What the Cappuccino Index measures

A cappuccino costs 2 EUR in one city and 5 EUR in another, and the difference is mostly down to wages rather than coffee. So instead of a price, the index shows how many minutes someone on the local average net wage has to work to pay for one cup.

The formula

hours_per_month = 40 * 52 / 12            // 173.3
wage_per_minute = net_monthly_wage / hours_per_month / 60
minutes_per_cup = cappuccino_price / wage_per_minute

Price and wage come from the same city, in the same currency, so the exchange rate cancels out. The table lists each city in its own currency.

What goes in

• cappuccino_price: the average price of a regular-size cappuccino in the city, from crowdsourced café prices.
• net_monthly_wage: the average monthly net salary, after tax, for the same city.

What it leaves out

Cup sizes differ, and so does tipping. An average wage also hides a lot: a student or a pensioner will feel the price very differently. Treat the index as a rough comparison, not a cost-of-living measure.