The top 7 most expensive cities to reside in globally are all located in the United States.
Numbeo released its annual Cost of Living Index by City last month.
The final ranking of cities was determined using data from January 2024 through mid-year. The index is historical and will be updated periodically. The cost of living in New York City was used as a baseline, and every other city was scored based on how much more or less expensive it was compared to the Big Apple.
Cities were scored across the following indexes:
- Cost of living
- Rent
- Cost of living plus rent
- Groceries
- Restaurant price
- Local purchasing power
Seven of the top 10 cities in the world are located in the United States.
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No. 1 most expensive city to live in: Geneva, Switzerland
Cost of Living Index Score: 101.7
New York is the second most expensive city in the world to live in, according to the Cost of Living Index, with Geneva, Switzerland, being 1.7% more expensive.
The European headquarters of the United Nations is located in Geneva, famously known as the city of peace.
According to Numbeo, a single person's estimated monthly costs without rent are approximately $1,715, while a family of four's estimated monthly costs are roughly $6,300.
The city consistently ranks among the top places to reside due to its low crime rate and diverse employment opportunities.
10 most expensive cities in the world
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Zurich, Switzerland
- New York, New York
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Reykjavik, Iceland
- Washington D.C., United States
- Seattle, Washington, United States
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
Zurich is the world's second most expensive city to live in, with a cost that is 0.4% higher than New York City.
Zurich has consistently been among the world's most livable cities, thanks to its cleanliness, political stability, and advanced infrastructure.
According to Numbeo, a family of four's estimated monthly cost of living, excluding rent, is $6,184, while a single person's estimated monthly cost, also excluding rent, is $1,689.
One of Switzerland's financial centers and the country's largest city is Zurich.
According to Numbeo's Cost of Living Index by City, New York City ranks third most expensive city in the world, with the highest cost of living among all U.S. cities in the top 10.
Major companies such as Google and J.P. Morgan Chase call The Big Apple home. However, the cost of living in NYC is 128% higher than the national average, as stated by PayScale.
The median monthly rent in NYC is $4,480, which is 122% higher than the national average, as per Zumper's data from June 2024.
The conversion rate used to convert Swiss Francs to USD was 1 Swiss Franc to 1.14 USD on August 8, 2024. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
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