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Cape Town
#68 of 124
Africa

Cape Town

South Africa

Salary & Cost of Living

View purchasing power ranking

How do salaries and expenses in Cape Town compare to Mumbai?

Purchasing Power Comparison

An engineer in Cape Town is 72% better off vs in Mumbai

This shows how far a software engineer's salary goes in Cape Town compared to Mumbai, taking into account both salary differences and cost of living.

Median Salary
$47,592
+$27K (+132%) vs Mumbai
Based on 36 data points from levels.fyi
Net Salary
$32,267
+$19K (+135%) vs Mumbai
Tax Rate: 32%

Community Insights

New

Cape Town represents a high-risk, high-reward trade-off for software engineers. While the city offers an unbeatable lifestyle characterized by abundant sunshine (#13 globally), stunning nature, and a very low cost of living (#24 globally), these perks come with significant logistical friction. The daily reality involves navigating severe safety risks (#123 safety index) and infrastructure failures like load shedding (electricity rationing).

For those earning local currency, the financial picture is tighter, but for remote workers with foreign income, the city offers a level of luxury and natural beauty that is hard to match anywhere else. It is a city of distinct bubbles; living in the "City Bowl" or Atlantic Seaboard offers a vastly different, more insulated experience than the rest of the metro area.

Resident Sentiment

Sentiment is deeply polarized. Transplants and expats often express a "love-hate" relationship: they are captivated by the quality of life and beauty but exhausted by the mental load of constant vigilance and infrastructure planning.

Many "semigrants" (locals moving from Johannesburg) feel it is a massive upgrade in terms of lifestyle and relative safety, though they complain about the "clique-y" social circles and rising housing costs. Ultimately, most agree that the pros outweigh the cons if you have the money to insulate yourself from the city's harder edges.

Living Environment

Weather•Safety•Pollution•Events

A quick look at climate, safety, pollution, and tech community compared to Mumbai.

Rankings

Comfortable Weather

Top 2%

#3

of 124 cities

90/100 weather score

Current value

Cost of Living

Top 19%

#23

of 124 cities

31/100

Current value (lower is better)

Home Affordability

Top 23%

#29

of 124 cities

≈4.3 yrs to buy 80m²

Current value

Housing Affordability

View affordability ranking

How affordable is housing for a software engineer in Cape Town compared to Mumbai?

Avg. Property Price
$1,723 / m²
64% cheaper than Mumbai
View detailed property prices on Numbeo

Salary Converter

Enter your annual gross salary (before taxes) to see what you would need to earn in Cape Town to maintain the same standard of living.

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Cost of Living
37% more expensive than Mumbai
View detailed cost breakdown on Numbeo

The Good

  • World-class outdoor lifestyle with immediate access to hiking (Table Mountain), surfing, and beaches, often cited as the primary reason for moving.
  • High purchasing power for those earning foreign currency (USD/EUR/GBP), allowing for a luxury standard of living that would be unaffordable in the West.
  • Favorable Time Zone (GMT+2) which aligns perfectly with European working hours and offers a manageable overlap for US East Coast mornings.
  • Tech community and coffee culture are vibrant, with many cafes offering generator-backed Wi-Fi for remote workers during power cuts.
  • Natural beauty is consistently described as unparalleled, with scenic drives (Chapman's Peak) and vineyards (Stellenbosch/Franschhoek) just a short drive away.

The Bad

  • Load shedding (rolling blackouts) is a daily frustration, requiring residents to invest in UPS systems, inverters, or seek housing with solar backup.
  • Safety concerns are omnipresent; residents constantly maintain "situational awareness," avoid walking at night, and rely on private security.
  • Public transport is unreliable and often deemed unsafe, making car ownership or reliance on Uber practically mandatory for getting around.
  • Local salaries are low compared to global tech hubs, with a wide gap between what local companies pay versus international remote roles.
  • Housing market competition is fierce due to "semigration" (South Africans moving from other cities to Cape Town), driving up rents and property prices.

The Verdict

You'll love it if...

The adventurous remote worker or digital nomad earning a strong foreign currency (USD/EUR) who values nature over predictable infrastructure. It is ideal for senior engineers who can afford to live in safer, affluent neighborhoods (like Sea Point or Tamboerskloof) and invest in backup power solutions.

Europeans seeking a similar time zone with a better climate and lower costs will also thrive here, provided they are "street smart" and adaptable to developing world challenges.

Skip it if...

Junior engineers relying on local entry-level salaries, as the cost of living in desirable areas has risen sharply due to semigration.

Individuals with high anxiety regarding crime or personal safety will likely struggle, as the low safety index (#123) reflects a reality where high walls, electric fences, and vigilant behavior are standard. Those who need reliable public transit or perfectly functioning first-world infrastructure without effort should look elsewhere.

Updated 11/29/2025

Weather9.0/10+500% vs Mumbai
Safety26-53%
Pollution38-54%
Events0-100%
9.0/10TechCities weather score vs 1.5/10 in Mumbai

0–10 composite (higher is better) combining temperature comfort, sunshine hours, rainy-day count, and humid days. See methodology for weighting and data sources.

Weather snapshot

Average High
21°C(vs 31°C in Mumbai)
Average Low
13°C(vs 24°C in Mumbai)
Sunshine Hours
3,094h/yr+511h/yr(+20%)
Hottest Month High
25°C(vs 33°C in Mumbai)
Coldest Month Low
9°C(vs 19°C in Mumbai)
Rainy Days
52/yr-38/yr(-43%)

Community & Quality

Cape Town community pulse

Cape Town has 0 Luma events listed.

100% fewer events than Mumbai.

Pollution Score

Middle of the pack

#42

of 124 cities

38.3/100

Current value (lower is better)

Purchasing Power

Middle of the pack

#68

of 124 cities

Tax Rate

Middle of the pack

#70

of 124 cities

32%

Current value (lower is better)

Community Events

Bottom 34%

#83

of 124 cities

0 events on luma

Current value

Net Income

Bottom 28%

#90

of 124 cities

$32,267/yr

Current value

Safety Index

Bottom 2%

#123

of 124 cities

26.3/100

Current value

SWE Affordability
4.3 years
23.8 years quicker than Mumbai
Muggy Days
7/yr-247/yr(-97%)
Cloud Cover
30%(vs 43% in Mumbai)