Updated, 28 October 2026: This article replaces an unsourced city list with a dated, attributed comparison. It reports 2024 findings and is not a claim about today’s prices.

Hong Kong led Mercer’s 2024 Cost of Living Ranking for international employees, followed by Singapore. The comparison was designed to help employers assess international assignments; it should not be read as a universal monthly budget for every resident or traveller.

City view of Zurich
Zurich city view — illustrative image, not a 2024 price observation. Existing credit: Google Images.

The ten most expensive cities in Mercer’s 2024 ranking

  1. Hong Kong
  2. Singapore
  3. Zurich
  4. Geneva
  5. Basel
  6. Bern
  7. New York
  8. London
  9. Nassau
  10. Los Angeles
City view of New York
New York city view — illustrative image, not a 2024 price observation. Existing credit: Google Images.

What the ranking measures

Mercer’s release describes a comparison of 226 cities and more than 200 items, using a March 2024 survey. Its coverage includes transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment, alongside rental accommodation comparisons. It does not provide the unsupported monthly and annual personal budgets that appeared in the previous version.

Source: Mercer’s 2024 Cost of Living Ranking release.