I recently saw a ranking of the cost of living in various cities, and I have to say it's quite interesting. Basically, Switzerland completely dominates when it comes to the most expensive cities in the world. Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lausanne, Lugano, and Bern occupy the top six positions. Zurich is in first place with an index of 112.5, which means living there costs about 12.5% more than New York, which serves as the baseline with 100 points.

What’s surprising is how concentrated wealth is in Switzerland. All six of the most expensive cities are Swiss, making it effectively the most expensive country to live in. In Zurich, monthly salaries range from 7,000 to 9,000 Swiss francs, so at least the high cost of living is offset by very high wages. Geneva, in second place (111.4), is even more expensive partly because it hosts international organizations like the UN and WHO, attracting a wealthy expatriate community.

In the United States, New York is the seventh most expensive city in the world and serves as the benchmark. Then there’s Honolulu (94.4), San Francisco (90.7), Seattle (86.0), and Boston (82.7). All have enormous housing costs, mainly due to demand from the tech industries. Los Angeles and San Diego also rank in the top 25, primarily because of California’s real estate prices.

In Europe, besides Switzerland, Norway has several cities on the list: Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen, and Stavanger. London is in 15th place with 83.2, while Copenhagen and Amsterdam are lower. In Asia, Singapore (85.3), Tel Aviv (81.2), and Hong Kong are the most expensive cities in the region, but still below European cities.

How does this index work? They compare the daily costs of each city with New York: housing, food, transportation, utilities, entertainment, and local purchasing power. If a city scores 112, it costs 12% more than New York. If it scores 60, it’s 40% cheaper. Simple but effective for understanding where it’s really more expensive to live.

What strikes me is the huge disparity. The most expensive city in the world (Zurich at 112.5) is only 12.5% more expensive than the baseline, while the differences become much more significant further down the list. This shows how even the cities considered costly in the US are actually more affordable than top European cities. If you think living in New York is expensive, wait until you see the prices in Zurich or Geneva. Switzerland truly is in a league of its own when it comes to the most expensive cities in the world.