top 50 rankings for cost of living







Moscow is the world’s most expensive city for expatriates for the second consecutive year, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting. London is in second position, climbing three places since last year. Seoul moves down one place in the ranking to take third place, followed by Tokyo in fourth. Asuncion in Paraguay is the least expensive city for the fifth year running.




Mercer's annual Cost of Living Survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.* It is the world’s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees.

Top 50 rankings
Europe, Middle East, Africa: Europe dominated the top 50, placing 30 cities on the list and capturing six of spots in the top ten. Strong currencies helped push most European cities higher for 2007.



Africa placed five cities in the top 50, with Douala, Cameroon on top with a rank of 24. Four of the African cities climbed in the rankings while Lagos, Nigeria dropped from 31 to 37.



Four cities in the Middle East were in the top 50 for 2007, lead by Tel Aviv, Israel in 17th place. Istanbul, Turkey took the biggest drop in the top 50, from 15th to 38th.



Asia: Eight Asian cities were on the top 50 list, led by Seoul, Korea in third place. The biggest mover was Taipei, Taiwan which dropped from 28th to 48th.



Americas: Only two US cities made the list (New York City at 15th and Los Angeles at 42nd) thanks to the weak US dollar. No Canadian or Latin American cities were in the top 50.



Australasia: Sydney was the lone representative in the top 50, placing 19th.



* Note that the Cost of Living Indicies contained in our press release and this related article have been prepared specifically for our press release and article. The indicies are based on Mercer's cost of living database and are modified to include housing and to reflect constant weighting and basket items. The results may differ from those calculated for Mercer's clients who use the results solely for the purpose of expatriate compensation. We do not recommend that expatriates use these figures to compare their own compensation packages.





Mercer Human Resource Consulting

Cost of Living Survey - Worldwide Ranking 2007

(including housing)



Top 50



Base City: New York, USA (=100)

Rankings

Cost of Living index

March 2007


http://www.mercerhr.com/referencecontent.jhtml?idContent=1095320











1 MOSCOW

Russia

134.4



2 LONDON

United Kingdom

126.3



3 SEOUL

South Korea

122.4



4 TOKYO

Japan

122.1



5 HONG KONG

Hong Kong

119.4



6 COPENHAGEN

Denmark

110.2



7 GENEVA

Switzerland

109.8



8 OSAKA

Japan

108.4



9 ZURICH

Switzerland

107.6



10 OSLO

Norway

105.8



11 MILAN

Italy

104.4



12 ST. PETERSBURG

Russia

103



13 PARIS

France

101.4



14 SINGAPORE

Singapore

100.4



15 NEW YORK CITY, NY

United States

100



16 DUBLIN

Ireland

99.6



17 TEL AVIV

Israel

97.7



18 ROME

Italy

97.6



19 VIENNA

Austria

96.9



20 BEIJING

China

95.9



21 SYDNEY

Australia

94.9



22 HELSINKI

Finland

93.3



23 STOCKHOLM

Sweden

93.1



24 DOUALA

Cameroon

92.9



25 AMSTERDAM

Netherlands

92.2



26 MADRID

Spain

92.1



26 SHANGHAI

China

92.1



28 KIEV

Ukraine

91.4



29 ATHENS

Greece

90.6



30 ALMATY

Kazakhstan

89.6



31 BARCELONA

Spain

89.2



31 BRATISLAVA

Slovak Republic

89.2



33 DAKAR

Senegal

89



34 DUBAI

United Arab Emirates

88.8



35 ABIDJAN

Cote d'Ivoire

88.3



36 GLASGOW

United Kingdom

88.1



37 LAGOS

Nigeria

88



38 ISTANBUL

Turkey

87.7



39 MUNICH

Germany

87.6



40 FRANKFURT

Germany

87.4



41 BIRMINGHAM

United Kingdom

87.2


42 LOS ANGELES, CA

United States

87.1



43 LUXEMBOURG

Luxembourg

87



44 BRUSSELS

Belgium

86.5



45 ABU DHABI

United Arab Emirates

85.9



45 BERLIN

Germany

85.9



45 DUSSELDORF

Germany

85.9



48 TAIPEI

Taiwan

85.8



49 PRAGUE

Czech Republic

85.6



50 ALGIERS
Algeria

85.1

Surely, most have a high per capita income. Some (maybe the african ones) just have super-high inflation.

I don't know how some of the african cities are so high when such a huge percent of the population is in severe poverty.

You have to be pretty retarded to buy cofee for 3.14 £ and musical CD for 12.77 £ in Moscow, as this report states:lol:

These lists are BS. I was in Milan recently, and everything (other than petrol) is much cheaper than it is in NY. Also, a friend moved there from NY and confirmed that the prices for housing are much cheaper than in NY.

Average rents in NY, which are a big factor in this survey, are artificially low since more than half of the rents in NY are regulated by the government. Most people can't find regulated apartments, because people who have them stay for life, and their children often inherit the right to stay. By contrast, free market rents are exorbitant. The article states that in Moscow, "luxury" 2 bedrooms average $4,000 per month, but one would be hard pressed to find a non-regulated 2 bedroom in NY for $4,000 /mo., and it would be hardly luxurious for that price.

Moreover, the dollar's precipitous, short-term drop against most major currencies also distorts these surveys.

i buy pirate CD for 3 euro 10films and big bank of coffee for 6 euro - 100 cups ))) and i have't prablem

These lists are BS. I was in Milan recently, and everything (other than petrol) is much cheaper than it is in NY. Also, a friend moved there from NY and confirmed that the prices for housing are much cheaper than in NY.

Average rents in NY, which are a big factor in this survey, are artificially low since more than half of the rents in NY are regulated by the government. Most people can't find regulated apartments, because people who have them stay for life, and their children often inherit the right to stay. By contrast, free market rents are exorbitant. The article states that in Moscow, "luxury" 2 bedrooms average $4,000 per month, but one would be hard pressed to find a non-regulated 2 bedroom in NY for $4,000 /mo., and it would be hardly luxurious for that price.

Moreover, the dollar's precipitous, short-term drop against most major currencies also distorts these surveys.

True, i don't trust them either, in London a single day travel card ca easily go over £10, which is arond $19... Also a price for a single beroom flat is atlest £150 000...

True, i don't trust them either, in London a single day travel card ca easily go over £10, which is arond $19... Also a price for a single beroom flat is atlest £150 000...

The cost for a studio in London is probably a lot more than £150 000. At the current distorted exchange rates, that's $300,000, and average one room apartments in Manhattan cost more than double that.

I feel the living cost of hong kong is much cheaper than new york, I really don't know what criterias they use to conduct this research

It's possible the study looked at more of NYC than just Manhattan island.

:) look at more of New Territories of HK than just the Central

many stuffs in HK are much cheaper than other US cities, not just NYC

Amsterdam #25:banana: Amsterdam has grown 16 places.

The list is okay - but it'll never really tell the full story...

Sure you could spend millions here in Copenhagen ( 6th place on the list btw ) but you could just as well keep it under a grand...

I f.ex rent and my total monthly living expenses incl. food rarely excedes $1000 - so it certainly doesn't have to be expensive to live here..

These lists are always based on managers travelling to these cities or living in them as expatriots and their needs for flats and cars and restaurants etc is quite different than what the "true inhabitants" really pay. And McDonalds prices are not everything...

A 1 bed flat, with 3 rooms in total for living, in a deprived area of London (our block to be exact) sells for £340,000 ($670,000) as its only a km from the central zone. Anything actually within the central /congestion zone will be double, or triple that in the posh areas.

New CDs cost £15 but many big stores manage to cut them to £13. The cheapest meal out will be £6 no frills, a normal one about £15, no drinks or desserts. Rent costs about £200 a week for a one bed flat in the central zone.

Seems like Hamburg wasn't included at all in this research. Otherwise it would be ranked above Berlin.

And yes, this research regards only the needs of a "typical" manager lifestyle. Not representative for the whole population.

These lists are BS. I was in Milan recently, and everything (other than petrol) is much cheaper than it is in NY. Also, a friend moved there from NY and confirmed that the prices for housing are much cheaper than in NY.

Average rents in NY, which are a big factor in this survey, are artificially low since more than half of the rents in NY are regulated by the government. Most people can't find regulated apartments, because people who have them stay for life, and their children often inherit the right to stay. By contrast, free market rents are exorbitant. The article states that in Moscow, "luxury" 2 bedrooms average $4,000 per month, but one would be hard pressed to find a non-regulated 2 bedroom in NY for $4,000 /mo., and it would be hardly luxurious for that price.

Moreover, the dollar's precipitous, short-term drop against most major currencies also distorts these surveys.
I have been to New York a few times and I have found it cheaper than Milan, I mean Milan rents in downtown have gone up to the sky:

ONE YEAR RENT IN MILAN CITY CENTRE

EG: FROM 4 ROOMS *3 bedrooms and a living room (160 SQM 47,000 EURO PER YEAR = ABOUT 63,450 DOLLARS PER YEAR OR 5287 DOLLARS PER MONTH)

TO 4 ROOMS *3 bedrooms and a living room(180 SQM 70,000 EURO PER YEAR = ABOUT 94,500 US DOLLARS PER YEAR OR 7875 US DOLLARS PER MONTH)

Brera 4 LOCALI
€ 47.000 160

vai!
BRERA 4 LOCALI
€ 47.400 155

vai!
PORTA MAGENTA 4 LOCALI
€ 55.000 140

vai!
CENTRO STORICO 5 LOCALI
€ 55.000 200

vai!
Quadrilatero 4 LOCALI
€ 70.000 180


SOURCE: http://www.tecnocasa.it/commerciale/txtsearch/searchi.jsp?conf=rf&orig=SitoTecnocasa-Aff http://www.tecnocasa.it

ITALIAN NATIONAL MOST FAMOUS REAL ESTATE (but also international - Spain, Mexico, Hungary...

Here is another link on the topic......http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/15/pf/m...ion=2007061817

Seems like Hamburg wasn't included at all in this research. Otherwise it would be ranked above Berlin.

And yes, this research regards only the needs of a "typical" manager lifestyle. Not representative for the whole population.

Definately, I believe they did not take evrey major city into account.
HH ist allerdings viel teuerer als Berlin ;)

European1978
These prices are cheaper than in my building. ;)

Amsterdam #25:banana: Amsterdam has grown 16 places.

Uhmmm .. being the most expensive is not really a "contest" you want to win.
Generally these threads move in that direction however.. like it is an honour and status symbol to pay 10 bucks for a cup of coffee! LOL!

European1978
These prices are cheaper than in my building. ;):weird: we are not talking about a building but the average price of the flats in the cities. ...
Paris is cheaper than Milan which is not a bad thing ;)

Keep in mind that American cities fell against European cities because of the Euro and Pound as well. I think this is a measure of how an American would fare going to another city.

Say someone makes:

50,000 US Dollars

And another makes:

50,000 Euros

An American could spend 100 USD on a coffee table, but that exact same table would cost him 133 Euro if he went to Paris to purchase it based on the exchange rate.

Our cities fell to a degree and others rose just based on the weak dollar. That's taken into account before you even start mentioning how much you pay for certain items in Copenhagen or a cup of coffee in London.

It certainly doesn't explain everything, but I think that 33% loss we get on the Euro (which I HATE btw) is pretty major.

It would be much better to judge the cost of living, not just how expensive cities are to someone living in NYC

An American could spend 100 USD on a coffee table, but that exact same table would cost him 133 Euro if he went to Paris to purchase it based on the exchange rate. You lost me a bit here... $100 is €74.60 so why would it be €58 more in Paris?

I have been to New York a few times and I have found it cheaper than Milan, I mean Milan rents in downtown have gone up to the sky:

ONE YEAR RENT IN MILAN CITY CENTRE

EG: FROM 4 ROOMS *3 bedrooms and a living room (160 SQM 47,000 EURO PER YEAR = ABOUT 63,450 DOLLARS PER YEAR OR 5287 DOLLARS PER MONTH)

TO 4 ROOMS *3 bedrooms and a living room(180 SQM 70,000 EURO PER YEAR = ABOUT 94,500 US DOLLARS PER YEAR OR 7875 US DOLLARS PER MONTH)

Brera 4 LOCALI
€ 47.000 160

vai!
BRERA 4 LOCALI
€ 47.400 155

vai!
PORTA MAGENTA 4 LOCALI
€ 55.000 140

vai!
CENTRO STORICO 5 LOCALI
€ 55.000 200

vai!
Quadrilatero 4 LOCALI
€ 70.000 180


SOURCE: http://www.tecnocasa.it/commerciale/txtsearch/searchi.jsp?conf=rf&orig=SitoTecnocasa-Aff http://www.tecnocasa.it

ITALIAN NATIONAL MOST FAMOUS REAL ESTATE (but also international - Spain, Mexico, Hungary...

The cost of property in Milan is substantially less than in NY. Also, I found hotels and restaurants to cost considerably less.

I think this will greatly affect US tourism to Europe if it hasn't already. I've already scrapped a trip to Italy in favor of Argentina because of the exchange rate.

I think this will greatly affect US tourism to Europe if it hasn't already. I've already scrapped a trip to Italy in favor of Argentina because of the exchange rate.
And I thought americans have lots of money....

^^ Who said that?

New York continues to fall down the ranks thanks globally to the falling dollar, and be cheaper for foreign expatriates, but it still continues to be very expensive city for Americans to live in...

It's a lose-lose situation for us.

I think this will greatly affect US tourism to Europe if it hasn't already. I've already scrapped a trip to Italy in favor of Argentina because of the exchange rate.

I don't think so. Americans love visiting Europe. People will always go.

The cost of property in Milan is substantially less than in NY. Also, I found hotels and restaurants to cost considerably less.

I don't think so, if you compare Manhattan with the city of Milan it's about the same for property. Take clothes, Milan shops are much more expensive, not to mention that most of the shops are armani d&g gucci, versace prada diesel and so on in the city centre, (which are terribly expensive), I found Macy's or Bloomingsdale much cheaper than the Rinascente, Taxis in Milan are terribly expensive, public transport is as cheap as in nyc, and nyc taxis are much cheaper, eating out in milan can be very expensive and relative cheap in the subborn as in nyc. I know Nyc quite well to say so, moreover Mercer is not Italian, I think it's based in Nyc, you should write to them your issues, not to me, i know Milan but I live in Berlin ;)

That's stupid, most of Milan shop aren't d&g gucci, versace, prada, diesel... It is only in a small part of the center. :ohno:
Don't compare luxury shops but average shops for see wich city is more expensive.

That's stupid, most of Milan shop aren't d&g gucci, versace, prada, diesel... It is only in a small part of the center. :ohno:
Don't compare luxury shops but average shops for see wich city is more expensive.

lol

evidently you don't know Milan, the avarage price is definitely extremely high in Milan.

in each shops the prices are considerably high, definitely the highest in Italy, and not only in the Quadrilateral of Fashion.

I never said that the price in Milan are not high, I said that for said wich city is more expensive it is better to compare the price of the average shops.

Actually Paris is a businessmen and low workers city, wear shop are quite cheap.

yes, so actually I can't say that Milan is for a low worker wage.

the average prices in each shops, from food to clothes, it's high.

...and this for me SUCKS! :bash:

Minatoku, nihonjin wa desu ka? ou est-ce que tu est francais?

TohrAlkimista, don't worry about Minato-Ku. I don't believe he is French, he is even bashing Paris... Low worker city please... Minato-ku - Konnichiwa: nihongo wa dekimasu ka ? ? ? ;)

え... I am french. :D
Yes Paris is a low worker city. actually high jobs are actually located in the CBD, in the several business districts inside the city and in the suburbs (place like La Defense, Val de Seine...).

Tourists see only a small part of the city, when you go in the northerm districts and les halles, you see that Paris is not only a city for rich, even if now the apartements everywhere are expensive.

hmm.............i would have thought that san francisco would have been on that list.

Seems fishy. It's a bit suspicious that these researchers have no problem listing the subway prices for the other cities, but Moscow's 25-cent subway isn't included at all. I guess it's not expensive enough for them to list?

Mercer's surveys are geared towards expatriate compensation packages. I doubt expats would be taking subways every day. Perhaps a taxi or private driver would be more appropriate.

Mercer's surveys are geared towards expatriate compensation packages. I doubt expats would be taking subways every day. Perhaps a taxi or private driver would be more appropriate.

Exactly. So why did the survey include subway comparisions for all the other cities in the first place? Surely rich expats there wouldn't need to ride the tube either. Just doesn't make sense. It's as if the researchers were deliberately trying to make Moscow look as expensive as possible by finding the most expensive everything while omitting out cheap equations like their subway...

I feel the living cost of hong kong is much cheaper than new york, I really don't know what criterias they use to conduct this research

Maybe they took into account the cost of a flat. Once you own a flat yourself nothing is expensive anymore, but the flat bit is already quite a huge burden for many.

Exactly. So why did the survey include subway comparisions for all the other cities in the first place? Surely rich expats there wouldn't need to ride the tube either. Just doesn't make sense. It's as if the researchers were deliberately trying to make Moscow look as expensive as possible by finding the most expensive everything while omitting out cheap equations like their subway...


One trip to the Moscow underground costs 17 roubles (approximately 65 cents, not 25)

Maybe they took into account the cost of a flat. Once you own a flat yourself nothing is expensive anymore, but the flat bit is already quite a huge burden for many.

hmmm, I'm not sure, but cost of flat at NY is also very high, plus most hong kong people living in public housing, that means the private market is for those richer people, it makes sense that the cost of private housing is high in HK

One trip to the Moscow underground costs 17 roubles (approximately 65 cents, not 25)

That's still very cheap:)

That's still very cheap:)

yes? =)) I just corrected. It is good that cheaply.

It's as if the researchers were deliberately trying to make Moscow look as expensive as possible by finding the most expensive everything while omitting out cheap equations like their subway...
Exactly. Average CD in Moscow costs 5-8$, DVD - 10-20$, and people doing this report for some reason bought CD for 24$. Same with cofee or tea, in place where i usually eat, tea costs 0,8$ but they of course bought tea in a restaurant for stupid rich blondes for 6$

I'm from Madrid (26th position) and when I was in New York I didn't found it too much more expensive than Madrid. In fact, in a lot of things is even cheaper.

IN NYC I found really surprising the cost of the clothes, dunno, at the Nike Town the avarage prices was definitely lower than in Italy (and in the whole Eu, I guess), instead in other things such as restaurants, more expensive.

You lost me a bit here... $100 is €74.60 so why would it be €58 more in Paris?

I guess I didn't word that the best....

I mean if I have $100 and buy a coffee table in Chicago; I would have to spend $133 of my own money to buy the same table using the Euro. If we're using the theory from when the Euro was set up, 1 Euro is equal to 1 USD in any given Euro country and the US. Now that 1 Euro costs 1.33 USD, things are much more expensive for Americans when traveling to Europe.

When I use to get a beer for 3 Euro in Amsterdam in 2002, I knew I was spending 3 USD (since I always translate over into dollars how much of my money I'm actually spending). It was easy. Now I go over and know that the 3 Euro beer is actually costing me 4 USD when I get home and look how much money is gone from my checking account. I love how everything in Europe costs about as much as it does here (no need to calculate).....but you're just losing out on the exchange rate.

I have a few friends as well who ditched trips to Europe in favor of Buenos Aires. I also had a few friends bail on a trip to Italy with me as well, because they couldn't stand that 33% of the money spent on the trip vanishes into thin air without even realizing. I really hate knowing I take 150 Euro out of the ATM, spend roughly the equivilent of 150 USD on items, then I get home and my checking account is actually less by $200. Sigh.....

^ Yeah, the US economy have seen brighter days...

But on a plus side it makes travelling in the states very cheap ( for us :) )

wow, 3 asian cities in top 5..

Exchange rates have a lot to do with how rankings move over time : http://www.mercerhr.com/pressrelease/details.jhtml/dynamic/idContent/1268475;jsessionid=2XC3JK0XJK4TOCTGOUGCHPQKMZ0QUJLW

IN NYC I found really surprising the cost of the clothes, dunno, at the Nike Town the avarage prices was definitely lower than in Italy (and in the whole Eu, I guess), instead in other things such as restaurants, more expensive.

Yes. In fact, I though some of the clothing stores I visited were illegal or something weird :lol: Levis jeans very cheap everywhere... And computers, mobile phones, playstations, x-box, etc far cheaper than anywhere in Europe.

THIS IS FOR EXPATS

REPEAT AFTER ME

THIS IS FOR EXPATS
THIS IS FOR EXPATS
THIS IS FOR EXPATS

it DOES NOT reflect how the average people in a city live...

FOR EXAMPLE, an executive from New York is sent by his company to Beijing, he would like to maintain the same life style he had in NY, so he would want to buy a Mercedes E sedan, E sedan in China is at least 2 times more expensive than US, then he would want a house, good luck with that lol, most Chinese live in apartments, houses all cost more than millions in good areas. Then he would want to shop at those places where only foreigners go, eat at places that are frequented by other expats instead of food stalls by the side of street. This is how the costs add up. but average Beijingers dont need that much money to get by.

There is probably some faults with my specific examples though, I think cars and housing are all paid by company, but you get the point.

CIA and the U.S. Armed Forces, and Wall Street are included, too.
U.S.A had the history that sent CIA into all over the world.
They are watching the earth with Echelon and GPS, and they are forcing a rule convenient for U.S.. Aim of this investigation is it, too.

American tip is several billions of dollars in one year.
Is it considered? At this point in time, I understand that I cannot trust this investigation.

I am fairly sure that the Mercer studies have little or no influence on the compenstaion rates for US Government employees. What makes you want to introduce conspiracy theories?

Business expenses in the US include tips! :bash:

What is more to the point, however, Mercer does not publish the factors used in its Index and each company uses different weighting factors when they establish their individual compensation rates

Based on my personal experience, the cost of English language education was a major consideration when accepting oversea's assignments

oh boy, my parents are soon moving to seoul !!! damn !!!

^^ Oh no, no FIAT-s, LANCIA-s or ALFA ROMEO-s there. :D

:) look at more of New Territories of HK than just the Central

many stuffs in HK are much cheaper than other US cities, not just NYC

I've always said that the cheapest things in Hong Kong are cheaper than in the US/UK - for example transport, fast food etc, but the more luxurious or expensive things are at least as expensive, if not more than the likes of London and New York.

I've always said that the cheapest things in Hong Kong are cheaper than in the US/UK - for example transport, fast food etc, but the more luxurious or expensive things are at least as expensive, if not more than the likes of London and New York.

luxurious brand in HK is much cheaper since HK doesnt have sales tax, that's why HK is the shopping paradise in Asia

I was of course, referring to food, drink and living space.

luxurious brand in HK is much cheaper since HK doesnt have sales tax, that's why HK is the shopping paradise in Asia

I honestly haven't found much of a difference...

Yeah, and some of these cities are poor and most people have not even the money to buy food,... :ohno:

I think that believability of a purchasing power parity is low.
It is a funny thing that is based on NYC.:weird:

Quality of service is different greatly by a country.
For example, there is a custom of a tip in U.S.A., but Japan does not have it.
A tip of American one year reaches hundreds of billions of dollars.
At a point in time when a tip is not considered,:weird: this investigation is untrustworthy.

In Japan, there is very high quality service. For example, a taxi is an automatic door. Tea and a wet towel come out free if they enter a restaurant. A restroom is warm water type, too.
Even if a visitor does only cheap shopping, a salesclerk of a store does not look unpleasant.

Such service is not reflected to money.
Therefore, reliability is low in this investigation.


(Because rode an advertisement, and was deleted; once again.):lol:

^^ All these Mercer rankings are strange anyway,... :lol:

I don't know how some of the african cities are so high when such a huge percent of the population is in severe poverty.
Because it is cost estimated for expats, to maintain the same style of life as in mother country. If anything beyond what 99% of population is used to ( and inacceptable for expat ) require them to be as rich as remaining 1%, costs are exorbitant. This is partialy true for Moscow - less than 0.1% population, i guess, rent apts for $4K or more, as well as no expats used as reference live in state-owned social apts.

Exactly. So why did the survey include subway comparisions for all the other cities in the first place?

May be 10 persons per square metre in rush hour is too much for them. Even if they are used to drink tap water without boiling in London,i would not be surprised if somewhere else they even shave with bottled water only.