Post MBA Destination is an important criterion for many MBA Applicants, especially for applicants from emerging markets who look at Europe and US as potential job markets after MBA. Unfortunately, with the current economic climate in Europe, only schools with Global reputation and a pro-active career service team have successfully guided students in local job markets.
To help MBA Aspirants pick the best MBA destination based on cost of living and purchasing power, we have summarized the data from Numbeo (World’s largest database of user-contributed data with information about the cost of living and other social indicators).
We have shortlisted 14 MBA Destinations based on the number of Business Schools and mid to senior level Management positions available in these countries. From the Numbeo database, we shortlisted four factors that determine the cost of living, and the purchasing power in these countries.
The Consumer Price Index, Rent Index, Groceries Index, and Restaurants Index contribute towards the Cost of Living. Each index shows the relative price of these countries compared to New York City, which is regarded as one of the costliest Cities in the world.
For Example, a Rent Index of 31, means that the cost of renting an apartment is only 31% of the cost of renting similar apartments in New York. Likewise, other Cost of Living indices are compared.
The Purchasing power Index shows the relative purchasing capability in a Country. For example, a purchasing power index of 43 means that the inhabitants of the Country can afford to buy 57% less typical goods and services than New York City residents with an average salary. There is however an exception when you evaluate purchasing power in emerging markets. The average salary difference between an average citizen in the Country and someone in a management position is much higher in these regions.
Now let us look at each Cost of Living indices and compare Post MBA Destinations.
Here is the summary of all the indices
About the Author
I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.
For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.
My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.
I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.
The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.
Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.