Cost of Living
#1
of 124 cities
15/100
Current value (lower is better)
#116 of 124
Middle East
Cairo
Egypt
Salary & Cost of Living
How do salaries and expenses in Cairo compare to Hamburg?
Purchasing Power Comparison
An engineer in Cairo is 43% worse off vs in Hamburg
This shows how far a software engineer's salary goes in Cairo compared to Hamburg, taking into account both salary differences and cost of living.
Net Salary
$7,865
-$41K (-84%) vs Hamburg
Tax Rate: 23%
Community Insights
NewCairo presents a tale of two cities for software engineers. For those earning a local salary, it is a challenging market with pay rates significantly lower than global averages and high inflation. However, for remote workers earning USD or EUR, Cairo offers an unparalleled geographic arbitrage opportunity. The #1 ranking for cost of living means a mid-level western salary translates to a life of luxury, including living in upscale gated communities (compounds) like Maadi or New Cairo, dining out daily, and still saving a massive portion of income.
The trade-off is the environmental and infrastructural chaos. Residents must contend with high pollution levels, noise, and erratic traffic. Internet reliability is decent but requires backup plans (like 4G hotspots) for professional stability. The tech scene is lively but financially struggling compared to the West. Ultimately, living here requires a high tolerance for disorder in exchange for financial freedom and cultural richness.
Resident Sentiment
Current residents, particularly expats and digital nomads, describe Cairo as a "golden cage." They love the lifestyle their money buys—eating out, frequent travel, and beautiful apartments—but often feel trapped by the infrastructure frustrations and the difficulty of adjusting back to a "normal" cost of living elsewhere.
Local engineers often express a strong desire to migrate or secure remote work, citing the devaluation of the local currency. Transplants often advise newcomers to live in New Cairo or Maadi to insulate themselves from the city's intensity, noting that your experience of Cairo is entirely defined by where you live and how you earn.
Rankings
Top 1%
Tax Rate
#21
of 124 cities
23%
Current value (lower is better)
Home Affordability
#46
of 124 cities
≈6.7 yrs to buy 80m²
Current value
Housing Affordability
How affordable is housing for a software engineer in Cairo compared to Hamburg?
Salary Converter
Enter your annual gross salary (before taxes) to see what you would need to earn in Cairo to maintain the same standard of living.
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