Few cities are literally impossible to live in, since millions of people manage it every day. What changes from place to place is how much of a paycheck disappears before the month is half over. Rankings of costly cities also don’t agree with each other, because each one prices a different basket of goods and services.
The ten cities below keep turning up near the top of major indexes from Mercer, the Economist Intelligence Unit, Numbeo and others. Some are expensive because of rent, some because of the currency, and some because everyday items simply cost more. The most recent figures available for each are used, and where a ranking is older, that’s noted.
1. Singapore
Singapore remained the world’s most expensive city for the ninth time in 11 years in the EIU survey, tying with Zurich.[1] The EIU pointed to the world’s highest transport prices there, a result of strict government controls on car numbers.[1] Clothing, groceries and alcohol also rank among the priciest.
Housing adds to the squeeze. Demand for accommodation surged as Singapore drew professional talent, and home rents rose by a cumulative 50 per cent since 2021.[2] Keep in mind that the EIU survey doesn’t include tax liabilities, home prices or rent[3], so its headline result is about everyday prices. Singapore was also named the costliest city for a premium lifestyle in the Julius Baer report of July 2026.[4]
2. Hong Kong
Hong Kong kept the top spot in Mercer’s 2024 ranking, followed by Singapore, with Zurich, Geneva and Basel completing the top five.[5] High rental costs helped the two Asian hubs beat the Swiss cities to the top of the table.[6] The ranking covers 226 cities and is built mainly for employers planning pay for staff sent abroad.
Given Hong Kong’s small area, affordable housing is hard to find.[7] That scarcity is the thread running through most of its cost story. In ECA International’s September 2026 ranking, Hong Kong slipped one place to fourth.[4] That’s a small move, and it’s still among the world’s most expensive.
3. Zurich
Zurich’s overall score in Numbeo’s 2026 cost of living index is 118.5, with a groceries index of 115.4 and a restaurant score of 121.[8] Swiss cities take the top six spots in that ranking, and Zurich leads them.[8] The same list also gives it a local purchasing power score of 164.4, which suggests local pay goes some way toward offsetting the prices.
The EIU saw the same pattern earlier. It said Zurich’s rise reflected the strength of the Swiss franc and high prices for groceries, household goods and recreation.[2] Fortune put the average living cost for one person in Zurich at around $3,380 per month.[7] A strong currency makes the city expensive for anyone paid in something else.
4. Geneva
Numbeo’s 2026 list has Geneva closely following Zurich among the Swiss cities that fill its top six spots.[8] Mercer’s 2024 ranking also placed Geneva in the top five.[5] Its position stays steady from one index to the next.
Earlier EIU data shows how close it runs to the biggest names. In the 2023 EIU survey, New York and Geneva tied at an index of 100.[9] A 2025 compilation by Luxury Gold, which draws on Mercer, EIU and Numbeo, listed Geneva fourth.[10] Different sources move it up or down a place or two, though never far from the top.
5. New York City
Rent data in New York varies a lot depending on who’s counting. Apartment List’s October 2026 index puts the median rent across all apartment sizes at $2,598, sixth highest among the 100 largest U.S. cities.[11] That figure was up 3.8% from a year earlier and sits well above the national median of $1,388.[12] One analysis noted that different datasets measure different rental inventories, so no single number defines the price of living there.[13]
Asking rents tell a steeper story. StreetEasy’s citywide median asking rent hit a record $4,199 in May 2026.[14] Manhattan’s median rent reached a record $5,000 in July and was $4,900 in August, up 6.5% from a year earlier.[14] Manhattan vacancy fell to about 1.5% in August, its lowest level since 2019.[14]
6. London
London took eighth place in Mercer’s 2024 ranking, rising nine spots from the year before.[6] It’s the most expensive city in the United Kingdom, with an average cost of living of over $3,321 per month for a single person, according to Fortune.[7] That puts it close to Zurich on monthly spending for one adult.
More recent data points to a slight cooling. In ECA International’s September 2026 ranking, London dropped three places to fifth, after running Singapore close in 2025.[4] A lower rank doesn’t mean the city has become cheap, only that others rose faster or the currency moved. There’s no single most expensive city, because the answer depends on whose basket is priced.[4]
7. Basel
Mercer’s 2024 ranking had Basel among the five most expensive cities in the world.[5] Numbeo’s 2026 list also places it among the Swiss cities in the top six.[8] It rarely gets the headlines Zurich and Geneva do.
Within Switzerland it works out slightly cheaper. Fortune called Basel a cheaper alternative to Geneva and Zurich, with an average monthly cost for an individual of about $2,820.[7] Bern, the fourth Swiss city on that list, was the cheapest of the four at about $2,569.[7] Cheaper there is still high by almost any global standard.
8. Los Angeles
In the EIU’s 2023 survey, Los Angeles ranked sixth with an index of 97.[9] That index treats New York as 100[4], so Los Angeles sat just below it. Los Angeles and San Francisco were the two other U.S. cities in that top ten.[15]
The 2025 Luxury Gold compilation listed Los Angeles tenth.[10] Newer city specific price data for Los Angeles wasn’t available to cite here, so this entry rests on those indexes. The pattern still holds: American coastal cities keep a place on these lists, usually alongside New York.
9. Paris
Paris ranked seventh in the 2023 EIU survey, with an index of 91.[9] That survey compares over 400 prices across 200 products and services in 173 cities.[9] Western Europe led that top ten with four entries.[9]
The 2025 Luxury Gold compilation placed Paris sixth.[10] The exact rank moves between indexes, but the city’s place in the upper tier doesn’t. Detailed 2026 price figures for Paris weren’t available to cite, so this entry reflects those rankings.
10. Nassau
Nassau is the odd one out on this list, a smaller city among financial hubs. It appeared ninth on the 2025 Luxury Gold compilation.[10] Fortune called it the Bahamas’ best city, yet noted that it comes with a price, with the average cost of living for one person at about $2,311 monthly.[7]
That monthly figure is lower than the London and Zurich numbers Fortune cites, at $3,321 and $3,380. Still, it sits in the same group as those cities in the rankings. A smaller number can still hurt when local incomes are lower than in the larger financial centers.
