Key Takeaways
New York City tops the list, where a one-bedroom averages $4,107 in rent, while living costs for a single person are about $1,700 per month.
Five of the top 10 cities with the highest cost of living are in Switzerland.
From rent to groceries, the cost of living varies widely around the world.
In recent years, rising price pressures have only sharpened these disparities. While tech and financial hubs often face the steepest costs, local factors like currency and imports also drive up prices.
The Top 15 Most Expensive Cities Globally
For the rankings, cities are compared to New York City, which is set as the baseline of 100.
To provide a broad view of urban affordability, cities were analyzed on everyday expenses like food, transportation, and utilities, and housing costs. These were measured in a “Cost of Living Plus Rent Index”, with data as of mid-year 2025:
Ranking City Country Cost of Living Plus Rent Index
1 New York, NY 🇺🇸 U.S. 100
2 Zurich 🇨🇭 Switzerland 93.2
3 Geneva 🇨🇭 Switzerland 90.6
4 San Francisco, CA 🇺🇸 U.S. 85.3
5 Basel 🇨🇭 Switzerland 83.9
6 Lausanne 🇨🇭 Switzerland 83.4
7 Boston, MA 🇺🇸 U.S. 81.2
8 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore 80.9
9 San Jose, CA 🇺🇸 U.S. 80.4
10 Lugano 🇨🇭 Switzerland 79.1
New York City is the most expensive city in the world to live in, as high housing demand and limited supply drive up prices.
As we can see, other U.S. cities like San Francisco, Boston, and San Jose also rank highly. Despite an exodus spurred by the pandemic, average home prices in San Francisco can hover around $1.3 million.
Zurich ranks second globally, fueled by expensive housing costs and the strength of the Swiss franc. Meanwhile, Geneva and Basel also rank in the top five. Switzerland’s stable economy and high standard of living help explain these elevated costs.
Ranking in eighth is Singapore, also standing as one of the world’s most densely populated countries, with 8,576 peopler per square kilometer in 2025.
