Blunt locals

❌ No freedom of speech

❌ No democracy

❌ Expensive

❌ Difficult to make friends

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

1864°
cool

1763°
cool

2272°
mild

2475°
warm

2577°
warm

3799°
hot

3595°
hot

3799°
hot

3697°
hot

2984°
warm

2373°
mild

1763°
cool

Real (median)

1864°
cool

1763°
cool

2272°
mild

2475°
warm

2577°
warm

2984°
very warm

2983°
very warm

2984°
very warm

2679°
warm

2373°
mild

1763°
cool

Humidity

nice
66%

damp
81%

nice
87%

nice
88%

sweaty
93%

sweaty
90%

sweaty
92%

sweaty
86%

nice
82%

nice
70%

damp
77%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

dry
2mm

rainy
59mm

dry
10mm

dry
41mm

rainy
96mm

rainy
338mm

rainy
241mm

rainy
291mm

rainy
98mm

dry
40mm

dry
2mm

dry
40mm

Cloud

pockets
29%

pockets
26%

pockets
36%

pockets
44%

pockets
48%

cloudy
62%

cloudy
53%

cloudy
58%

pockets
35%

pockets
46%

pockets
32%

pockets
37%

Air quality

okay
86 US AQI

okay
84 US AQI

okay
75 US AQI

okay
64 US AQI

okay
50 US AQI

clean
45 US AQI

okay
53 US AQI

okay
71 US AQI

okay
80 US AQI

okay
81 US AQI

okay
89 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

seek shade
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

Remote workers

5,886 people

4,175 people

5,817 people

6,120 people

5,040 people

4,516 people

3,629 people

3,432 people

4,830 people

5,400 people

6,884 people

5,354 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Hong Kong's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

Help pick the best photos for Hong Kong and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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293pts

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9pts

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Shenzhen

China

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 19° 66° 18° 65° AQI 38

🚕1h

$2,053 / mo

11 Mbps

Zhuhai

China

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 17° 63° 17° 63° AQI 53 😷

🚕2h

$1,798 / mo

10 Mbps

Macau

China

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 17° 63° 17° 63°

🚕2h

$4,412 / mo

92 Mbps

Zhongshan

China

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 19° 66° 18° 65° AQI 25

🚕3h

$1,043 / mo

9 Mbps

Huizhou

China

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 18° 64° 18° 65° AQI 19

🚕3h

$1,093 / mo

10 Mbps

Dongguan

China

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 19° 66° 18° 65° AQI 23

🚕3h

$1,325 / mo

13 Mbps

Jiangmen

China

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 19° 66° 18° 65° AQI 25

✈️10min

$1,586 / mo

10 Mbps

Guangzhou

China

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 19° 66° 18° 64°

✈️11min

$1,448 / mo

7 Mbps

Foshan

China

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 19° 66° 18° 65° AQI 38

✈️12min

$1,134 / mo

10 Mbps

Puning

China

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 16° 61° 16° 61°

✈️16min

$2,869 / mo

10 Mbps

Shantou

China

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 18° 64° 17° 63° AQI 78 😷

✈️23min

$1,329 / mo

92 Mbps

Zhanjiang

China

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 18° 64° 18° 64° AQI 13

✈️33min

$1,072 / mo

9 Mbps

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 39° 102° 33° 91° 🥵 AQI 80 😷

✈️2h

$1,600 / mo

24 Mbps

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 17° 63° 16° 61°

✈️17h

$7,115 / mo

29 Mbps

Kraków

Poland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 12° 54° 13° 56° AQI 104 😷

✈️11h

$2,531 / mo

36 Mbps

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 9° 48° 10° 49° AQI 96 😷

✈️12h

$7,041 / mo

21 Mbps

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 38° 100° 31° 88° 🥵

✈️3h

$4,290 / mo

147 Mbps

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 12° 54° 12° 53° AQI 127 😷

✈️13h

$5,721 / mo

23 Mbps

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 7° 45° 8° 46° AQI 34

✈️4h

$3,257 / mo

27 Mbps

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 14° 57° 14° 57° AQI 46

✈️13h

$4,662 / mo

34 Mbps

Chiang Mai

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 34° 93° 30° 86° 🥵 AQI 104 😷

✈️2h

$1,268 / mo

20 Mbps

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 14° 58° AQI 124 😷

✈️12h

$4,052 / mo

28 Mbps

Taipei

Taiwan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 14° 57° 14° 57° AQI 78 😷

✈️1h

$2,173 / mo

23 Mbps

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 12° 54° 13° 56° AQI 33

✈️15h

$3,889 / mo

38 Mbps

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 38° 100° 31° 87° 🥵 AQI 36

✈️2h

$1,041 / mo

🌇 Also went here442 people

Chiang Mai

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 34° 93° 30° 86° 🥵 AQI 104 😷

✈️2h

$1,268 / mo

🌇 Also went here536 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 39° 102° 33° 91° 🥵 AQI 80 😷

✈️2h

$1,600 / mo

🌇 Also went here860 people

Seoul

South Korea

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 8° 46° 8° 46° AQI 134 😷

✈️3h

$2,576 / mo

🌇 Also went here450 people

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 43° 109° 33° 91° 🥵

✈️3h

$1,609 / mo

🌇 Also went here569 people

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 38° 100° 31° 88° 🥵

✈️3h

$4,290 / mo

🌇 Also went here691 people

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 7° 45° 8° 46° AQI 34

✈️4h

$3,257 / mo

🌇 Also went here609 people

Istanbul

Turkey

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 12° 54° 13° 56° AQI 63 😷

✈️11h

$1,667 / mo

🌇 Also went here401 people

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 14° 58° AQI 124 😷

✈️12h

$4,052 / mo

🌇 Also went here454 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 9° 48° 10° 49° AQI 96 😷

✈️12h

$7,041 / mo

🌇 Also went here499 people

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 12° 54° 12° 53° AQI 127 😷

✈️13h

$5,721 / mo

🌇 Also went here609 people

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 13° 55° 14° 57° AQI 43

✈️13h

$5,384 / mo

🌇 Also went here560 people

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 14° 57° 14° 57° AQI 46

✈️13h

$4,662 / mo

🌇 Also went here524 people

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 12° 54° 13° 56° AQI 33

✈️15h

$3,889 / mo

🌇 Also went here458 people

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 17° 63° 16° 61°

✈️17h

$7,115 / mo

🌇 Also went here542 people

3,600 remote workers in Hong Kong now, of which 4+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.78/5 (Rank #12) 1342 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍6 liked it 👎1 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Good
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	🙂 Okay: $2,772 / mo
📡 Internet	🚀 Super fast: 71 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Great
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🌞 Nice: 18°C64°F (feels 18°C64°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 69%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😍 Very high: 99%
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Good: 71 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Good
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Great
🤝 Lack of racism*	Bad
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
💰 Income level*	Very high: $3,662 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
😄 Happiness*	Okay
🍸 Nightlife	Great
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Okay
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Bad
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Hong Kong
🗓️ Average trip length	6 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	71 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 18°C 64°F + 😊 Comfy (69%) = feels 18°C 64°F
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 71 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10 HKD in USD	USD 1.28
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	HKD 1,000 = USD 128
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	CoCoon
💻 Best alt. coworking space	The Hive
☕️ Best coffee place	Starbucks
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place	McCafe
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍15% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	25,695,800 visitors
📸 Tourists now	492,459 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	7,200,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$43,943 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 44% 👱‍♀️ 56%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 54% 👱‍♀️ 46%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 85% 👱‍♀️ 15%
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
🏠 Apartment listings	Square Foot
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Air Asia
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Hong Kong Airlines
🏥 Best hospital	Hong Kong Central Hospital

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$2,772 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,514 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$8,121 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$2,320 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,236 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,266 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$2,083 / month
🏠 Median home price	$977,804
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$58 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$41 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$239 / month
🍛 Dinner	$7
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$6
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$5
👩‍🏫 International school	$19,996 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$9 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$4 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$4,321
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$12,821
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$37,500