The most expensive cities in the world in 2019. A full list of the most expensive cities can be found here.
Each year sees the release of several different surveys and reports ranking the most expensive cities in the world – and they’re not always in agreement. Different surveys take different factors into account. But the same cities tend to pop up on most lists, providing a fairly definitive picture of those with the highest cost of living.
Western European cities dominated the annual list of the most expensive cities, compiled by The Economist’s Intelligence Unit (the research and analysis division of The Economist Group). The study compares the prices across 160 products — such as food, clothing, rent, and utilities — to measure the cost of living in 133 cities.
Singapore took the top spot for the fifth year in a row (ouch). New York and Los Angeles are the only North American cities in the top 10, with the NY rising six spots to joint seventh place, a position it shares with Denmark's Copenhagen. Los Angeles followed behind at No. 10 ( LA is also the second dirtiest city in the United States after New York).
France's capital city, which has been one of the top 10 since 2003, moved up this year, while last year's fourth most expensive city, Hong Kong, jumped up three positions, leading to a tie at the top for the first time.
Over in Europe, Swiss cities Zurich and Geneva, coming in at fourth and joint fifth respectively, had the highest costs when it came to household, personal care, recreation, and entertainment expenses.
Read on for the full list, and decide for yourself if the rent is too dang high or if the views are too dang good.
1. Singapore
Population: 5,791,901
Median home price: U.S. $16,412 per square meter
Average monthly rental price: U.S. $1,974 for a two-bedroom apartment
Average salary: U.S. $49,714
This city-state is notoriously expensive, but it makes sense with a bit more perspective. Singapore has one of the best health care systems in the world, reliable public transport, and more than 80% of Singaporeans live in comfortable, subsidized living spaces that defy our stereotypes around public housing.
2. Paris, France
Population: 2,241,346
Median home price: U.S. $10,574 per square meter
Average monthly rental price: U.S. $1,526 for a two-bedroom apartment
Average salary: U.S. $55,908
The Worldwide Cost of Living Survey found Paris to be the world’s second most expensive city, and the most expensive city in the European Union. Analysts say the majority of purchases and services, including entertainment, clothing and groceries, are more expensive in Paris than in any other EU city, with a couple of exceptions: tobacco and wine.
3. Hong Kong, China
Population: 7,428,887
Median home price: U.S. $29,203 per square meter
Average monthly rental price: U.S. $3,737 for a two-bedroom apartment
Average salary: U.S. $47,742
Hong Kong topped the Mercer Cost of Living Survey, which is designed to show the cost of living for expatriates and takes into consideration housing as well as a 200-strong “international basket of goods and services,” including clothing, food, transportation and entertainment.
Hong Kong, which also came fourth in the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, is particularly expensive when it comes to housing, ranking as the least affordable city for housing in the world for eight years running, according to the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey.
4. Zurich, Switzerland
Population: 402,762
Median home price: U.S. $13,036 per square meter
Average monthly rental price: U.S. $2,330 for a three-bedroom apartment
Average salary: U.S. $103.298
This city repeatedly wins big when it comes to cities with the highest quality of life, so you get what you pay for.
Both the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey and the Mercer Cost of the Living survey found Zurich to be the world’s third most expensive city. And other surveys rank this Swiss city even higher for overall costs of living, such as the UBS Price and Earnings Survey 2018, which measures how much people earn and how much the items in their average shopping basket cost, relative to New York City.
5. Geneva, Switzerland
Population: 198,979
Median home price: U.S. $338,100
Average monthly rental price: U.S. $2,001 for a three-bedroom apartment
Average salary: U.S. $100,881
Another costly Swiss city is Geneva, which came 5 in the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey. Despite ranking as more affordable overall than Zurich in this survey, the USB Price and Earnings Survey 2018 found that Geneva is more expensive when it comes to food, with a European family of three paying an average $705.80 a month for food, compared to $629.30 in Zurich. Housing is also an average of $240 more expensive per month in Geneva than Zurich.
6. Seoul, South Korea
Population: 10,290,000
Median home price: U.S. $13,529 per square meter
Average monthly rental price: U.S. $1,908 for a three-bedroom apartment
Average salary: U.S. $48,639
According to analysts, the South Korean capital is particularly expensive for buying everyday food items, clothes and apparel – around 50 percent pricier than in New York City. Seoul’s high prices may be due to the strength of the won (the South Korean currency) and high tariffs on imports.
7. Copenhagen, Denmark
Population: 1,260,000
Median home price: U.S. $6,952 per square meter
Average monthly rental price: U.S. $1,848 for a two-bedroom apartment
Average salary: U.S. $87,950
Ranking eighth on the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, the Danish capital city Copenhagen has a reputation for expensive clothes, personal grooming, beer and even soda – in 2017, two liters of Coca-Cola was 141 percent more expensive in Copenhagen than in New York City.
8. New York, USA
Population: 8,398,748
Median home price: U.S. $671,400
Average monthly rental price: U.S. $1,400 per month for a one-bedroom apartment
Average salary: U.S. $57,782
New York City leads the pack as the most expensive city in the United States; the city, with a population exceeding 8.3 million, also tops lists of the world’s most expensive cities. The cost of living in New York is a whopping 120% higher than the national average. The average cost of homes in New York is about $501,000, compared to the national average price, which hovers around $181,000; home prices range across the five boroughs, with home prices in Manhattan exceeding $1 million. Everything costs more in New York City, from groceries to public transportation. At approximately 4.1%, as of May 2019, the city’s unemployment rate is lower than the national average of 4.3%, further encouraging people the world over to pin their hopes and dreams on making it in New York.
9. Tel Aviv, Israel
Population: 432,892
Median home price: U.S. $610,053
Average monthly rental price: U.S. $1,526
Average salary: U.S. $40,026
The appreciation of Israel’s currency, the shekel, has pushed up consumer expenses on everything from food and drink to rent, utilities and education, leading to Tel Aviv’s ninth place spot on the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey.
It’s particularly expensive to buy, insure and maintain a car in this coastal tech hub – in fact, it costs 79 percent more to own a car there than in New York City, despite the average U.S. income being more than double that in Israel. Alcohol is also pricey in Tel Aviv, with a bottle of table wine costing an average of $28.77, more than any other city in the world.
10. Los Angeles, USA
Population: 3,792,621
Median home price: U.S. $470,000
Average monthly rental price: U.S. $2,100 per month for a one-bedroom apartment
Average salary: U.S. $70,303
Los Angeles brings to mind wealthy, glamorous movie stars, but the movie industry plays a small role in the city’s booming economy. The city's shipping industry also plays a role, as the Port of Los Angeles is one of the busiest ports in the world. A bustling manufacturing sector and a noteworthy start-up scene contribute to the city’s high cost of living. Certain ZIP codes, such as the much-ballyhooed 90210, drive up housing costs; the average home value in Los Angeles is $470,000. The median household income is around $49,745. It takes approximately $74,371 per year to live well in Los Angeles, and more than 20% of the city’s residents live in poverty.
