The World’s Most Costly Cities
Based on a survey of 144 cities worldwide, Tokyo is the world’s costliest city. These rankings are based on a comparison of the costs of more than 200 items including housing, public and private transport, food, clothing and entertainment. In terms of U.S. cities, New York is the only one in the top 25, coming in at #13. Looking for a cheap place to live? Try Paraguay — the city of Asuncion ranked as the cheapest in the survey. Not interested in moving so far from home? Then try Ottawa, which is the cheapest North American city on the list at #122 (this isn’t say that it’s truly the cheapest in North America, just the cheapest one on the list). Read on for the top 25.
The world’s costliest 25 cities (with last year’s ranking in parentheses):
1. Tokyo, Japan (1)
2. Osaka, Japan (4)
3. London, Britain (2)
4. Moscow, Russia (3)
5. Seoul, South Korea (7)
6. Geneva, Switzerland (6)
7. Zurich, Switzerland (9)
8. Copenhagen, Denmark (8)
9. Hong Kong, Hong Kong (5)
10. Oslo, Norway (15)
11. Milan, Italy (14)
12. Paris, France (17)
13. New York City, United States (12)
14. Dublin, Ireland (14)
15. St. Petersburg, Russia (10)
16. Vienna, Austria (19)
17. Rome, Italy (21)
18. Stockholm, Sweden (22)
19. Beijing, China (11)
20. Sydney, Australia (20)
21. Helsinki, Finland (23)
22. Douala, Cameroon (25)
23. Istanbul, Turkey (18)
24/25. Amsterdam, Netherlands (26)/Budapest, Hungary (34) (tie)
Published on June 21st, 2005 - 10 Comments
Filed under: Real Estate
email this article
- bookmark it
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» One Year Ago This Week (June 18th – June 24th)» America’s Cleanest (and Dirtiest) Cities
» From the Archives (June 17th – June 23rd)
» From the Archives (June 8th – July 5th)
» One Year Ago This Week (January 14th – January 20th)
» From the Archives (January 13th – January 19th)
» Daytime Population Fluctuations
» Americans Moving Back Into the City
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
Great deals...
Readers’ choice...
Recent articles...
- Effect of Foreclosure, Short Sale, and Bankruptcy on Your Credit Score
- DIY Garage Kayak Racks: Fast, Frugal, and Effective
- Lending Club $25 Bonus Reminder
- Coupons are a Waste?
- How to Save Money on Pet Care
- Best HSA Custodian?
- Considering a High Deductible Health Plan
- Pay Back the Homebuyer Tax Credit?
- How to Find a Good Deal
- How Much Does Your Debt Cost?
Recent comments...
- iris bobi: I went to contract 4-2009 and going to close on my house either December...
- Tim Rosen: Pros and Cons: Pros: a.) A systematic discipline to save/invest on a regular basis, for a...
- Matt Jabs: @Tim: Thanks, I hope this article helps get even one person on the...
- Tim Rosen: Excellent Matt! A very practical, real-world plan that I believe anyone can "flesh out"....
- Jerry Robertson: Your article has great information about the large companies going out of business, but...
- laura: I have a foreclosure on my credit from Jan 2007 and my FICO score...
- nickel: Ron: Good question, and I have no idea as to the answer. It could...
- Christina: While foreclosures wreck less havoc on the score than a bankruptcy (according to your...
Most talked about...
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
- Tax Stimulus Rebate Payments to Start Early
- Pay Off Mortgage Early? Or Invest?
- The Best Online Savings Accounts (Updated!)
- Life's Too Short to Drink Cheap Beer
- $7500 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
Stumble It!
Digg It!
Tip It!
del.ico.us
Facebook
I’m surprised not to see several cities in California listed here. Seems like a fix-me-upper starter home in a bad neighborhood in any CA city goes for $850,000 these days.
Comment by FMF — Jun 21st 2005 @ 7:47 amMe too. But they factored in a lot more than the cost of buying a house when they made this list. If I’m not mistaken, the second most expensive US city was LA.
Very interesting post about cities.
Comment by Automatt — Jun 22nd 2005 @ 1:28 amWhat about Boston?
Comment by Brian — Jun 23rd 2005 @ 12:29 amBasement sturio 429,000.00?
Brian: They based their calculations on a lot more than home price. But that *is* an awful lot of money for a basement studio.
Tokyo is expensive if you want to live in the same way you live here. Been there already.
However, in Tokyo and in most other places in the world, if you live (or travel or do tourism) like the locals do, it is not that expensive. We found it quite affordable for tourism: just don’t expect the grandeur, space, and luxury that you come to expect from even the moderate hotel and restaurant chains back at home. (those require a preety penny).
Comment by Jose Anes — Jul 5th 2005 @ 11:37 amAccording to one study on boston.com (see link above) Boston ranks as the most expensive city in America.
Comment by Brian P. — Nov 15th 2005 @ 3:40 pmI’m rather shocked to see Beijing on the list (I know this is obviously an American site, but it does bring up questions of methodology). BJ has had a real-estate boom recently, but you can still buy a downtown condo there for under USD $100K. Taxis cost about US 0.40 per kilometer, and the vast majority of restaurants are in the “eat till you’re stuffed” for US $5.
Of course, if you insist on living in English-friendly places, having a car and driver, eat in 5 star hotels, and live in “foreigner” apartments, it will be monstrously expensive, but few do, particularly if they’re paying with their own money.
Comment by Foobarista — Feb 9th 2006 @ 6:28 pmI was surprised too but you never know where they find the prices that they do use.
Comment by jim — Feb 9th 2006 @ 10:51 pmIt is really a shocking things to see the cities of Asia in the list because most of the people of Asia live under the proverty line hence costly means the data listed really go against the realistic of scenerio of Asia’s people. Thanks
Comment by Mohammad Ahsan Ullah — Nov 6th 2008 @ 5:19 am