Which is the most expensive city in the world?

Answer 1

the most expensive city in the world is London and second is New York

Answer 2

The BBC ran an article on this a few weeks before Christmas. It is now, officially, Oslo. The previously most expensive city was Tokyo.

All those saying it is NYC are talking through their pockets and not with the facts. These are the official ratings/positions:

Rank (last year) City
1 (3) Oslo, Norway
2 (1) Tokyo, Japan
3 (8) Osaka/Kobe, Japan
4 (2) Reykjavik, Iceland
4 (4) Paris, France
6 (5) Copenhagen, Denmark
7 (7) London, UK
8 (6) Zurich, Switzerland
9 (8) Geneva, Switzerland
10 (10) Helsinki, Finland

Source: Economic Intelligence Unit

New York (27th), Chicago (joint 35th), Los Angeles (joint 35th) and San Francisco (40th)

Answer 3

For 2006:
World's most expensive cities---
1. Moscow ,Russia
2. Seoul ,South Korea
3. Tokyo ,Japan
4. Hong Kong , China
5. London ,UK
6. Osaka ,JApan
7. Geneva ,Switzerland
8. Copenhagen ,Denmark
9. Zurich
10. Oslo, New York (tied)


Top ten for 2005
1 Tokyo, Japan
2 Osaka, Japan
3 London, United Kingdom
4 Moscow, Russia
5 Seoul, South Korea
6 Geneva, Switzerland
7 Zurich, Switzerland
8 Copenhagen, Denmark
9 Hong Kong, China
10 Oslo, Norway

Answer 4

Moscow was recently identified as the most expensive city in the world

Answer 5

Any city where a person doesn't manage their money well will be an expensive city to live in.

Where a person lives is all relative. If you live in a more expensive city...generally the salaries are higher there.

Answer 6

London is the most expensive city in the world
while Swiss cities are home to highest earners
A report by UBS
UBS survey: Most expensive cities (Intro) | Most expensive cities (table) | Richest cities |
Mercer survey: Most expensive cities
EIU survey: Most expensive cities


The world's most expensive cities in 2006
Life is expensive in London, New York and Oslo
Oslo, London and Copenhagen are the three most expensive cities in our comparison of living costs in 71 metropolises. Including rent, which makes up around a fourth (housing and energy costs) of living expenses in a Western European household, London and New York are the most expensive places to live by a wide margin. It’s no wonder that their residents often tolerate extreme commutes in order to find affordable housing. The cheapest cities we examined in our basket of 95 goods and 27 services – around a third less than the Western European average – were in Africa and Eastern Europe.

Prices vary within city limits as well
How is it possible that Hong Kong has slipped to the median price range in three years? And also the two other Chinese cities – Shanghai and Beijing – are no higher in the rankings than three years ago, either, despite the country’s impressive economic growth. One reason for this is certainly that China won’t subject its own currency to free market forces, since a revaluation of the renminbi could have a negative affect on the competitiveness of its export industry. Yet the price data from Hong Kong and Shanghai also show that the price of food, services and household goods can vary widely within city limits. Prices may differ depending on the part of town, but also on the person who collects the data. An Asian economics student “saved” around 10 per cent compared to our local employees, and even more compared to European expatriates working in Hong Kong. There is more than one price level – this applies to most cities. Our shopping basket reflects the average consumption patterns of a average family living in the West. The effective cost of living in one city may vary considerable depending on the area, lifestyle or life cycle. (Report by USB)

Rank Cities Index
(incl rents)
1 London 105.5
2 New York 100.0
3 Oslo 94.6
4 Tokyo 93.4
5 Zurich 87.3
6 Copenhagen 86.3
7 Geneva 85.8
8 Dublin 84.3
9 Chicago 82.2
10 Los Angeles 80.6
11 Paris 78.1
12 Helsinki 77.3
13 Luxembourg 76.6
14 Stockholm 75.8
15 Vienna 74.0
16 Seoul 73.9
17 Amsterdam 73.0
18 Hong Kong 73.0
19 Toronto 71.4
20 Munich 71.2
21 Montreal 71.2
22 Miami 70.5
23 Frankfurt 69.3
24 Sydney 69.0
25 Brussels 68.5
26 Milan 68.5
27 Rome 67.6
28 Madrid 66.2
29 Nicosia 66.2
30 Dubai 66.1
31 Lyon 66.0
32 Barcelona 65.6
33 Berlin 64.4
34 Singapore 62.9
35 Lisbon 62.1
36 Istanbul 61.6
37 Mexico 60.7
38 Auckland 60.6
39 Athens 57.4
40 Taipei 57.2
41 Moscow 56.8
42 Tel Aviv 55.2
43 Rio de Janeiro 55.1
44 Manama 54.8
45 Santiago de Chile 54.3
46 Sao Paulo 53.6
47 Caracas 52.8
48 Warsaw 49.5
49 Ljubljana 48.7
50 Tallinn 48.6
51 Johannesburg 47.2
52 Budapest 46.7
53 Jakarta 44.4
54 Bucharest 43.3
55 Prague 42.6
56 Bogotá 42.3
57 Buenos 41.9
58 Mumbai 41.5
59 Bangkok 41.0
60 Kiev 40.6
61 Riga 40.2
62 Sofia 40.0
63 Nairobi 39.7
64 Bratislava 39.6
65 Beijing 39.6
66 Shanghai 39.3
67 Vilnius 37.7
68 Lima 35.9
69 Manila 35.2
70 Delhi 34.6
71 Kuala Lumpur 28.2

Methodology: The cost of a weighted shopping basket geared to Western european consumer habits, containing 122 goods and services. New York = 100.

Answer 7

As of February 1, 2006, Oslo, Norway took over the Number 1 spot from now second-place Tokyo

Answer 8

My 2 cents:

Without a standardized method to measure the cost of living in these cities, does it surprise anyone that different cities rank in different spots on different surveys???
There are so many factors to consider: real estate, education, entertainment/dining out, groceries, taxes, parking, utilities, health care, currency variations, etc, and different weightings to apply to all of these factors, in addition to salary, with different sample sizes, rejection methods, etc
My guesstimate is that there is no absolute answer to this question.

Answer 9

New York City...in my experience. EVERYTHING there costs twice as much as it does anywhere else. Usually getting cheaper according to radial distance from NYC.

Answer 10

Venice, Italy, a cup of coffee about £5 each