The aim of this study is to discover whether or not the cost of living differs significantly within Portugal. There are several methodologies that allow the comparison of costs of living among different countries. In this article, some of the most common methodologies are applied in order to compare the costs of living of Portuguese regions. We considered the regions NUTSII (Norte, Centro, Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, Alentejo, Algarve, Região Autónoma dos Açores and Região Autónoma na Madeira) in the years 1994 to 1997. Independently of the method used, Lisboa e Vale do Tejo is the ‘most expensive’ region throughout the period considered, followed by Madeira. However, the differences observed between the Portuguese regions are not very significant.

Keywords: regional comparisons, cost of living indexes, purchasing power parities.