Is Manila one of the most affordable cities in the world for youth?

MANILA, Philippines – Which city is the most affordable for young people to live in?

Paris topped the list in Canada-based Decode’s Youthful Cities Affordability Index, which ranks 25 of the world’s biggest cities on 9 factors such as minimum wage, transportation, housing, taxes, eggs and burgers.

The survey defined youth as those between 15-29 years old.

“We know affordability is the top priority for young people. And the results of this index prove the important role that a fair minimum wage plays in a city’s overall affordability. Paris, the most affordable city, sits in the top spot largely because of its high base wage. In fact, each of the top five cities in this Index have seen minimum wage become a hot button political issue recently. But a fair minimum wage is just one way municipal governments can make cities more affordable for the important youth demographic,” Decode said.

Toronto ranked second in the index, followed by Los Angeles.

Among Asian countries, Tokyo and Seoul ranked 9th and 11th respectively.

Manila landed in the bottom of the list, ranking 21st out of 25 cities. However, Manila finished second in the environmental sustainability category.

“Category wise, Seoul and Manila occupy the two top spots in environmental sustainability, Mumbai finishes first in financial access and second in education access, Tokyo scores highest in economic access and Seoul tops food and nightlife. Given its makeup of ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ cities, the Asian region has high scoring representation in all categories, with entrepreneurship being the only category without an Asian city in the top ten,” the report said.

Manila also finished 11th overall in the “Play” theme, but ranked last in youth employment.

In terms of minimum wage, Paris had the biggest among the 25 countries with $12.84 per hour, followed by Berlin with $11.86 and Rome with $11.20.

Manila ranked 19th with $1.12 per hour. The minimum wage was based on US dollar rates between 2012-2013.

Here’s the list of Top 25 Youthful Cities:

1. Paris, France
2. Toronto, Canada
3. Los Angeles, US
4. Chicago, US
5. Berlin, Germany
6. Dallas, US
7. Rome, Italy
8. New York City
9. Tokyo, Japan
10. London, United Kingdom
11. Seoul, South Korea
12. Buenos Aires, Argentina 
13. Istanbul, Turkey
14. Cairo, Egypt 
15. Johannesburg, South Africa
16. Bogota, Colombia 
17. Lima, Peru
18. Mumbai, India 
19. Lagos, Nigeria
20. Sao Paulo, Brazil 
21. Manila, Philippines 
22. Shanghai, China 
23. Mexico City, Mexico 
24. Nairobi, Kenya 
25. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

This story first appeared on ABS-CBNnews.com.



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on