Cost of Living in Surat, India

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How Much Does It Cost to Live In Surat?

Surat is a city in the Indian state of Gujarat that is nowadays known as a center for diamond cutting and polishing.

This city is, as many say, a peaceful and calm business hub.

It is the eighth largest city and ninth largest urban agglomeration in India, but even so, it’s not the least bit more expensive than other cities in India.

Your monthly expenses in Surat depend on your personal income and daily requirements and on the area where you’ll be renting a living room or an apartment.

RESTAURANTS

If you are a foodie than you will surely enjoy living in Surat, the Indian city best known for its excellent and cheap food. Street food of Surat is best than in any other city in India: there are so many great places where you can try variety of local cuisine: locha, dhokla ,khaman and all this for very low prices: a decent meal in an inexpensive restaurant costs only about 3$.

MARKETS

Naturally, grocery shopping is always a better choice if you’re the type of tourist that likes to cook, both because of your health and because it’s way cheaper. You can cut half (or even more) the meal budget. In Surat, it’s a shame not to try some of their meals outside, but groceries and cooking are a valid option.

TRANSPORTATION

Traffic jams are very rare in Surat and happen only at a couple of places when under construction. Public transport is well organized and buses connect most parts of the city, so you don’t even need an auto rickshaw to commute. While working great, public transport is also cheap, with a monthly pass costing only around 7$.

UTILITIES (MONTHLY)

When it comes to monthly prices of utilities, the cheapest one is definitely the price of one minute of mobile phone services, though the internet isn’t expensive either, costing only 13$ a month. Monthly price of basic utilities, including electricity, heating, cooling and water for a normal-sized apartment, amounts to around 35$.

SPORTS & LEISURE

You won’t need to cash out huge amounts of money to spend quality leisure time (or fitness time) in Surat. You can go to a movie for a fairly low price, and if you’re into sports – pay a monthly fee for a fitness club, which is around 15$. Of course, an hour of renting a tennis court remains a bit expensive, yet cheaper than in other cities of India.

CLOTHING & SHOES

Being a textile hub, Surat will offer you a wide range of clothing, accessories and household item brands in the malls. It boasts over 10 shopping malls, where the prices are extremely low! Here, you can buy a pair of quality jeans for about 25$, as well as other types of light clothing like shirts and dresses in known chain stores like Zara or H&M for 28$. Sneakers and shoes of known brands like Nike remain more expensive, costing around 45$.

RENT PER MONTH

When it comes to renting an apartment, it does depend on the neighborhood where you want to rent, though prices of rent in Surat are extremely low. If you’ve got your mind set on the city center, expect the apartment to cost somewhere around 80$. However, keep in mind that there are many charming little apartments just a bit further from the center that will save you a bunch of money – they cost around 60$ per month.

Cost of Living Averages Table for Surat

How Does the Average Person Spend Their Money in Surat?

As expected and seen in other Indian cities so far, the biggest bulk of money in Surat is spent by its citizens in markets and supermarkets – where people spend on food for a living.

The second place in the pie chart of money spending in Surat goes to expenses of transportation. Though people of India use transportation virtually for everything, it is still surprising that transportation is such an important part of their everyday life.

Transportation is followed by restaurants and rent – because you’ve gotta live somewhere, right?

As in other Indian cities, more money is spent on sports and leisure than on shopping for clothes.

Average Costs Breakdown

Surat: Average Salary, Minimum Wage & Mortgages

With a relatively low minimum wage of around 130$, all the necessary costs for a normal life in Surat can hardly be covered.

Even though the average salary is higher, it is still hard to make ends meet for citizens of Surat.

If you’re planning on visiting Surat for a longer amount of time, count on cashing out at least 500$ a month so that you could live in normal conditions.

The average salary in Surat is about 400$ which makes it possible for the citizens to cover the rent expenses, bills, utilities, food and clothing.

For tourists, Surat will be a very pleasant surprise, however, due to its low prices in comparison to the western countries.

Surat Safety Overview

READ THE FULL REPORT: Surat Safety Review

Safety Index:

80

• OVERALL RISK: LOW
• TRANSPORT & TAXIS RISK: MEDIUM
• PICKPOCKETS RISK: MEDIUM
• NATURAL DISASTERS RISK: MEDIUM
• MUGGING RISK: LOW
• TERRORISM RISK: MEDIUM
• SCAMS RISK: LOW
• WOMEN TRAVELERS RISK: LOW

Cost of Living by City in Surat