“Live Below Your Means”: Mzansi Debate How Much Income Is Needed To Live Comfortably in Cape Town

• A Facebook post cracked open South Africa’s most uncomfortable truth and exposed how rising costs are pushing everyday earners out of Cape Town
• South Africans shared the realities of surviving rent shocks, food inflation, comfort and financial stress in the country’s most expensive city
• The debate revealed how Cape Town’s beauty hides deep inequality and the daily struggles faced by families and young professionals

A Facebook question dropped on 10 February 2026 and cracked open one of Mzansi’s most uncomfortable conversations about how much money is really to live comfortably in the Mother City.

Jaden Hoedemaker, a Cape Town resident, asked his Facebook friends about living a non-luxurious life. This follows Cape Town being crowned South Africa’s most expensive city. Independent cost-of-living trackers, including Numbeo and PayScale, show that rent, groceries and transport costs in the city have surged far beyond inflation.

Housing market data also reveals that rental prices have jumped by over 40% in five years, driven by limited housing supply and rising tourism demand. A basic one-bedroom apartment near the city centre now costs between R10,000 and R15,000 a month.

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Two-bedroom flats often exceed R18,000. In lifestyle suburbs, R22,000 is no longer a shocking figure. Even outer areas that were once considered affordable are becoming unreachable for average earners.

Survival vs comfort in the Mother City

Food inflation has also pushed monthly household baskets to between R4,500 and R7,500 for small families. Transport costs have also risen, especially for residents commuting long distances from the Cape Flats and the northern suburbs.

Electricity hikes, water tariffs, school fees, and medical expenses add to the squeeze. For many, payday feels like a brief pause before another financial storm.

See the Facebook video below:

Mzansi answers the question

Heather Smythe-Kensley commented:

“Robbing banks as a career will help you enjoy life in Cape Town.”

Baulah Arries-Kahindo wrote:

“ You can earn less than 30k and still enjoy life in Cape Town, but not a luxury life.”

Donovan Sissing said:

“You must earn a very good salary as a person who has recently relocated to Cape Town to make it a permanent residence for themselves to work & stay. As time goes on, you can work yourself up and increase your salary, and at a later stage, you can afford to have a bigger apartment if you prefer being still on your own. “

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Quinton Patterson highlighted:

“Work for yourself & make sure you don't live above your means. Make well & informed, calculated decisions. What you put in is what you will get out. Learn to take risks, as if you don't try, you will never know the outcome.”

Richard Sprout commented

“No less than R80,000. I have been here for 18 months, and I realised that rent is three times more than in Pretoria. If you have a family, it is even more. Unless you live in a rural area.”

More articles about cost of living in Cape Town

• A viral video has reignited debates about affordability and the city’s ongoing housing challenges.
• A Cape Town property listing has sparked confusion after a three-bedroom house was advertised for R5,000.
• A Cape Town entrepreneur completely demolished and rebuilt his late mother's dilapidated home in Mqekezweni, Eastern Cape.

Source: Briefly News