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Mohamed Oun
Singapore
#68 of 124
Asia

Singapore

Singapore

Salary & Cost of Living

View purchasing power ranking

How do salaries and expenses in Singapore compare to San Francisco?

Purchasing Power Comparison

An engineer in Singapore is 47% worse off vs in San Francisco

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

Median Salary
$87,882
-$185K (-68%) vs San Francisco
Based on 1411 data points from levels.fyi
Net Salary
$83,488
-$89K (-52%) vs San Francisco
Tax Rate: 5%

Community Insights

New
7.5/10

Moving to Singapore as a software engineer presents a fascinating duality depending heavily on your seniority and employer. On one hand, the city offers a pristine, incredibly safe environment with lightning-fast infrastructure, acting as a major hub for Big Tech and financial services. The exceptionally low tax rate allows highly-paid senior developers to keep a vast majority of their income, making it a lucrative destination for top-tier talent transferring from the US or Europe.

However, the reality for average or junior developers is much harsher. Exorbitant rent and a notoriously high cost of living can quickly erode standard salaries. Securing a job as a foreigner is notoriously difficult due to strict visa quotas and an explicit "Singaporean-first" hiring policy. While daily essentials like local hawker food and public transit are surprisingly affordable, the intense competition from local graduates and the demanding work culture means it can be a highly stressful grind unless you land a premium role.

The Good

Living Environment

Weather•Safety•Pollution•Events

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

Rankings

Community Events

Top 4%

#5

of 124 cities

45 events on luma

Current value

Tax Rate

Top 4%

#5

of 124 cities

5%

Current value (lower is better)

Safety Index

Top 6%

#7

of 124 cities

77.7/100

Current value

Housing Affordability

View affordability ranking

How affordable is housing for a software engineer in Singapore compared to San Francisco?

Avg. Property Price
$20,816 / m²
110% more expensive than San Francisco
View detailed property prices on Numbeo

Salary Converter

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

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Cost of Living
10% cheaper than San Francisco
View detailed cost breakdown on Numbeo

Top Paying Companies in Singapore

Meta logo
Meta
Grab logo
Grab
Binance logo
Binance
Extremely low income tax (ranking top 5 globally) means you keep a vast majority of your paycheck, easily offsetting potential base salary cuts from US standards.
  • Incredibly safe and clean environment with an efficient government, low pollution, and world-class public transportation.
  • Major tech and finance hub offering a wide variety of companies, including APAC headquarters for top-tier US multinational companies (MNCs).
  • Cheap daily essentials like hawker center meals and ride-sharing, provided you live locally and avoid expat traps.
  • Excellent travel base for exploring Southeast Asia with easy and cheap access to neighboring countries.
  • Lightning-fast internet and superb digital infrastructure that geeks and tech workers will highly appreciate.

    • The Bad

    • Astronomical rent and housing costs that can severely eat into your take-home pay, with real estate affordability ranking near the bottom globally.
    • Strict visa quotas and government-mandated local hiring policies make it incredibly difficult for foreigners, especially juniors, to secure work passes.
    • Intense competition from an oversupply of local CS graduates and regional talent, driving down wages for commoditized skills like Java.
    • Longer working hours and occasionally less technical challenge compared to the US or Chinese tech markets, with Agile sometimes treated as traditional waterfall.
    • Historical stigma where software engineering is sometimes viewed as a "blue-collar" or easily outsourced cost center outside of Big Tech.
    • Hot, humid weather year-round with occasional regional haze, combined with a lifestyle some expats describe as economically advanced but socially backwards or "soulless".

    Moving Here

    Hard

    The actual process of moving is heavily gated by bureaucracy. Visas are highly restrictive due to strict government quotas requiring companies to justify hiring foreigners over locals, making Employment Passes very difficult to obtain without senior-level leverage. However, once approved, cultural integration is practically effortless: English is the primary language in business and daily life, the expat community is massive, and the city is incredibly welcoming, safe, and easily navigable.

    Who Is This City For?

    Ideal for: Senior engineers, internal transfers from Big Tech or US MNCs, and specialists in Fintech or trading who can command high salaries to offset housing costs. Avoid if: You are a fresh graduate, a junior developer, or rely on highly commoditized skills (like basic Java), as visa quotas and massive local competition will make finding a job nearly impossible.

    Updated 2/28/2026

    Weather1.5/10-83% vs San Francisco
    Safety78+97%
    Pollution32-34%
    Events45-42%
    1.5/10TechCities weather score vs 8.7/10 in San Francisco

    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
    31°C(vs 19°C in San Francisco)
    Average Low
    26°C(vs 12°C in San Francisco)
    Sunshine Hours
    2,022h/yr-1039h/yr(-34%)
    Hottest Month High
    32°C(vs 22°C in San Francisco)
    Coldest Month Low
    25°C(vs 8°C in San Francisco)
    Rainy Days
    154/yr+105/yr(+216%)

    Community & Quality

    Singapore community pulse

    Singapore has 45 Luma events listed.

    42% fewer events than San Francisco.

    Pollution Score

    Top 19%

    #23

    of 124 cities

    32.3/100

    Current value (lower is better)

    Net Income

    Top 29%

    #36

    of 124 cities

    $83,488/yr

    Current value

    Purchasing Power

    Middle of the pack

    #68

    of 124 cities

    Home Affordability

    Bottom 8%

    #115

    of 124 cities

    ≈19.9 yrs to buy 80m²

    Current value

    Cost of Living

    Bottom 6%

    #118

    of 124 cities

    79/100

    Current value (lower is better)

    Comfortable Weather

    Bottom 3%

    #121

    of 124 cities

    15/100 weather score

    Current value

    SWE Affordability
    19.9 years
    15.4 years longer than San Francisco
    Muggy Days
    365/yr+365/yr(+182400%)
    Cloud Cover
    85%(vs 34% in San Francisco)