Skip to content
AverageCostOfLiving

Most Expensive Cities to Live In

The most expensive tracked city to live in is Monaco, Monaco, with an average monthly cost of $9,481 for a single person. The median in this list of 100 cities is around $2,283 per month.

High costs don't always mean low value — salaries in these cities are usually higher too.

On this page 3 sections
Section Description
Top 100 most expensive cities Sorted by monthly cost for one person.
Related rankings Flip to cheapest, or look at expat value.
Frequently asked questions Why rents are so high and whether salaries compensate.
  1. #1 Monaco Monaco $9,481
  2. #2 New York United States $3,777
  3. #3 San Jose Costa Rica $3,533
  4. #4 San Jose United States $3,533
  5. #5 San Diego United States $3,480
  6. #6 San Francisco United States $3,472
  7. #7 Los Angeles United States $3,410
  8. #8 Boston United States $3,397
  9. #9 London United Kingdom $3,292
  10. #10 Irvine United States $3,183
  11. #11 Zurich Switzerland $3,156
  12. #12 Geneva Switzerland $3,115
  13. #13 Nassau Bahamas $3,060
  14. #14 Jersey City United States $2,911
  15. #15 Washington United States $2,900
  16. #16 Dublin Ireland $2,884
  17. #17 Honolulu United States $2,830
  18. #18 Miami United States $2,806
  19. #19 Lucerne Switzerland $2,784
  20. #20 Fort Lauderdale United States $2,773
  21. #21 Amsterdam Netherlands $2,767
  22. #22 Luxembourg Luxembourg $2,766
  23. #23 Oakland United States $2,765
  24. #24 Seattle United States $2,760
  25. #25 Galway Ireland $2,747
  26. #26 Arlington United States $2,708
  27. #27 Lausanne Switzerland $2,650
  28. #28 Reykjavik Iceland $2,634
  29. #29 Haarlem Netherlands $2,563
  30. #30 Oxford United Kingdom $2,553
  31. #31 Tel Aviv Yafo Israel $2,545
  32. #32 Singapore Singapore $2,516
  33. #33 Saint Helier Jersey $2,514
  34. #34 Cambridge United Kingdom $2,492
  35. #35 Guildford United Kingdom $2,492
  36. #36 Oslo Norway $2,487
  37. #37 Utrecht Netherlands $2,486
  38. #38 Basel Switzerland $2,455
  39. #39 Sydney Australia $2,449
  40. #40 Sacramento United States $2,445
  41. #41 Portland United States $2,442
  42. #42 Akureyri Iceland $2,405
  43. #43 Chicago United States $2,397
  44. #44 Denver United States $2,352
  45. #45 Cork Ireland $2,340
  46. #46 Freeport Bahamas $2,331
  47. #47 Bristol United Kingdom $2,326
  48. #48 Rotterdam Netherlands $2,297
  49. #49 Tampa United States $2,294
  50. #50 Lugano Switzerland $2,290
  51. #51 Atlanta United States $2,283
  52. #52 Bern Switzerland $2,281
  53. #53 Brighton United Kingdom $2,272
  54. #54 Ikeja Nigeria $2,257
  55. #55 Limerick Ireland $2,254
  56. #56 Syracuse United States $2,246
  57. #57 Colorado Springs United States $2,236
  58. #58 Anchorage United States $2,229
  59. #59 The Hague Den Haag Netherlands $2,225
  60. #60 Orlando United States $2,193
  61. #61 Munich Germany $2,189
  62. #62 Vancouver WA United States $2,188
  63. #63 Phoenix United States $2,178
  64. #64 Stavanger Norway $2,175
  65. #65 Balzers Liechtenstein $2,173
  66. #66 Leiden Netherlands $2,166
  67. #67 Dallas United States $2,165
  68. #68 Reading United Kingdom $2,155
  69. #69 Delft Netherlands $2,152
  70. #70 Vancouver Canada $2,149
  71. #71 Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong (China) $2,148
  72. #72 Madison United States $2,135
  73. #73 Gibraltar Gibraltar $2,134
  74. #74 Perth Australia $2,129
  75. #75 Reno United States $2,126
  76. #76 Canberra Australia $2,124
  77. #77 Dubai United Arab Emirates $2,120
  78. #78 Eindhoven Netherlands $2,115
  79. #79 Nashville United States $2,096
  80. #80 Philadelphia United States $2,093
  81. #81 Ann Arbor United States $2,077
  82. #82 Ajman United Arab Emirates $2,068
  83. #83 Ramat Gan Israel $2,067
  84. #84 Mississauga Canada $2,064
  85. #85 Fort Worth United States $2,064
  86. #86 Jerusalem Israel $2,063
  87. #87 Las Vegas United States $2,063
  88. #88 Gold Coast Australia $2,060
  89. #89 Copenhagen Denmark $2,055
  90. #90 Adelaide Australia $2,048
  91. #91 Austin United States $2,047
  92. #92 Charlotte United States $2,043
  93. #93 Melbourne Australia $2,040
  94. #94 Richmond United States $2,032
  95. #95 Albany United States $2,026
  96. #96 Toronto Canada $2,022
  97. #97 Edinburgh United Kingdom $2,022
  98. #98 Salt Lake City United States $2,019
  99. #99 Southampton Bermuda $2,013
  100. #100 Southampton United Kingdom $2,013

Frequently asked questions

What is the most expensive city to live in?
New York, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, and Los Angeles repeatedly top our most-expensive list, driven by rent. Global financial capitals like London, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Zurich also rank high.
Why is rent so high in these cities?
Supply-constrained markets with high demand from finance, tech, and tourism keep both rents and property prices elevated. Salaries are usually higher too — compare both when planning a move.
Do salaries make up for the high cost?
Sometimes. The "best for expats" page ranks cities by salary-to-cost ratio so you can see where your paycheck stretches furthest, regardless of headline rent.