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Each year, the Economist Intelligence Unit, an offshoot of news magazine The Economist, releases a ranking of the most expensive cities in the world. Researchers dive into the everyday expenses associated with living in each place — groceries, household supplies, personal care, alcohol, tobacco, clothing, domestic help, recreation, transportation, and utilities — to look beyond the basics of international economies. Notably, they leave housing off the list.
With most of these cities, you’re paying a premium for cultural prestige, but it’s not the only factor at work. These cities are centers of high-paying industries or major players on the international stage, and sometimes even have unique problems with international trade that affect everyday expenses. Here are the 10 cities The Economist ranks as the most expensive in the world as of 2023.
Singapore
Singapore is small — its entire landmass is smaller than New York City, and you can drive across it in less than an hour — but it’s home to the busiest port in Southeast Asia. This means the little space that’s available is in high demand, without a lot of room for infrastructure or agriculture, leaving it dependent on other countries for even basic resources such as power, food, and water. Transportation costs factor into the EIU rankings, and while not very many people own a car in Singapore, those who do pay a premium for the road space. Would-be drivers need to bid on a limited number of certificates to even buy a car, and they go for more than $100,000 each.
Zurich, Switzerland
Zurich got a little boost this year because of the strength of the Swiss franc, since EIU’s rankings convert local prices into United States dollars, but that’s on top of an already high cost of living. It was already a major banking center before Google built its rapidly expanding “engineering hub” there, which has brought in highly qualified expats — Switzerland has tax privileges that make importing new talent easier — with salaries to match.
Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva is an epicenter of international collaboration; many United Nations agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, and a wealth of other international groups are headquartered there, and it’s a major hub of international trade. Living here, or even just visiting, doesn’t come cheap, although apparently the U.N. cafeteria has some great deals.
New York City
New York is notoriously expensive; purchasing power is so low that according to one calculation, $75,000 in Manhattan money is equivalent to $177,471 in Dallas. More than 100 billionaires live in the city. Private preschools and kindergartens can have Ivy League-level tuition. New Yorkers own far fewer cars than other urban residents, but if you have one, you can expect to pay more than $600 a month for garage space.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong, like many major cities, is seeing heavy gentrification — and while the EIU rankings don’t directly factor in housing costs, having one of the most expensive housing markets in the world certainly doesn’t help. The sky-high cost of living extends to groceries, too; a box of blueberries can go for $17.
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Los Angeles
Even without factoring in housing costs (which have gone up 30% in the last five years), living in Los Angeles is expensive. Even little things like gym memberships, which are $20 more per month than the national average, and movie tickets, which are about twice the national average, seriously add up.
Paris
There are few things more romantic than running away to Paris. Between its legacy of great artists and designers and its historic architecture, it’s one of the biggest cultural hot spots in the world. But if living in Paris were cheap, nobody would ever come back.
It’s likely Paris ended up on this list because of the cost of owning a vehicle there; gas is around $8 a gallon. But that’s far from mandatory, and fewer and fewer people are driving in the City of Light. That’s not the only expense, though — French food prices spiraled so far out of control that in 2022 and 2023, the country imposed price caps on 5,000 different grocery items.
Copenhagen
Copenhagen, the capital and largest city in Denmark, might seem expensive on its surface — particularly for its extremely high taxes. But the tradeoff for citizens is vast, with a robust social safety net, high standard of living, and free education through university. Government services include housing allowances, paid parental leave, health care, state retirement pensions, and subsidized day care.
Tel Aviv, Israel
Tel Aviv topped EIU’s list of most expensive cities a few years ago, when Israel’s currency, the shekel, reached its highest valuation against the United States dollar in 20 years. Everyday expenses, like restaurants and gas, have gotten more expensive, compounding already complicated business and supply chain issues endemic to the country, including a lack of competition and import restrictions.
San Francisco
The only thing surprising about San Francisco being on this list is that it’s not closer to the top. In the last couple of decades, the city has become a tech metropolis, driving up the costs of everything from utility bills to food — which are both around 30% higher than the national average.
Sarah Anne Lloyd is a freelance writer whose work covers a bit of everything, including politics, design, the environment, and yoga. Her work has appeared in Curbed, the Seattle Times, the Stranger, the Verge, and others.
