The world's most expensive cities

Living in Stockholm is expensive, but here’s some good news: There are 55 other cities in the world that are more expensive to live in.  

  • View of Gamla Stan, Stockholm's Old Town with Skeppsholmen in the foreground. Photo: Stockholm Visitors Board

  • Every two years, the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey from The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) compares the prices of more than 150 items in 133 cities around the world. For the first time, three cities share first place—Singapore, Paris and Hong Kong top the list—with living costs in all three cities seven percent higher than in New York, the benchmark city.

  • Stockholm Royal Palace. Photo: Bo Zaunders

  • Stockholm fell 19 spots to No. 56 in this year's survey, while Denmark's capital Copenhagen is ranked 7th. This means it is just as expensive to live in Copenhagen as in New York or in Seoul, South Korea. Two Swiss cities, Zurich and Geneva, and Osaka, Japan also have higher prices than New York. At the bottom of the list are Caracas, Venezuela and Damascus, Syria. Fourteen of the 16 American cities for which prices are collected rose since the previous index.

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  • The highest climbers were San Francisco (up 12 places to 25th) and Houston (up to 30th from 41st); New York itself moved up six spots to 7th and Los Angeles rose by four to 10th place. Cities where it is most expensive to live:
    1. Singapore, Singapore
    1. Paris, France
    1. Hong Kong, China
    4. Zurich, Switzerland
    5. Geneva, Switzerland
    5. Osaka, Japan
    7. Seoul, South Korea
    7. Copenhagen, Denmark
    7. New York, USA
    10. Tel Aviv, Israel
    10. Los Angeles, USA
    ...
    56. Stockholm

  • Strandvägen in Stockholm offers a magnificent view of one of the inlets to Stockholm's downtown. Photo: Bo Zaunders.