Numbeo’s Quality of Life Index reveals that Cape Town continues to lead South Africa as the city offering the best quality of life in 2025.
This comprehensive index evaluates cities based on critical factors, including purchasing power, pollution, housing affordability, safety, healthcare quality, cost of living, commute times, and climate conditions. A higher score indicates better living conditions, providing a comparative framework for assessing global and regional standards.
Cape Town – 160.2 (quality of life index)
Pretoria – 157.9
Durban – 149.0
Johannesburg – 141.8
Cape Town maintains its reputation as the “Mother City,” offering a high quality of life despite its relatively higher cost of living compared to other South African cities.
While Cape Town leads in overall quality of life, its cost of living remains significantly higher than Pretoria’s, particularly in housing and dining expenses:
Cost of Living (excluding rent): Cape Town is 0.1% higher than Pretoria.
Cost of Living (including rent): Cape Town is 15.7% higher than Pretoria.
Rent Prices: Cape Town is 76.5% higher than Pretoria.
Restaurant Prices: Cape Town is 12.2% higher than Pretoria.
Grocery Prices: Cape Town is 0.9% higher than Pretoria.
Local Purchasing Power: Cape Town’s is 23.9% lower than Pretoria’s.
Buying a property in Cape Town carries a hefty price tag compared to Pretoria with prices per square metre ranging between 79% and 145% more in the Western Province city.
The average net salary after tax in Pretoria is R30,243 with Cape Town jobs paying slightly less at R26.632.
