Accra Cost of Living 2026

Accra scores 34/100 on the Anchor Cost Index, making it an affordable city by global standards. It ranks #101 of 160 cities worldwide — more expensive than 37% of the cities in our dataset — and #2 of 18 in Africa.

The headline numbers: a one-bedroom apartment averages $525/month, a Big Mac costs $4.50, a 5 km Uber ride is $2.50, and a Starbucks latte runs $2.00. Together these anchor prices place Accra below the global midpoint for day-to-day living costs.

Depending on lifestyle, a single person needs between $1,081 and $1,489 per month in Accra. A backpacker staying in hostels and eating locally gets by on about $1,081, a digital nomad with coliving and coworking spends around $1,109, and an expat professional living centrally should plan for $1,489. A small family of three needs roughly $1,956/month.

For the typical digital nomad budget, housing absorbs about 41% ($450) and food about 38% ($425), with transport, utilities and entertainment making up the rest. That means the fastest way to cut costs in Accra is on accommodation — the other categories offer far less room to economize.

Rent in Accra is estimated at about $700/month in the city center and $350 outside it — a modeled split based on typical center/periphery gaps in this market rather than two independently observed figures, so treat the 100% gap as directional.

Short-term flexibility costs extra: a monthly Airbnb runs about $900, 29% more than a long-term central lease, while coliving spaces average $450/month and bundle utilities and community in.

The average after-tax salary in Accra is about $675/month. Median rent consumes roughly 78% of that — far above the 30% affordability guideline, making local salaries a poor match for housing costs. Food costs absorb a further 22% of an average salary. This is why Accra tends to feel more affordable to remote workers earning foreign salaries than to locals.

Based on our derived metrics, Accra is a workable, if not standout, base for remote work (nomad score 60/100), with coworking memberships at about $110/month. For households, family relocation is well supported (family score 70/100) — budget around $6,000/year for an international school. Use the comparison tool to weigh Accra directly against the cities on your shortlist.