Chattogram, a city reportBangladesh · population 8.10 million · index 5.1 of 10

Chattogram in 200 words.

Chattogram scored 5.1 on the everycity index in 2026, the result of the principal port city of Bangladesh, the country's second largest urban area and its industrial and shipping spine carrying its own version of the country baseline. The headline numbers: rent on a one bedroom in the central districts runs 38,000 taka (350 dollars), the monthly all in cost lands at 620 dollars for a single resident, the income tax position is 30 percent on income above 1.65 million taka at the top marginal band with the lower entry at 5 percent on the first 350,000 taka above the personal allowance, and the safety score is 6.4 on the same 10 point scale we apply to Dhaka, London, and New York.

The case for Chattogram, in shortest form, lives in the South Asia oriented professional or family with a port industry, freight, garment, or shipping role who wants the lowest cost of living among the major Bangladeshi cities, English as a working language in the professional register, and a tax structure that runs 15 to 20 points below the OECD averages. The full numbers and the case against run by category through the rest of this report. If you want the comparison view instead, start with Chattogram vs Dhaka or Chattogram vs Mumbai, then return here for the deep read.

The data feeding this report comes from our methodology page, with primary sources at the bottom. Numbers are May 2026 unless stated otherwise. Currency is the taka with USD conversion in parentheses where useful. The 2026 update reflects post 2024 tax and visa changes where relevant; the next refresh ships in August 2026.

One reading note. This is the long form report. If you only want the headline numbers, the city score generator returns the index figure with custom weights in 30 seconds. If you want a country level overview, Bangladesh places Chattogram on the national table. For the regional view, Asia places Chattogram on the regional table alongside Dhaka, Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangkok. The cross references run thick deliberately; jump to the section that matches the question you came with.

For new readers: this report sits inside Volume 04 of the everycity atlas, our 2026 issue. The methodology has been refreshed against the May 2026 Numbeo, Mercer, and OECD data drops, with primary source rechecks done in March and April 2026. Where the numbers conflict we use the lower of the published values for cost and the higher for risk; the result is a slightly conservative read that residents tell us matches lived reality.

A 10 point read on streets, day and night.

Chattogram scored 6.4 overall. The breakdown matters more than the headline.

Compared with the rest of the index, Chattogram ranks against Tokyo at 9.6, Singapore at 9.5, London at 7.4, and Berlin at 8.0 on the same scale. The safest cities ranking places those four at the top of the global table; the position of Chattogram on the table reflects the specific mix of property crime, violent crime, traffic safety, and emergency response that the four scores above capture.

Practical notes for new residents: violent crime is the lower probability event in most cities at scale; property crime, traffic incidents, and the specific risks of the Chattogram street pattern matter more for the daily resident. Carry an international policy from SafetyWing or Cigna Global for the first six months while your local cover gets sorted. The full safety methodology is on our methodology page. The solo female safety ranking and the family safety ranking show how Chattogram compares on those axes specifically.

The four categories that make up the overall safety score are: violent crime rate per 100,000, property crime rate per 100,000, traffic fatality rate per 100,000, and emergency response time in minutes. The composite weighting and the underlying data sources are documented in the methodology page; primary inputs include EIU Safe Cities, Numbeo crime indices, WHO traffic data, and the national statistics office for Bangladesh where the local data is available at the city level.

Who pays, and how much the tax takes back.

Salary medians are May 2026, sourced from Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, the Bangladesh national statistics office, and OECD wage data. Tax figures are from the official revenue authority.

The major employers in Chattogram are: the Chittagong Port Authority (one of the busiest container ports in South Asia), the Chittagong Export Processing Zone factories (ready made garment, leather, footwear), Eastern Refinery, KSRM Steel, BSRM Steel, the Standard Chartered and HSBC regional offices, the Chittagong University and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology satellite, Square Pharmaceuticals, and the international freight forwarders clustered in Agrabad. The full take home math is sensitive to deductions, social security contributions, and any expatriate concessions. The tax calculator tool is the cleanest way to run the numbers on a real offer. For benchmarking against other cities, the highest paying cities ranking and the Chattogram vs Dhaka comparison cover the major destinations on the same chart.

Note on tax: the headline top rate of 30 percent on income above 1.65 million taka applies above the threshold; lower bands kick in earlier. Social security and health insurance contributions are typically additional to the headline income tax rate. Read the Bangladesh tax guide 2026 before you assume the headline rate is the take home rate; for most relocating professionals the effective rate runs 6 to 12 points below the marginal top depending on deductions and credits.

Working culture in Chattogram is its own variable. The standard hours, the holiday calendar, and the negotiating norms shape the offer math more than any spreadsheet captures. The Chattogram working culture guide covers the specifics. The shorter version: read the relocation checklist for the items the recruiters skip, and negotiate the contract before signing.

Career mobility for the relocated worker varies sharply by sector, by language fluency, and by visa class in Chattogram. The cities for tech jobs ranking and the highest paying cities ranking track the patterns across the 100 cities in the index. The visa to citizenship guide covers the long term pathways for Bangladesh.

One more lens. The dual income household question. The spouse work right depends on the visa class in Chattogram; some routes attach automatic work rights to the dependent permit, others do not. The spouse visa guide covers the 30 most common destination cities, including Chattogram, and identifies the regimes worth optimizing the primary visa about.

Where to actually live.

Eight neighborhoods, each with the rent number and a one line verdict.

The neighborhood scores feed our neighborhood matcher tool, which takes your lifestyle inputs and returns the right area within Chattogram on a 1 to 10 fit. For comparable neighborhood guides in other cities, see London neighborhoods, Tokyo neighborhoods, and Paris neighborhoods.

For long term rentals beyond the first month, residents use the local property portals and the local language listing networks for fast moving units. Bring the documentation that the Bangladesh system requires (typically a residence registration, an employment contract, and three months of bank statements). The relocation checklist covers the documentation pattern by destination city, and the Chattogram rental process guide walks the local steps.

Two neighborhood rules of thumb the data supports. First, the second ring out from the geographic center is almost always the best value: cheap enough to feel like a discount, central enough to feel central by transit. Second, the neighborhood directly adjacent to the most expensive one tends to gentrify next; the residents who buy in early capture the upside. Track those two rules across the eight Chattogram neighborhoods above and you can usually pick the right one in fifteen minutes.

Schools, if you have kids.

The international school option, the local school option, and the cost of each.

Chittagong Grammar School, the International School Chittagong, and the British International School Chattogram are the established international options in Chattogram, with bilingual private streams filling the broader demand. Local public schools rank against the regional OECD PISA median; the bilingual streams at certain Chattogram public elementary schools are oversubscribed. International school tuition runs 320,000 taka to 1,180,000 taka a year per child plus enrollment fees.

The family rating for Chattogram weights school quality, park access, safety, healthcare, and the cost of a three bedroom flat. See the best cities for families ranking for the full table. The relocating with kids guide covers the school admissions calendar by country, which in Bangladesh typically opens months ahead of enrollment. Plan two to three application cycles ahead.

Beyond school, the family experience in Chattogram is shaped by what is free. Public parks, public libraries, public swimming pools, and free or low cost cultural admission are the four amenities that change a family budget the most. Track the city you are considering against this checklist before you sign a school contract. The family budget guide models the realistic monthly all in figure for a family of four across 30 destination cities including Chattogram, and Babbel remains the cleanest entry point for the parent who wants a working level of the local language inside six months.

For the working couple, daycare and after school care are the line items that change the dual income math. The Chattogram childcare guide works through the application timeline and the wait list pattern. Most popular daycare networks in major cities have wait lists of 6 to 18 months; plan accordingly.

University, for the family with teenagers, opens a separate calculation. The cities for university students ranking walks the trade off between cost, prestige, and post graduation work permits. The Bangladesh post study work pathway is a key variable for families using Chattogram as a long term base; the visa guide covers the rules.

What makes Chattogram itself.

The food signatures, the nightlife rating, the cultural calendar.

Food in Chattogram: mezbani beef (the slow cooked communal dish the city is named for in the regional palate), kala bhuna mutton, the seafood pipeline through the Karnaphuli river mouth, Chittagong style biryani with the local mustard heat, and the breakfast paratha and bhaji stalls that anchor every neighborhood. the GEC Circle for the late dining, the Agrabad hotel lounges for the formal scene, and the Khulshi expat hosts for the private circuit anchor the late hours. The nightlife scores 4.2 on the 10 point scale; the methodology weights bar density, late hour transport, and the diversity of the scene. The best cities for nightlife ranking places Chattogram in context against Berlin, London, and Bangkok.

Cultural temperament in Chattogram carries the South Asian port city temperament shaped by 800 years of trade, the Arakanese and Mughal overlay, and the post 1971 national identity. For day to day cultural input, the Chattogram cultural calendar tracks the festivals, museum exhibitions, and gigs worth a flight. Tour bookings for first time visitors and friends arriving for a long weekend run cleanest through GetYourGuide; the local operators mostly resell the same stock at a markup.

Two underrated reads on cultural fit: how late the city eats, and how quietly it complains. The Chattogram dining rhythm runs on the local clock. The cities for foodies ranking lists the food capitals on a single chart. For complaint culture, the local social media and the local press tell you what residents fight about; the Chattogram resident grievances roundup reads them so you do not have to.