₹85,000 needed just for survival? IITian's viral post on cost of living in Delhi-NCR shocks netizens

A viral post by an IIT PhD scholar on X claiming that a couple needs nearly ₹85,000-95,000 a month to survive in Delhi-NCR has triggered a wider debate on whether India’s urban middle class is being priced out of metro life.

Mishra Dev, an IIT scholar, wrote on X that even a “bare minimum” lifestyle for a couple in NCR now costs between ₹85,000 and Rs 95,000 a month. “Cost of living in NCR is insane,” he wrote, questioning how households earning Rs 50,000-60,000 manage daily expenses in cities such as Gurugram, Noida and Delhi. 

Cost of living in NCR is insane. I am not able to crunch numbers how a couple can live within 50-60k a month. How people who are not making 1lakh/month are able to meet the expenses. I am kind of a minimalist and cost of living a bare minimum life is 85-95k each month for two.

The discussion started after the scholar wrote on X that basic monthly expenses in NCR, including rent, groceries, transport, healthcare and utilities, have become unaffordable for many salaried families.

A user said,” I live in Delhi, my Monthly expenditure is around 70k. And that's because I live in a flat bought by my father, my needs are few. 70K consist of the expenditure of me, m wife and my 11-year-old kid. Its going to rise off course”

Another user said, “Felt the same when we visited Noida. May be, we were taken to properties which were too expensive. We have seen properties where 2Br Flat is 45k-50k per month plus maintenance and another one which was 3Br at 75k per month with 15k Maintenance.”

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According to the Delhi government’s “Price Indices 2024-25” report, inflation in the Delhi region continued to rise across key consumer categories, with housing costs remaining a major contributor. The report noted that the Repeat House Rent Survey tracks regular increases in rental prices and housing-related expenses in Delhi and nearby urban centres. 

The same report showed that Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded a consumer inflation rate of 3.8% in 2024, while Faridabad saw inflation at 4.8%, among the highest in the NCR region. 

Industry reports suggest the rental market has become even tighter. According to a Savills India market report, average rental values in Delhi-NCR rose 6% year-on-year in the first half of 2025, while the Noida Expressway micro-market witnessed rental growth of nearly 19%. At the same time, office leasing and corporate expansion across NCR continue to attract more professionals into the region. Savills India reported that Delhi-NCR recorded 6.8 million square feet of office absorption in the first half of 2025, with Gurugram and Noida leading demand. 

The real estate boom has also pushed up residential property prices sharply. A report cited by NAREDCO showed that Delhi-NCR recorded a 49% jump in property prices in 2025, the steepest increase among major Indian cities.