Most and Least Expensive Cities in the World
Think New York is pricey? Try Luanda.
It would cost you roughly $4,000 a month to get a luxury 2-bedroom apartment in the Big Apple, but it runs a staggering $7,000 a month in Angola's capital of Luanda, according to a just-released survey of the world's most expensive and least expensive cities.
The study is an annual exercise by Mercer, a national benefit consulting firm, aimed at helping companies figure out how much to pay people who must relocate for work. To figure out the most and least costly cities, the consulting firm looked at the price of more than 200 items, including rent, transportation and the cost of a burger from a fast-food joint.
What makes Luanda so costly, besides the rent? The fast-food meal that runs $5.95 in New York is going to set you back a whopping $17.50 in Luanda. Although, to be honest, you can't get a burger there. You'll have to settle for a club sandwich and soda. The city doesn't have a McDonalds. (No wonder Luanda didn't make the top 50 in Mercer's sister survey about the cities that offer the best quality of living.)
Want to grab a CD and listen to a little music? That's $29.15 in Luanda vs. $15.21 in New York. An issue of an international newspaper? That's $4.93 in Luanda compared with $2.50 in New York.
The world's cheapest city? Karachi, Pakistan, where your apartment runs a modest $353.58 per month.
The rest of top 10 most costly cities, according to Mercer:
2. Tokyo, Japan*
3. Ndjamena, Chad
4. Moscow, Russia
5. Geneva, Switzerland*
6. Osaka, Japan
7. Libreville, Gabon
8. Zurich, Switzerland*
9. Hong Kong, China
10. Copenhagen, Denmark*
Notably, "expensive" doesn't necessarily translate to "livable." Only four of the most expensive cities also ranked within the top 50 for quality of living, according to Mercer. Those four were Tokyo, Geneva, Zurich and Copenhagen.
What are the world's least expensive cities, besides #1 ranked Karachi?:
2. Managua, Nicaragua
3. Islamabad, Pakistan
4. La Paz, Bolivia
5. Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan
6. Bishkek, Kyrgyztan
7. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
8. Calcutta, India
9. Tegucigalpa, Honduras
10. Windhoek, Namibia
The key to the cheapest cities? Mainly low rent and the fact that Mercer apparently didn't factor in the security requirements for going to some dicey areas.
Notably, while New York is the most costly city in the U.S., it ranks a paltry 27th on the list of the most costly cities in the world. The other most costly cities in the U.S., in order, are Los Angeles; White Plains, NY; Chicago; San Francisco; Miami; Honolulu; Washington, D.C.; Boston; Houston; Dallas; Atlanta; Morristown, NJ; Seattle; Minneapolis; Celveland; Detroit; St. Louis; Pittsburg; Portland; and, finally, Winston Salem, NC, where you can rent a luxury 2-bedroom apartment for a paltry $450 per month and get a fast-food meal for just $3.50.
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