Here are the World's Most Expensive Cities to Live in 2022
New York City tops the list for the first time ever alongside Singapore.
According to CNN, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released its Worldwide Cost of Living report, tracking the relative expenses of 172 cities around the world. According to this year’s index, the average cost of living across the board has increased by 8.1 percent, partially due to the effects of the Russian war in Ukraine as well as the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The war in Ukraine, Western sanctions on Russia and China’s zero-COVID policies have caused supply-chain problems that, combined with rising interest rates and exchange-rate shifts, have resulted in a cost-of-living crisis across the world,” said EIU head Upasana Dutt in a media statement. “We can clearly see the impact in this year’s index, with the average price rise across the 172 cities in our survey being the strongest we’ve seen in the 20 years for which we have digital data. The rise in petrol prices in cities was particularly strong (as it was last year), but food, utilities and household goods are all getting more expensive for city-dwellers.”
EIU analyses 400 price points across 200 products and services in 172 cities. In comparison to the ECA International list published earlier this year which looks predominately at everyday expenses, the ECA list takes into account both high and low-end products including luxury goods. The EIU is also benchmarked against prices in the Big Apple, therefore currencies stronger against the dollar are set to rank higher on the list.
Topping the list this year alongside Singapore is New York City, which rises from sixth place last year to become the least affordable city to live in the world for the first time ever. Last year’s “winner” Tel Aviv fell to third, and Zurich is listed as the most expensive European city. Take a look at the full top 10 list below.
1. New York and Singapore (tie)
3. Tel Aviv, Israel
4. Hong Kong and Los Angeles (tie)
6. Zurich, Switzerland
7. Geneva, Switzerland
8. San Francisco, California
9. Paris, France
10. Copenhagen, Denmark
In other news, Qatar Airways was named the world’s best airline for 2022.
