Phnom Penh 2026The independent atlas report on Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Phnom Penh in 200 numbers. Read this before you read anything else.

A tropical savanna city, 2,129,000 people across the metro, the city profile in one stat grid.

Phnom Penh scored 6.6 on the everycity index, placing it in the workable lower middle band of the global cohort of 5,000 cities. A single person spends $1,180 a month here including rent, groceries, transport and utilities. A working couple spends $1,840. Internet runs at a median 78 Mbps on residential fiber per OOKLA Speedtest readings from April 2026. The average reported salary, blended across sectors, is $580 a month before tax. The top marginal personal income tax rate is 20 percent on monthly income above 12,500,000 Cambodian riel ($3,100). Cambodia operates a dual currency system: the US dollar is accepted everywhere, the riel is used for small transactions, and most expat rent is quoted in USD. Safety reads 6.6 on a 0 to 10 scale, with the night safety subindex at 5.4, the female solo subindex at 6.2, and the family subindex at 7.0. The metro area holds 2,129,000 people and sits at 11.544873 degrees, 104.892167 degrees. The summer high lands at 34 Celsius, the cool season low at 22. The city averages 2,540 sunshine hours a year.

Compared with peer cities, Phnom Penh sits 28 percent below the Bangkok equivalent and 32 percent below the Ho Chi Minh City equivalent on monthly outlay. See Bangkok vs Phnom Penh for the head to head, and Ho Chi Minh City vs Phnom Penh for the second peer comparison. For broader context, the asia continent page ranks the region's top 25 cities. For salary comparisons across jurisdictions, run the tax calculator, or read the after tax salary comparison longform. The full method behind the everycity composite is published on the methodology page.

Risk, by the subindex.

No moral panic, no rose tint. Four subindices, all referenced to the National Police of Cambodia 2024 statistics and Numbeo's crowdsourced safety panel.

Phnom Penh's overall safety score lands at 6.6, which places it in the workable band on the everycity index. Violent crime against foreigners is rare; the dominant risk is petty theft, primarily phone snatching from scooters along Sisowath Quay, Street 51 and the BKK1 perimeter. The female solo subindex reads 6.2 and the night walk subindex reads 5.4. Family safety, weighted for primary school commute risk, sits at 7.0. The post pandemic 2024 to 2025 period saw a measurable uptick in scam compound related cybercrime concentrated in Sihanoukville, not Phnom Penh, but the secondary effect on foreigner trust in the country has been real. Health insurance for relocating expats typically runs $80 to $260 a month through SafetyWing, which the editorial team uses for Southeast Asia assignments.

The neighborhoods that draw the bulk of incident reports are the riverside tourist spine from Sisowath Quay to the Royal Palace, parts of Street 51 nightlife district. The areas that draw the fewest are BKK1 (the diplomatic and NGO residential cluster), Toul Kork (the upscale family quarter), and the new build districts north along National Road 5. A foreigner walking with a phone in hand along the riverside at 1 a.m. should not assume the BKK1 numbers apply; the 5.4 night subindex is the figure that matters. See Bangkok vs Phnom Penh for the regional safety read.

Who pays, and how much.

Salaries are gross monthly figures, blended from the National Institute of Statistics Cambodia Labour Force Survey 2024 and BongThom postings active in March 2026.

Largest employers and sectors in metro Phnom Penh

1. The garment, footwear and travel goods sector (factories employ 750,000 workers nationally, the largest concentration in and around Phnom Penh)
2. NagaWorld (the casino resort and largest single private employer)
3. ACLEDA Bank, Canadia Bank, ABA Bank (the leading commercial banks)
4. Smart Axiata and Cellcard (the leading telecom operators)
5. Royal University of Phnom Penh and the Ministry of Education
6. The international NGO and UN cluster (the second largest INGO concentration in mainland Southeast Asia after Bangkok)
7. Khmer Times and Phnom Penh Post English language media

The blended average salary in Phnom Penh runs $580 a month, gross of tax. A senior software developer earns $2,400 on local payroll, while a senior financial analyst commands $1,800. The single highest paid cohort is the international NGO and UN program manager band, where a P3 grade UN officer can clear $5,400 a month before allowances. The largest single employer is the garment sector (the country's largest export earner at $11.4 billion in 2024 per the Ministry of Commerce), but garment factory wages sit at the national legal minimum of $208 a month plus typical overtime. The top personal income tax rate is 20 percent. Expats moving regular income across borders typically use Wise at the daily mid market rate.

For an accurate after tax estimate, run the tax calculator. The lowest tax cities ranking places Phnom Penh in the global top 40 on personal income tax burden. For a peer set comparison, run Phnom Penh vs Bangkok and Phnom Penh vs Vientiane.

Seven quarters, one verdict each.

A working map of where to live in Phnom Penh in 2026, ordered loosely from highest cost to lowest commute.

The seven quarters above cover the spread of the rental market in Phnom Penh for a relocating professional. BKK1 is the highest priced and the default landing pad for short term assignment expats. Daun Penh is the cultural pick with the strongest walking radius. Toul Kork is the family pick with the best international school zone. Toul Tom Poung is the value pick for digital nomads, with a dense cluster of cafes, coworking and weekend markets. The full neighborhood by neighborhood walk through is in the Phnom Penh neighborhoods longform, scheduled for Q3 2026.

The Phnom Penh rental market is overwhelmingly fluid: most leases are 6 to 12 months, furnished serviced apartments are the default for the first year, and lease renewals are negotiable on price. Most landlords prefer USD rent payment. The neighborhood matcher tool will rank the seven against your weighted preferences: neighborhood matcher. For peer city neighborhood maps, see Bangkok vs Phnom Penh.

For the kids, and the postgrads.

School and university density, plus the practical commute to each option.

International schools

• International School of Phnom Penh (ISPP, IB, Tuol Kork)
• Northbridge International School Cambodia (Nord Anglia, IB)
• Canadian International School of Phnom Penh
• Lycee Francais Rene Descartes (the French curriculum flagship)
• iCAN British International School
• East West International School (American curriculum)

Universities

• Royal University of Phnom Penh (the largest public university)
• American University of Phnom Penh
• Pannasastra University of Cambodia
• Royal University of Law and Economics
• Institut de Technologie du Cambodge

Relocating families in Phnom Penh typically pick from the school cluster listed above. Tuition for the leading international schools runs $14,000 to $26,000 a year. ISPP is the most competitive entry on the local IB track. The combined family safety subindex of 7.0 on the everycity index should be read alongside the school commute when ranking neighborhoods.

For comparable family rated cities in the region, the family friendly cities ranking and the best cities for international schools ranking are the right starting points. The Cambodia country page covers the national education policy context.

What makes the city itself.

Food signatures, nightlife rating, and the cultural through line that separates Phnom Penh from its regional neighbors.

The food signatures of Phnom Penh start with the Khmer royal cuisine canon: amok trei (the fish curry steamed in banana leaf), kuy teav (the Cambodian rice noodle breakfast soup, the dish of choice between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m.), bai sach chrouk (the pork and rice breakfast), nom banh chok (the rice noodle salad with fermented fish gravy), lok lak (the marinated beef cube preparation), and the kampot pepper crab. The high end dining anchor is Malis (Luu Meng's flagship), the modernist Khmer benchmark is Embassy and Cuisine Wat Damnak (the latter often cited as the best restaurant in the country). For longer reads on the cuisine, the best food cities ranking places Phnom Penh in the Southeast Asia top 10 for value. Nightlife sits at a 6.4 rating on the everycity scale, with weeknight venue density highest along the Bassac Lane micro alley (the post 2014 cluster of small bars), the Riverside strip, and the Street 51 nightclub corridor.

The cultural calendar runs through the Khmer New Year (mid April, the city largely empties as residents return to provincial homes), Pchum Ben (the ancestors festival in September or October), the Water Festival (Bon Om Touk in November, the Tonle Sap reversal, the city's largest event), and the Cambodia International Film Festival. The Royal University of Fine Arts, Sa Sa Bassac, and the Cambodian Living Arts NGO anchor the contemporary arts ecosystem. The Cambodia cultural and creative industries policy is reviewed in detail on the Cambodia country page, and the asia continent page covers the broader pattern across the region. For peer city comparisons, see Phnom Penh vs Hanoi and the best nightlife cities ranking.

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