Zurich and Singapore overtake New York as the World’s most expensive cities
Singapore and Zurich have outpaced New York, securing the top spots as the world's priciest cities to live in this year, as per the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living 2023 Survey.
Attention, globetrotters! If your travel aspirations include Zurich and Singapore, you might want to check your wallets first. These two cities have now gone past New York, earning them the title of the globe’s most expensive cities to live in this year, according to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living 2023 report.
Surprised? Well, Singapore’s journey to the top wasn’t an easy one. The cost of owning a car and getting a drink at the bar, combined with increasing grocery costs, all contributed to the city-state outperforming New York. In fact, this breakthrough comes after Singapore found itself neck-and-neck with the US city last year for the top spot.
Meanwhile, Zurich leaped from last year’s sixth place to tie for first place with Singapore. The reason behind this dramatic rise lies within the strong Swiss franc, expensive groceries, household goods, and recreational activities.
“The supply-side shocks that drove price increases in 2021-22 have reduced since China lifted its Covid-19 restrictions in late 2022, while the spike in energy prices seen after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 has also eased,” said Upasana Dutt, head of worldwide cost of living at EIU. “Despite upside risks we expect inflation to decelerate further in 2024, easing prices globally.”
Snuggled in the third position with New York is Geneva, and trailing closely at the number five is Hong Kong, thus rounding up the top five most expensive places in the world. Curious about the complete list? Let’s take a look:
- Singapore — 1
- Zurich — 1
- Geneva — 3
- New York — 3
- Hong Kong — 5
- Los Angeles — 6
- Paris — 7
- Copenhagen — 8
- Tel Aviv — 8
- San Francisco — 10
Keeping in line with surprising findings, LA and San Francisco were the only other US cities that managed to mark their spot in the top ten. But while some cities soared, others stumbled. Owing to a sluggish recovery post-pandemic and subdued consumer demand, Chinese cities took a significant plunge in the rankings.
The data for these rankings was gathered through a survey conducted between August 14 and September 11, which compared over 400 individual prices in 173 cities across the world.
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