Relocation statistics · 2026
WhereNext by the Numbers
Sourced 2026 statistics on the cost of moving abroad — cost of living, international schools, visas, expat tax, salaries, and digital infrastructure across 95 countries and 380 cities. Every figure links to the open dataset behind it. Free to cite with attribution (CC BY 4.0).
Cost of living
Source: Cost of Living Index 2026 →95 countries with a calibrated cost breakdown — PPP-adjusted, not just nominal exchange rates.
$700/mo for the same lifestyle that costs $4,500/mo in SF.
Five cost sub-indexes, monthly USD estimates calibrated against PPP.
From Portugal (~$1,800/mo) to Thailand (~$1,200/mo) to Ecuador (~$1,000/mo).
International schools
Source: International School Cost Index 2026 →The definitive open dataset on international-school costs — 4,149 schools across 342 cities and 78 countries, including hidden fees most school sites never disclose.
From ~$3,000/yr in Vietnam to ~$45,000/yr in Switzerland.
Registration, transport, uniforms, capital levies and activities — rarely disclosed.
More affordable international schools than any other city — flipping its 'expensive' reputation.
And cost tracks class size more weakly than parents assume.
Visas & digital nomads
Source: Digital Nomad Visa Index 2026 →Active nomad-visa programs, retirement-visa thresholds, and a full bidirectional passport access matrix — each figure sourced to the issuing authority.
Income examples: €3,622.50/mo (Croatia), €3,680/mo (Portugal).
95 passports × 95 destinations — access level, stay duration, work rights.
Stay long enough and these put your worldwide income in scope — most lists ignore this.
Effective income tax + social contributions for 20 popular destinations at $50K / $100K / $200K — including the special regimes (Beckham, IFICI, NHR2) that change the math.
With the Foreign Tax Credit, many US expats cut their effective US rate below 5%.
Not 0% — US self-employment tax still applies.
Up to 48% nationally; plus surcharges (solidarity surtax: 2.5% from €80,000 and 5% above €250,000), 53% top marginal rate above €250,000. IFICI is a separate 20% regime for qualifying roles.
Salaries & income
Source: Median Salaries by Country 2026 →National median salary in USD — gross, after-tax net, and PPP-adjusted purchasing power — in a single comparable row.
Sourced from OECD, Eurostat, ILO and national statistical offices.
Digital infrastructure
Source: Digital Infrastructure & Reliability Index 2026 →Connectivity scored beyond headline speed — World Bank adoption indicators, plus a lived remote-work reliability layer (peak-hour video-call quality, power outages).
On World Bank internet-use and fixed-broadband adoption.
Whether video calls survive peak hours — not just advertised Mbps.
Using these numbers
All figures are drawn from WhereNext’s open datasets and licensed CC BY 4.0 — free to use in articles, reports and publications with attribution. Cite as: WhereNext, getwherenext.com/data/[dataset].