Cost of Living City Ranking 2022 

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Mercer’s 2022 Cost of Living City Ranking reveals the most expensive cities for international employees. How can employers help move mobile employees ahead of inflation?

Amplified by the global health crisis and the conflict in Ukraine, skyrocketing inflation and currency volatility are affecting international economic balances and the cost of living for each of us. For organisations with globally distributed workforces, assessing and managing the impact on their employees’ financial wellbeing may be particularly complex.

Mercer’s Cost of Living Survey provides employers with current, extensive and reliable data to help them navigate compensation strategies for their mobile employees in the unpredictable global markets.

What are the most expensive cities in the world for international employees?

Hong Kong tops Mercer’s 2022 Cost of Living City Ranking, based on our latest research, followed by Zurich and Geneva, while Ankara closes the ranking at the 227th spot.

Check out the full ranking below and visit our Newsroom for more local insights in the press releases from across geographies.

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This map presents the most and least expensive cities in the world for international employees. The top 10 most expensive cities are, in order from rank 1 to rank 10: Hong Kong, Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Bren, Tel Aviv, New York City, Singapore, Tokyo, Beijing. The 10 least expensive cities are, in order from rank 218 to 227: Algiers, Almaty, Tunis, Tashkent, Istanbul, Karachi, Islamabad, Dushanbe, Bishkek, Ankara.

Rank City Location

1

Hong Kong

Hong Kong SAR

2

Zurich

Switzerland

3

Geneva

Switzerland

4

Basel

Switzerland

5

Bren

Switzerland

6

Tel Aviv

Israel

7

New York City, NY

United States

8

Singapore

Singapore

9

Tokyo

Japan

10

Beijing

China

11

Copenhagen

Denmark

12

Shanghai

China

13

Shenzhen

China

14

Seoul

South Korea

15

London

United Kingdom

16

Nassau

Bahamas

17

Los Angeles, CA

United States

18

Guangzhou

China

19

San Francisco, CA

United States

20

Honolulu, HI

United States

21

Vienna

Austria

22

Qingdao

China

23

Bangui

Central African Republic

24

Libreville

Gabon

25

Amsterdam

Netherlands

26

Nanjing

China

27

Oslo

Norway

28

Taipei

Taiwan

29

Washington, DC

United States

30

Boston, MA

United States

31

Dubai

United Arab Emirates

32

Miami, FL

United States

33

Munich

Germany

34

Busan

South Korea

35

Paris

France

36

Chicago, IL

United States

37

Osaka

Japan

38

Victoria

Seychelles

39

Brussels

Belgium

40

Shenyang

China

41

Djibouti

Djibouti

42

Atlanta, GA

United States

43

Helsinki

Finland

44

Chengdu

China

45

Seattle, WA

United States

46

Berlin

Germany

47

The Hague

Netherlands

48

Milan

Italy

49

Dublin

Ireland

50

Yokohama

Japan

51

Nagoya

Japan

52

Luxembourg

Luxembourg

53

Kinshasa

The Democratic Republic Of The Congo

54

Noumea

New Caledonia

55

Lagos

Nigeria

56

Chongqing

China

57

Rome

Italy

58

Sydney

Australia

59

Hamburg

Germany

60

Prague

Czech Republic

61

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

62

Frankfurt

Germany

63

Xian

China

64

Luanda

Angola

65

Dakar

Senegal

66

Edinburgh

United Kingdom

67

Melbourne

Australia

68

Abidjan

Côte D'Ivoire

69

Suzhou

China

70

Philadelphia, PA

United States

71

Stuttgart

Germany

72

San Juan

Puerto Rico

73

Wuhan

China

74

Brazzaville

The Republic Of Congo

75

Dallas, TX

United States

76

Conakry

Guinea Republic

77

Douala

Cameroon

78

Barcelona

Spain

79

Riga

Latvia

80

N'Djamena

Chad

81

Dusseldorf

Germany

82

Pittsburgh, PA

United States

83

Minneapolis, MN

United States

84

Brisbane

Australia

85

Houston, TX

United States

86

Glasgow

United Kingdom

87

Stockholm

Sweden

88

Pointe-A-Pitre

Guadeloupe (France)

89

Toronto

Canada

90

Madrid

Spain

91

Portland, OR

United States

92

Taichung

Taiwan

93

Aberdeen

United Kingdom

94

Birmingham

United Kingdom

95

Auckland

New Zealand

96

Lyon

France

97

Perth

Australia

98

Dhaka

Bangladesh

99

Leipzig

Germany

100

Yaounde

Cameroon

101

St. Louis, MO

United States

102

Adelaide

Australia

103

Riyadh

Saudi Arabia

104

Canberra

Australia

105

Bratislava

Slovakia

106

Bangkok

Thailand

107

Detroit, MI

United States

108

Vancouver

Canada

109

Lisbon

Portugal

110

Toulouse

France

111

Jeddah

Saudi Arabia

112

Cleveland, OH

United States

113

Kaohsiung

Taiwan

114

Buenos Aires

Argentina

115

Amman

Jordan

116

Nuremberg

Germany

117

Manama

Bahrain

118

Bamako

Mali

119

Muscat

Oman

120

Wellington

New Zealand

121

Belfast

United Kingdom

122

Manilla

Philippines

123

Montevideo

Uruguay

124

Lome

Togo

125

Montreal

Canada

126

Athens

Greece

127

Mumbai

India

128

Cotonou

Benin

129

Harare

Zimbabwe

130

Santiago

Chilli

131

Kuwait City

Kuwait

132

Ottawa

Canada

133

Doha

Qatar

134

Phnom Penh

Cambodia

135

Port Of Spain

Trinidad & Tobago

136

Guatemala City

Guatemala

137

Ouagadougou

Burkina Faso

138

Niamey

Niger

139

San Jose

Costa Rica

140

Tallinn

Estonia

141

Calgary

Canada

142

Havana

Cuba

143

Casablanca

Morocco

144

Bujumbura

Burundi

145

Ljubljana

Slovenia

146

Accra

Ghana

147

Abuja

Nigeria

148

Vilnius

Lithuania

149

Mexico City

Mexico

150

Hanoi

Vietnam

151

Jakarta

Indonesia

152

Panama City

Panama

153

Kingston

Jamaica

154

Cairo

Egypt

155

New Delhi

India

156

Quito

Ecuador

157

Vientiane

Lao People'S Democratic Republic

158

Bucharest

Roumania

159

Zagreb

Croatia

160

Nairobi

Kenya

161

Tirana

Albania

162

Rabat

Morocco

163

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam

164

Dar Es Salaam

Tanzania

165

Limassol

Cyprus

166

Kampala

Uganda

167

Maputo

Mozambique

168

Sao Paulo

Brazil

169

Nouakchott

Mauritania

170

Sofia

Bulgaria

171

Port-Au-Prince

Haiti

172

Lima

Peru

173

Santo Domingo

Dominican Republic

174

Warsaw

Poland

175

Belgrade

Serbia

176

Rio De Janeiro

Brazil

177

Chennai

India

178

Bengaluru

India

179

Bandar Seri Begawan

Brunei

180

Budapest

Hungary

181

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

182

San Salvador

El Salvador

183

Colombo

Sri Lanka

184

Blantyre

Malawi

185

Monterrey

Mexico

186

Baku

Azerbaijan

187

Wroclaw

Poland

188

Antananarivo

Madagascar

189

Tegucigalpa

Honduras

190

Krakow

Poland

191

Port Louis

Mauritius

192

Hyderabad

India

193

Johannesburg

South Africa

194

Cape Town

South Africa

195

Asuncion

Paraguay

196

La Paz

Bolivia

197

Yerevan

Armenia

198

Yangon

Myanmar

199

Lusaka

Zambia

200

Brasilia

Brazil

201

Pune

India

202

Banjul

Gambia

203

Kolkata

India

204

Minsk

Belarus

205

Bogota

Colombia

206

Skopje

Macedonia

207

Manaus

Brazil

208

Kigali

Rwanda

209

Sarajevo

Bosnia-Herzegovina

210

Belo Horizonte

Brazil

211

Johor Bahru

Malaysia

212

Managua

Nicaragua

213

Windhoek

Namibia

214

Addis Ababa

Ethiopia

215

Gaborone

Botswana

216

Durban

South Africa

217

Tbilisi

Georgia

218

Algiers

Algeria

219

Almaty

Kazakhstan

220

Tunis

Tunisia

221

Tashkent

Uzbekistan

222

Istanbul

Türkiye

223

Karachi

Pakistan

224

Islamabad

Pakistan

225

Dushanbe

Tajikistan

226

Bishkek

Kyrgyzstan

227

Ankara

Türkiye

The return of high inflation

…and what it means for purchasing power across markets.

With the recent return of high inflation across the globe, employees are increasingly concerned about their purchasing power, resulting in salary increase expectations. Companies, on the other hand, need to strike a delicate balance between controlling their costs while struggling to attract and retain talent.

Addressing these issues with regard to internationally mobile employees is a complex and significant challenge for multinational employers.

They may adopt various strategies to protect the purchasing power of their international workforce in times of market volatility, but it’s important that they understand the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches. The consequences of their decisions will impact both the business and the financial wellbeing of their employees. 

Protect your people’s purchasing power

Mercer has created a practical guide that can help you understand and navigate this complexity.
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Gasoline: The chart shows the movement of gasoline prices across selected locations. By far, the highest price increase occurred in Istanbul, followed by Los Angeles, Barcelona, New York City and Berlin. No price movement occurred for Dakar. Gasoline price decrease did not occur in any of the locations. The data refer to one litre of gasoline, unleaded 95 octane.
Cooking oil: The chart shows the movement of cooking oil prices across selected locations. The highest price increase occurred in Barcelona, followed by Istanbul, Dublin, Beijing and Warsaw. No price movement occurred in Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Paris and Tokyo. Price decrease occurred in Mumbai, Seoul, Dubai, Toronto and Johannesburg. The data refer to cooking oil (1 lt / 33.8 oz / 920 gr).
Beer: The chart shows the movement of beer prices across selected locations. By far, the highest price increase occurred in Istanbul. No price movement occurred in 9 out of the 25 cities. The most significant price decrease occurred in Warsaw, followed by Berlin, Nairobi, Toronto and Beijing. The data refer to international branded beer (0.33l / 11.2oz).
Bread: The chart shows the movement of bread prices across selected locations. The highest price increase occurred in Istanbul, Mexico City, São Paulo, Dublin and Warsaw. No price movement occurred in Beijing, Berlin, Dakar, Hong Kong, Paris, Seoul and Sydney. The most significant price decrease occurred in New York City, Los Angeles, Dubai, Johannesburg and Mumbai. The data refer to white sliced toast bread (1000 gr / 35.3 oz).

Where cost of living meets quality 

Cost of living is one of the key factors of city attractiveness for international talent, business and investments, but what do we learn when we also take quality of living into account?

Competition among cities is fierce, especially in times of galloping inflation hitting the majority of locations around the world. Which cities are currently best positioned to attract and retain top talent and international businesses?

A city’s attractiveness is based on a number of factors, and while the cost of life is clearly an important one, other components include the affordability of housing, the quality of life based on a range of factors such as safety, sanitation, eco-friendliness or education standards, as well as governance and taxation considerations.

The infographic on the right shows the results of our analysis that takes into account a combination of selected factors, drawing on Mercer’s latest cost of living and quality of living research.

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This infographic shows the correlation between the Cost of Living Index and Quality of Living Index for selected global cities, as well as their score in the Eco-City Index. Some of the locations with the lowest cost of living and highest quality of living are Vancouver, Toronto, Stockholm, Lisbon and Frankfurt. Hong Kong has the highest cost of living but lower quality of living than many other locations. The general trend shows that the locations with higher cost of living and quality of living also rank higher for eco-friendliness.

What makes a city attractive for international talent?

How can you ensure your mobile employees stay happy and efficient in the assignment location?

In a recent webinar, our consultants shared highlights of Mercer’s latest global cost of living and quality of living research, ​and what it means for organisations and cities looking to attract and retain international talent.

Mercer’s Cost of Living data and Research

Mercer’s annual Cost of Living city ranking is based on our Cost of Living data research - one of the most recognised and extensive surveys of its kind, encompassing over 400 cities around the world. Carried out twice per year, the survey is designed to help multinational companies and governments around the world determine compensation strategies for their expatriate employees.

How we calculate the cost of living index

In addition to evaluating more than 200 goods and services, Mercer’s Cost of Living Survey highlights essential factors — such as currency fluctuations, cost inflation and accommodation price instability — in determining the cost of packages for internationally mobile employees.

To help ensure the highest relevance of the data we provide, Mercer continuously keeps its Cost of Living Research methodology abreast with the latest trends, adjusting it to the international market developments and international assignees’ spending patterns.

Mercer inflation definition

Inflation is generally defined as the measure of price movements from time T to time T+1, using exactly the same specification of item in terms of packaging size and characteristics.

Therefore, for the purpose of Mercer’s Cost of Living survey, Mercer’s inflation quoted figure is designed to provide an indication of how the index has moved in the last six or 12 months in local currency terms, regardless of the currency fluctuations between the home and the host location.

The overall Cost of Living Index reflects the prices of over 200 items from the following categories:
  • Housing

  • Transportation

  • Utilities

  • Food

  • Domestic Supplies

  • Home Services

  • Personal care

  • Clothing and footware

  • Recreation and entertainment

  • Alcohol and tobacco

Meet our mobility consultants

Slagin Parakatil, Global Product Leader

Yvonne Traber, Global and Europe Mobility Leader

Tracey Ma, Asia Mobility Leader

Amalia Suaste, Latin America Mobility Leader

Vladimir Vrzhovski, Middle East and Africa Mobility Leader

Taryn Kramer, North America Mobility Leader

Karla Cost, Pacific Mobility Leader

Kate Fitzpatrick, UK Mobility Leader

Contributors
Slagin Parakatil
Yvonne Traber
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