List of most expensive cities for expatriate employees

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These are lists of the world's most expensive cities, according to the Mercer Human Resource Consulting [1] and Economist Intelligence Unit [2] cost-of-living surveys. Other surveys, such as [3] are not covered by this article. Various factors enter into a city's cost-of-living for expatriate employees, such as monetary value, consumer confidence, investment, interest rates, exchange rates of the country's currency, and housing costs.

This list does not account for cost-of-living savings accrued to local citizens through government-subsidized housing, health care, and education, differences in taxation, and many other factors irrelevant to expatriates. Cost of living may be much higher for expatriates than for local residents in a developing country, especially if expatriates expect a standard of living similar to a developed country.

Mercer surveys

Surveys are taken in March of each year.

2009	City	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002
1	Tokyo, Japan	2	4	3	1	1	1	3
2	Osaka, Japan	11	8	6	2	4	3	6
3	Moscow, Russia	1	1	1	4	3	2	2
4	Geneva, Switzerland	8	7	7	6	6	6	28
5	Hong Kong	6	5	4	9	5	4	1
6	Zürich, Switzerland	9	9	9	7	9	9	32
7	Copenhagen, Denmark	7	6	8	8	8	15	62
8	New York City, United States	22	15	10	13	12	10	7
9	Beijing, People's Republic of China	20	20	14	19	11	5	4
10	Singapore	13	14	17	34	46	32	24
11	Milan, Italy	10	11	13	11	13	17	63
12	Shanghai, People's Republic of China	24	26	20	30	16	11	5
13	Paris, France	12	13	16	12	17	23	74
14	Oslo, Norway	4	10	10	10	15	13	40
15	Caracas, Venezuela	89	129	136	138	134	128	55
16	London, United Kingdom	3	2	5	3	2	7	10
17	Tel Aviv, Israel	14	17	24	39	33	40	37
18	Rome, Italy	16	18	21	17	21	41	99
19	Helsinki, Finland	21	22	25	20	23	36	79
20	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	52	34	25	73	83	63	45
21	Vienna, Austria	19	19	21	16	19	34	77
22	Shenzhen, People's Republic of China	61	53	44	63	30	18	13
23	Los Angeles, United States	55	42	29	44	27	22	19
24	Guangzhou, People's Republic of China	24	68	54	65	32	18	11
25	Dublin, Ireland	16	16	18	13	14	21	73
26	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	65	45	30	64	62	39	27
27	Douala, Cameroon	17	24	27	22	25	31	65
28	Athens, Greece	25	29	56	41	50	71	111
29	Amsterdam, The Netherlands	25	25	41	24	26	52	102
30	Bratislava, Slovakia	45	31	49	31	44	56	—
31	White Plains, United States	89	70	43	45	52	20	16
32	Lagos, Nigeria	30	37	31	96	111	90	—
33	Tehran, Iran	74	118	125	129	122	111	—
34	Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire	51	35	45	26	24	35	72
35	Dakar, Senegal	41	33	45	36	47	56	—
36	San Francisco, United States	78	54	34	50	38	30	21
37	Madrid, Spain	28	26	53	46	61	86	117
38	Luxembourg, Luxembourg	43	43	56	33	39	66	—
39	Barcelona, Spain	31	31	56	43	56	81	—
40	Algiers, Algeria	57	50	51	58	60	72	—
41	Honolulu, United States	77	64	67	61	57	32	23
42	Brussels, Belgium	39	44	70	41	53	68	112
43	Beirut, Lebanon	80	63	32	52	37	25	18
44	Almaty, Kazakhstan	44	30	52	75	74	72	—
45	Miami, United States	75	51	39	57	55	27	25
46	St. Petersburg, Russia	18	12	12	15	10	12	8
47	Munich, Germany	37	39	65	37	43	62	—
48	Frankfurt, Germany	40	40	61	34	42	65	—
49	Berlin, Germany	38	45	72	38	28	58	104
50	Chicago, United States	84	58	38	52	35	25	20
51	Seoul, South Korea	5	3	2	5	7	8	9
52	Istanbul, Turkey	23	38	15	22	18	42	44
53	Amman, Jordan	88	77	62	67	63	46	30
54	Düsseldorf, Germany	46	45	62	32	40	63	—
55	Riga, Latvia	46	72	81	54	48	27	22
56	Hamburg, Germany	50	57	77	49	58	83	—
57	Cairo, Egypt	101	93	93	97	99	102	51
58	Hanoi, Vietnam	91	56	32	50	29	14	11
59	Zagreb, Croatia	49	59	79	48	59	75	—
60	Boston, United States	99	79	84	79	70	54	—
61	Taipei, Republic of China	63	48	28	29	31	29	15
62	Lyon, France	57	71	91	61	69	89	—
63	Houston, United States	98	83	76	70	73	46	36
64	Lisbon, Portugal	57	73	88	66	71	94	118
65	New Delhi, India	55	68	73	110	116	109	91
66	Sydney, Australia	15	21	19	20	20	67	95
67	Mumbai, India	48	52	68	105	109	114	92
68	Washington, D.C., United States	107	85	83	78	68	51	41
69	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	100	60	37	56	36	16	14
70	Prague, Czech Republic	29	49	50	28	49	49	75
71	San Juan, Puerto Rico	104	75	35	42	65	43	35
72	São Paulo, Brazil	25	62	34	119	128	136	—
73	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	31	64	40	124	131	137	—
74	Tallinn, Estonia	76	90	96	60	75	60	—
75	Atlanta, United States	109	87	86	83	85	61	—
76	Morristown, United States	111	87	84	80	72	53	—
77	Kuwait City, Kuwait	94	80	78	72	64	43	32
78	Limassol, Cyprus	68	74	118	100	95	106	—
79	Stockholm, Sweden	31	23	36	18	22	48	94
80	Casablanca, Morocco	81	80	88	59	66	69	—
81	Kiev, Ukraine	42	28	21	54	54	24	17
82	Manama, Bahrain	112	91	87	86	78	43	32
83	Vilnius, Lithuania	85	97	116	91	91	85	—
84	Seattle, United States	113	102	102	103	90	80	—
85	Toronto, Canada	54	82	47	82	89	104	104
86	Tianjin, People's Republic of China	123	130	128	131	115	101	—
87	Denver, United States	115	115	97	94	100	69	—
88	Nairobi, Kenya	103	102	107	119	121	105	—
89	Calgary, Canada	66	92	71	98	114	116	—
90	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	119	110	98	88	77	50	31
90	Ljubljana, Slovenia	82	93	106	76	82	100	—
92	Panama City, Panama	124	124	121	114	106	91	—
92	Melbourne, Australia	36	74	74	68	67	111	127
94	Vancouver, Canada	64	89	56	87	96	110	—
95	Accra, Ghana	96	76	75	91	97	98	—
96	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	106	106	114	117	104	97	—
97	Cleveland, United States	129	118	110	109	98	87	—
98	Bangkok, Thailand	105	95	127	125	119	125	—
99	St. Louis, United States	120	115	103	102	92	82	—
100	Blantyre, Malawi	125	127	129	130	135	140	141
101	Leipzig, Germany	95	107	123	85	93	106	—
101	Sofia, Bulgaria	97	108	111	81	79	83	—
103	Montreal, Canada	72	98	80	107	113	120	—
104	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	137	132	126	99	142	122	—
105	Lusaka, Zambia	101	101	41	123	125	129	—
106	Jakarta, Indonesia	82	55	48	71	45	38	53
107	Bucharest, Romania	71	78	114	103	129	122	—
108	Budapest, Hungary	61	65	65	24	34	37	75
109	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	126	113	100	89	81	58	—
110	Dhaka, Bangladesh	132	125	131	127	117	94	—
111	Portland, United States	128	123	111	112	105	92	—
112	Buenos Aires, Argentina	138	139	142	142	141	141	133
113	Warsaw, Poland	35	67	62	27	76	54	—
114	Detroit, United States	127	118	122	101	101	79	—
115	Colombo, Sri Lanka	130	130	132	132	127	118	—
116	Brisbane, Australia	57	86	99	84	87	121	—
117	Perth, Australia	53	84	93	93	94	126	137
118	Pittsburgh, United States	133	128	113	111	112	88	—
119	Guatemala City, Guatemala	122	107	93	108	108	98	—
120	Bogotá, Colombia	87	112	130	133	139	142	—
121	Ottawa, Canada	85	109	90	122	124	127	—
122	Lima, Peru	115	117	118	118	118	108	—
123	Kingston, Jamaica	120	121	109	105	103	77	—
124	Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei	114	114	118	113	110	103	—
125	Birmingham, United Kingdom	66	41	69	47	51	76	89
126	Manila, Philippines	110	137	141	143	138	135	—
127	Winston-Salem, United States	115	126	124	119	107	93	—
128	Santiago, Chile	92	102	91	128	123	134	—
129	Glasgow, United Kingdom	69	36	60	40	41	74	80
130	Adelaide, Australia	73	96	108	89	88	124	—
131	Montevideo, Uruguay	136	140	138	140	143	139	—
132	San José, Costa Rica	139	138	134	135	130	113	—
133	Bangalore, India	118	134	139	141	137	138	139
134	Tunis, Tunisia	133	135	133	126	120	119	—
135	Chennai (Madras), India	117	133	137	138	133	132	135
136	Quito, Ecuador	142	141	135	137	136	131	—
137	Mexico City, Mexico	108	104	81	95	84	77	28
138	Auckland, New Zealand	78	99	100	69	80	115	140
139	Wellington, New Zealand	93	111	105	76	86	117	142
140	Karachi, Pakistan	141	142	140	136	132	130	—
141	Asunción, Paraguay	143	143	144	144	144	144	143
142	Monterrey, Mexico	131	122	103	115	102	96	38
143	Johannesburg, South Africa	140	136	117	116	126	133	144
-	Harare, Zimbabwe	—	143	134	140	143	26	—

(survey does not include Harare anymore because of severe economic crisis in Zimbabwe)

Three most expensive cities by region (as of July 2009)

North America

Rank	City	Ranking
1	New York City	▲ 8
2	Los Angeles	▲ 23
3	White Plains	▲ 31

Latin America

Rank	City	Ranking
1	Caracas	▲ 15
2	San Juan	▲ 71
3	São Paulo	▼ 72

Europe

Rank	City	Ranking
1	Moscow	▼ 3
2	Geneva	▲ 4
3	Zürich	▲ 6

Western Asia

Rank	City	Ranking
1	Tel Aviv	▼ 17
2	Dubai	▲ 20
3	Abu Dhabi	▲ 26

Northern Africa

Rank	City	Ranking
1	Algiers	▲ 40
2	Cairo	▲ 57
3	Casablanca	▲ 80

Sub-Saharan Africa

Rank	City	Ranking
1	Douala	▼ 27
2	Lagos	▼ 32
3	Abidjan	▲ 34

East Asia

Rank	City	Ranking
1	Tokyo	▲ 1
2	Osaka	▲ 2
3	Hong Kong	▲ 5

South-East Asia

Rank	City	Ranking
1	Singapore	▲ 10
2	Hanoi	▲ 58
3	Ho Chi Minh City	▲ 69

South Asia

Rank	City	Ranking
1	New Delhi	▼ 65
2	Mumbai	▼ 67
3	Dhaka	▲ 110

Oceania

Rank	City	Ranking
1	Sydney	▼ 66
2	Melbourne	▼ 92
3	Brisbane	▼ 116

^[1]

Economist Intelligence Unit surveys

The top 50 expensive cities according to surveys of 130 cities released in January 2005, 2006 and 2007 by The Economist Group^[2]. The price of housing, generally the largest cost of living, is not included as this tends to be provided by the company and does not factor in adjusting the salary of the expatriate employee.

2007	Index[3]	City	2006	2005
1	132	Oslo, Norway	1	3
2	130	Paris, France	4	4
3	126	Copenhagen, Denmark	6	5
4	125	London, United Kingdom	7	6
5	124	Tokyo, Japan	2	1
6	118	Osaka, Japan	4	2
6	118	Reykjavik, Iceland	3	8
6	118	Zürich, Switzerland	8	6
9	116	Frankfurt, Germany	12
9	116	Helsinki, Finland	10	10
11	115	Seoul, South Korea	13
12	112	Geneva, Switzerland	9	8
12	112	Vienna, Austria	11
14	108	Milan, Italy	16
14	108	Singapore, Singapore	24
16	107	Hong Kong	14
16	107	Munich, Germany	14
18	106	Berlin, Germany	19
18	106	Sydney, Australia	16
20	104	Brussels, Belgium	21
20	104	Dublin, Ireland	16	21
20	104	Nouméa, New Caledonia	n/a
20	104	Stockholm, Sweden	21
24	103	Melbourne, Australia	19
25	102	Lyon, France	24
26	101	Amsterdam, Netherlands	23
26	101	Moscow, Russia	29
28	100	New York, United States	27	23
29	99	Düsseldorf, Germany	27
29	99	Manchester, United Kingdom	26
31	98	Barcelona, Spain	35
31	98	Rome, Italy	31
33	97	Madrid, Spain	35
34	96	Hamburg, Germany	32
34	96	Vancouver, Canada	43
36	95	Chicago, United States	35
36	95	Luxembourg, Luxembourg	40
36	95	Montreal, Canada	43
39	94	Los Angeles, United States	35
40	93	Perth, Australia	35
41	92	Brisbane, Australia	32
41	92	San Francisco, United States	40
43	90	Toronto, Canada	47
44	89	Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire	40
44	89	St Petersburg, Russia	52
44	89	Washington, DC, United States	46
47	88	Adelaide, Australia	45
47	88	Houston, United States	48
47	88	Tel Aviv, Israel	52
50	87	Auckland, New Zealand	29
51	86	Wellington, New Zealand	32

Sources

• Vadgama's Dictionary of Interesting Facts
• The Mercer 2009 Cost of Living Survey [4]
• Finfacts Ireland [5]
• BBC News article referring to the survey [6]
• MCMXCIII News article about the survey [7]
• CNNMoney.com article about the survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit [8]
• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) [9]
• Global/Worldwide Cost of Living [10]