List of most expensive cities for expatriate employees

These are lists of the world's most expensive cities for expatriate employees (not residents), according to the Mercer,[1] ECA International[2] and Xpatulator.com[3] cost-of-living surveys. Other surveys from online collaborative indices, such as Numbeo,[4] Expatistan,[5] or Eardex[6] 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, 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

Mercer's Cost of Living surveys are taken in March of each year. The survey covers 207 cities around the world and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment. It is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees. New York is used as the base city, and all other cities are compared against it. The cost of housing plays an important part in determining where cities are ranked.

Two main factors determine a city’s ranking in Mercer’s survey – the relative strength of the relevant currency against the US dollar over the prior 12 months and price movements over the prior 12 months compared to those in New York City as the base.

Top ten locations surveyed (2023)[7]
Rank City Country or Region
1 Hong Kong Hong Kong
2 Singapore Singapore
3 Zürich Switzerland
4 Geneva
5 Basel
6 New York United States
7 Bern Switzerland
8 Tel Aviv Israel
9 Copenhagen Denmark
10 Nassau Bahamas
Top ten locations surveyed (2022)[8]
Rank City Country or Region
1 Hong Kong Hong Kong
2 Zürich Switzerland
3 Geneva
4 Basel
5 Bern
6 Tel Aviv Israel
7 New York United States
8 Singapore Singapore
9 Tokyo Japan
10 Beijing China
Top ten locations surveyed (2021)[9][10]
Rank City Country or Region
1 Ashgabat Turkmenistan
2 Hong Kong Hong Kong
3 Beirut Lebanon
4 Tokyo Japan
5 Zürich Switzerland
6 Shanghai China
7 Singapore Singapore
8 Geneva Switzerland
9 Beijing China
10 Bern Switzerland
Top ten locations surveyed (2020)[11]
Rank City Country of Region
1 Hong Kong Hong Kong
2 Ashgabat Turkmenistan
3 Tokyo Japan
4 Zürich Switzerland
5 Singapore Singapore
6 New York United States
7 Shanghai China
8 Bern Switzerland
9 Geneva
10 Beijing China
Top ten locations surveyed (2019)[12]
Rank City Country or Region
1 Hong Kong Hong Kong
2 Tokyo Japan
3 Singapore Singapore
4 Seoul South Korea
5 Zürich Switzerland
6 Shanghai China
7 Ashgabat Turkmenistan
8 Beijing China
9 New York United States
10 Shenzhen China
Top ten locations surveyed (2018)[13]
Rank City Country or Region
1 Hong Kong Hong Kong
2 Tokyo Japan
3 Zürich Switzerland
4 Singapore Singapore
5 Seoul South Korea
6 Luanda Angola
7 Shanghai China
8 N’Djamena Chad
9 Beijing China
10 Bern Switzerland
Top ten locations surveyed (2017)[14]
Rank City Country or Region
1 Luanda Angola
2 Hong Kong Hong Kong
3 Tokyo Japan
4 Zürich Switzerland
5 Singapore Singapore
6 Seoul South Korea
7 Geneva Switzerland
8 Shanghai China
9 New York United States
10 Bern Switzerland
Top ten locations surveyed (2016)[15][16]
Rank City Country or Region
1 Hong Kong Hong Kong
2 Luanda Angola
3 Zürich Switzerland
4 Singapore Singapore
5 Tokyo Japan
6 Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo
7 Shanghai China
8 Geneva Switzerland
9 N’Djamena Chad
10 Beijing China
Top ten locations surveyed (2015)[17][16]
Rank City Country or Region
1 Luanda Angola
2 Hong Kong Hong Kong
3 Zürich Switzerland
4 Singapore Singapore
5 Geneva Switzerland
6 Shanghai China
7 Beijing
8 Seoul South Korea
9 Bern Switzerland
10 N’Djamena Chad

ECA International

Every March and September, ECA International calculates the cost of living for expatriates in almost 400 cities around the world. The survey does not include certain living costs such as accommodation, utilities (electricity, gas, water costs), car purchase and school fees. These are usually compensated for separately in expatriate packages from cost of living allowances.

Top 20 cities surveyed (2023)[18]
Ranking City Country or Region
1 New York United States
2 Hong Kong Hong Kong
3 Geneva Switzerland
4 London United Kingdom
5 Singapore Singapore
6 Zürich Switzerland
7 San Francisco United States
8 Tel Aviv Israel
9 Seoul South Korea
10 Tokyo Japan
Top 20 cities surveyed (2022)[19]
Ranking City Country or Region
1 Hong Kong Hong Kong
2 New York United States
3 Geneva Switzerland
4 London United Kingdom
5 Tokyo Japan
6 Tel Aviv Israel
7 Zürich Switzerland
8 Shanghai China
9 Guangzhou
10 Seoul South Korea
Top 20 cities surveyed (2021)[20]
Ranking City Country or Region
1 Hong Kong Hong Kong
2 Tokyo Japan
3 Geneva Switzerland
4 New York United States
5 London United Kingdom
6 Zürich Switzerland
7 Tel Aviv Israel
8 Seoul South Korea
9 Shanghai China
10 Guangzhou
Top 20 cities surveyed (2020)[21]
Ranking City Country or Region
1 Ashgabat Turkmenistan
2 Zürich Switzerland
3 Geneva
4 Basel
5 Bern
6 Hong Kong Hong Kong
7 Tokyo Japan
8 Tel Aviv Israel
9 Jerusalem
10 Yokohama Japan
Top 20 cities surveyed (2019)[22]
Ranking City Country or Region
1 Ashgabat Turkmenistan
2 Zürich Switzerland
3 Geneva
4 Hong Kong Hong Kong
5 Basel Switzerland
6 Bern
7 Tokyo Japan
8 Seoul South Korea
9 Tel Aviv Israel
10 Shanghai China
Top 20 cities surveyed (2018)[23]
Ranking City Country or Region
1 Ashgabat Turkmenistan
2 Geneva Switzerland
3 Zürich
4 Basel
5 Bern
6 Hong Kong Hong Kong
7 Seoul South Korea
8 Tokyo Japan
9 Oslo Norway
10 Stavanger
Top 20 cities surveyed (2017)[24]
Ranking City Country or Region
1 Luanda Angola
2 Hong Kong Hong Kong
3 Zürich Switzerland
4 Geneva
5 Basel
6 Bern
7 Tokyo Japan
8 Seoul South Korea
9 Caracas Venezuela
10 Khartoum Sudan
Top 20 cities surveyed (2016)[25]
Ranking City Country or Region
1 Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo
2 Zürich Switzerland
3 Geneva
4 Basel
5 Bern
6 Freetown Sierra Leone
7 Tokyo Japan
8 Luanda Angola
9 Hong Kong Hong Kong
10 Shanghai China
Top 20 cities surveyed (2015)[2]
Ranking City Country
1 Juba South Sudan
2 Luanda Angola
3 Zürich Switzerland
4 Geneva
5 Bern
6 Basel
7 Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo
8 Shanghai China
9 Beijing
10 Seoul South Korea

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mercer's 2013 Cost of Living Survey City Rankings – Global Overview". Mercer. July 23, 2013. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Hong Kong now more expensive than Tokyo for expatriates". ECA International. June 11, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  3. ^ "Cost of Living Rankings for 2014". Xpatulator. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  4. ^ "Cost of Living Index for 2012". Numbeo. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  5. ^ "Expatistan Cost of Living Index". Expatistan. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  6. ^ Eardex Archived 2023-12-11 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  7. ^ "Cost of Living City Ranking 2023". Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  8. ^ Gilchrist, Karen (2022-06-29). "These are the most expensive places to work abroad in 2022". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  9. ^ "Turkmenistan's capital tops list of most expensive cities for expats". BBC News. 22 June 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  10. ^ McKeever, Vicky (2021-06-23). "These are the most expensive cities for working abroad in 2021". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  11. ^ "Mercer's 2020 Cost of Living - City Rankings". Mercer. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  12. ^ "Mercer's 25th annual Cost of Living Survey finds cities in Asia most expensive locations for employees working abroad". Mercer. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  13. ^ Neild, Barry (2018-06-28). "World's most expensive cities for expats in 2018 revealed". CNN. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  14. ^ "Mercer's 2017 Cost of Living - City Rankings". Mercer. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  15. ^ "Mercer's 2016 Cost of Living - City Rankings". Mercer. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  16. ^ a b https://www.mercer.com/content/dam/mercer/attachments/global/Talent/cost-of-living/gl-2016-cost-of-living-mobility-survey-mercer.pdf
  17. ^ "Mercer's 2015 Cost of Living - City Rankings". Mercer. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  18. ^ "Hong Kong falls one place to become the second-most expensive location in the world".
  19. ^ "Hong Kong continues its reign as the most expensive location in the world". www.eca-international.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  20. ^ "Hong Kong remains the most expensive location in the world". www.eca-international.com. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  21. ^ "Singapore remains in the top 20 most expensive locations in the world, despite impact of Covid-19". www.eca-international.com. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  22. ^ "Singapore enters the top 15 most expensive locations in the world". www.eca-international.com. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  23. ^ "Hong Kong now the most expensive location in East Asia for expatriates". www.eca-international.com. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  24. ^ "Swiss cities dominate list of most expensive locations in the world for expats". www.eca-international.com. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  25. ^ "Kinshasa tops the global rankings of most expensive cities for expatriates". www.eca-international.com. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
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