# Cape Town — relocation profile

Cape Town, South Africa · Flawed democracy · livability 50/100

## At a glance

- **Country:** South Africa
- **Region:** Africa
- **Estimated monthly cost of living (solo, renting in the centre):** $2,475/month
- **Livability score:** 50 / 100 (rank 123 of 132 Townleap cities)
- **Settler safety score:** 25 / 100 (rank 127 of 132)
- **Cost vs New York City:** 73% cheaper
- **Also appears in:** Remote Workers, Lowest Crime, Budget Maximizers, Startup Cities, Sun + Beach, Remote Work Visa Cities, Fresh Start Cities, Hidden Gems, Family-Friendly Cities, English-Friendly Cities, Retire Abroad, Young Professionals, Free Societies, Tech Settler, Queer Settlers, Leaving the UK, Freelance-Friendly

## Cost of living

| Item | USD / month |
| --- | --- |
| Rent — 1-bed, city centre | $1,026 |
| Rent — 1-bed, outside centre | $648 |
| Rent — 3-bed, city centre | $1,717 |
| Average net salary (after tax) | $1,686 |
| **Total monthly cost (solo, rent included)** | **$2,475** |

One-off cost to land (deposit, agency fee, furnishing, first admin): $4,101.

Reference point: 73% cheaper than NYC.

## Settling

- **Democracy index (EIU, 0–10):** 7.2
- **Regime type:** Flawed democracy
- **Homicide rate:** 45.5 per 100,000/year
- **Time to permanent residency:** 5 years
- **Time to citizenship:** 10 years
- **English proficiency:** Very High (EF EPI 602)
- **Main languages:** Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele

## Day to day

- **Summer (low–high):** 17–24°C
- **Winter (low–high):** 9–17°C
- **Internet speed:** 52.93 Mbps
- **Healthcare index (0–100):** 58.3
- **Natural features:** mountains, ocean

## Economy

- **GDP per capita:** $15,456 (2024, country-level)
- **Inflation:** 4.4% (2024)
- **Unemployment:** 32.4% (2025)
- **Population:** 3,776,313

## Similar cities

| City | Country | Rent (1-bed, centre) | Monthly cost | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Mexico City | Mexico | $1,173 | $2,641 | /cities/mexico-city |
| Florianopolis | Brazil | $627 | $1,675 | /cities/florianopolis |
| Funchal | Portugal | $1,568 | $3,229 | /cities/funchal |
| Porto | Portugal | $1,297 | $2,862 | /cities/porto |
| San Francisco | United States | $3,413 | $6,373 | /cities/san-francisco |

## Related pages

- Cost of living breakdown: /cost-of-living/cape-town
- Compare with another city: /cities/compare
- Visa and residency paths: /cities/cape-town/visa

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Source: [Townleap](https://www.townleap.com/cities/cape-town) — permanent-relocation data for people picking a country to actually live in, not visit.

Cost figures are Numbeo-derived and in USD unless labelled otherwise. Economics are World Bank. Every number on this page is also on the HTML page at the same URL — this variant exists so you do not have to parse a React app to read a rent figure.