The cost of living in Istanbul is breaking record after record

The Istanbul Planning Agency (IPA) has published its cost of living report for April 2025. Accordingly, the average cost of living for a family of four in Istanbul has risen to 90,032 TL. This figure represents an increase of 2.9 percent compared to the previous month and 51.7 percent compared to the same month last year.

EDUCATION EXPENSES AT THE PEAK

The report reveals that basic expenditure items in Istanbul are examined under 9 main categories: education, housing, personal care-cleaning and health, restaurants and patisseries, public transport and fuel, food, clothing and accessories, communication, electronics, and stationery.

Among these categories, the highest annual increase rate was recorded in education expenses at 125 percent. Education expenses were followed by housing expenses with an 81.3 percent increase and personal care, cleaning, and health items with 51.2 percent.

HOUSING AND COMMUNICATION STOOD OUT MONTHLY

When looking at monthly price changes, the most notable increase occurred in communication expenses at 7.9 percent. Housing expenses took second place with a 7.6 percent increase. These two categories were the areas where the fastest cost increases occurred in Istanbul.

THERE ARE ALSO AREAS WITH DECREASES

Increases did not occur in every area. Clothing and accessory expenses fell by 2.6 percent compared to the previous month, and public transport and fuel expenses fell by 1.9 percent. However, when looking at annual data, it was observed that these categories experienced increases of 19.3 percent and 41.7 percent, respectively.

News Source: 12punto