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Home » News » The 10 Most Expensive Cities in the World
NewsTravel

The 10 Most Expensive Cities in the World

Matthew Klint Posted onMarch 19, 2018November 14, 2023 6 Comments

a city skyline with a statue of a lion and a fountain

What are the 10 most expensive cities in the world to live in?

The Economist compiles an annual report each year and is out with its 2018 list. This list is formulated based upon a number of factors, including pricing on real estate and rent, transportation, food, alcohol, healthcare, and other staple items. This is NOT a “qualify of life” assessment, merely a cost assessment.

Let’s start with the list:

10. Sydney, Australia

9. Tel Aviv, Israel

8. Copenhagen, Denmark

7. Seoul, South Korea

6. Geneva, Switzerland

5. Oslo, Norway

4. Hong Kong, SAR

3. Zurich, Switzerland

2. Paris, France

1. Singapore, Singapore

NOTES

  • Singapore remains the world’s most expensive city (five consecutive years). While that may seem odd to visitors (since food and transportation is so cheap), it is the most expensive place in the world to buy and operate a car and buy clothes
  • In Seoul, a basket of groceries is 50% more expensive than in New York City
  • Tel Aviv is rising due to the soaring costs of real estate and transportation
  • New York City was #9 last year, but no U.S. cities are currently on the list due to weakening U.S. dollar
  • No Japanese cities are on the list (Tokyo was #1 every year until 2013) due to lack of inflation in Japan.

As an aside, there may be no hope for my collection of Uzbeki Som:

Tashkent in Uzbekistan, which experienced the sharpest decline in the cost of living ranking in the past 12 months, fell by 35 places to 112th position. The reason for this drastic decline was an almost 50% depreciation in the value of the national currency, the som, after it was allowed to float freely in early September 2017.

You can view the full report here (.pdf). Registration may be required.

Tomorrow: the 10 cheapest cities in the world.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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6 Comments

  1. SINJIm Reply
    March 19, 2018 at 10:27 am

    Learn it. Know it. Live it.

    Greetings from Singapore…

  2. henry LAX Reply
    March 19, 2018 at 10:45 am

    you mean to “float” freely ?

    • Matthew Reply
      March 19, 2018 at 10:50 am

      Correct. Thanks!

  3. Mitch Cumstein Reply
    March 19, 2018 at 12:23 pm

    Why is this list including car ownership? I thought most Sing residents didn’t own one.

    • Matt Reply
      March 19, 2018 at 5:08 pm

      A lot don’t because it is so prohibitively expensive. Over 100% import tax + $50k for license/registration every 7 years, I believe. Makes a base Camry cost significantly more than most luxury cars in the US.

      But, a decent number of them do own cars, so it should be included.

  4. Zee Reply
    March 20, 2018 at 1:23 am

    Of course you would expect Damascus and Caracas to be the cheapest cities to live in now, if you ignore the accessibility to goods.

    Meanwhile, I am surprised that Lagos is on the bottom 10 list, and Luanda is not even making the top 10.

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