Mercer's 2014 Cost of Living Rankings, published 10 July 2014, compare the cost of living for expatriates in 211 cities worldwide. Cities are ranked based on data from our annual Cost of Living Survey, the most comprehensive of its kind. The survey helps multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for employees on international assignments. The survey measures the comparative cost of more than 200 goods and services in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment.
PLEASE NOTE: The rankings do not include the city-to-city indices of our Cost-of-Living Reports and should not be used to estimate cost-of-living allowances. The calculation of an assignment package involves numerous, complex factors and consideration of an organization's compensation policies and assignment program needs. Mercer offers detailed cost-of-living and housing data for more than 400 locations worldwide. Contact us to inquire about these and other mobility services.
This rankings chart may not be reproduced without permission from Mercer. See our press release for media contacts.
This rankings chart may not be reproduced without permission from Mercer. See our press release for media contacts.
| Rank 2014 | Rank 2013 | City | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Luanda | Angola | |
| 2 | 4 | N'Djamena | Chad | |
| 3 | 6 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | |
| 4 | 5 | Singapore | Singapore | |
| 5 | 8 | Zurich | Switzerland | |
| 6 | 7 | Geneva | Switzerland | |
| 7 | 3 | Tokyo | Japan | |
| 8 | 9 | Bern | Switzerland | |
| 9 | 2 | Moscow | Russia | |
| 10 | 14 | Shanghai | China | |
| 11 | 15 | Beijing | China | |
| 12 | 25 | London | United Kingdom | |
| 13 | 22 | Victoria | Seychelles | |
| 14 | 13 | Seoul | South Korea | |
| 15 | 17 | Copenhagen | Denmark | |
| 16 | 24 | New York City | United States | |
| 17 | 29 | Shenzhen | China | |
| 18 | 32 | Tel Aviv | Israel | |
| 19 | 21 | Libreville | Gabon | |
| 20 | 33 | Kinshasa | Congo, Democratic Republic of | |
| 20 | 11 | Oslo | Norway | |
| 22 | 45 | Noumea | New Caledonia | |
| 23 | 12 | Osaka | Japan | |
| 24 | 35 | Guangzhou | China | |
| 25 | 36 | Lagos | Nigeria | |
| 26 | 9 | Sydney | Australia | |
| 27 | 37 | Paris | France | |
| 28 | 40 | Brazzaville | Congo, Republic of | |
| 29 | 39 | Bamako | Mali | |
| 30 | 41 | Milan | Italy | |
| 31 | 44 | Rome | Italy | |
| 32 | 48 | Vienna | Austria | |
| 33 | 16 | Melbourne | Australia | |
| 34 | 46 | Conakry | Guinea | |
| 35 | 23 | St. Petersburg | Russia | |
| 36 | 49 | Abuja | Nigeria | |
| 37 | 18 | Perth | Australia | |
| 38 | 42 | Stockholm | Sweden | |
| 39 | 52 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | |
| 40 | 51 | Dakar | Senegal | |
| 40 | 26 | Nagoya | Japan | |
| 42 | 55 | Helsinki | Finland | |
| 43 | 38 | Abidjan | Cote d'Ivoire | |
| 44 | 46 | Douala | Cameroon | |
| 44 | 55 | Yaounde | Cameroon | |
| 46 | 57 | Baku | Azerbaijan | |
| 47 | 69 | Nanjing | China | |
| 48 | 65 | Qingdao | China | |
| 49 | 19 | Sao Paulo | Brazil | |
| 50 | 67 | Tianjin | China | |
| 51 | 61 | Dublin | Ireland | |
| 52 | 28 | Brisbane | Australia | |
| 53 | 27 | Canberra | Australia | |
| 54 | 79 | Shenyang | China | |
| 55 | 81 | Munich | Germany | |
| 56 | 69 | Brussels | Belgium | |
| 56 | 77 | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | |
| 58 | 54 | Auckland | New Zealand | |
| 59 | 34 | Adelaide | Australia | |
| 59 | 83 | Frankfurt | Germany | |
| 61 | 62 | Taipei | Taiwan | |
| 62 | 72 | Los Angeles, CA | United States | |
| 63 | 76 | Beirut | Lebanon | |
| 63 | 81 | Madrid | Spain | |
| 65 | 29 | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | |
| 66 | 57 | Yangon | Myanmar | |
| 67 | 90 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | |
| 68 | 79 | Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates | |
| 68 | 99 | Berlin | Germany | |
| 70 | 85 | Pointe-a-Pitre | Guadeloupe | |
| 71 | 84 | Barcelona | Spain | |
| 71 | 97 | Chengdu | China | |
| 73 | 100 | Dusseldorf | Germany | |
| 74 | 92 | San Francisco, CA | United States | |
| 75 | 88 | Riga | Latvia | |
| 76 | 106 | Hamburg | Germany | |
| 77 | 53 | Tehran¹ | Iran | |
| 78 | 90 | Athens | Greece | |
| 79 | 103 | Lyon | France | |
| 79 | 75 | Wellington | New Zealand | |
| 81 | 78 | Bandar Seri Begawan | Brunei | |
| 81 | 114 | Port-au-Prince | Haiti | |
| 81 | 93 | White Plains, NY | United States | |
| 84 | 93 | Bratislava | Slovakia | |
| 85 | 101 | Chicago, IL | United States | |
| 86 | 59 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | |
| 87 | 102 | Cotonou | Benin | |
| 88 | 66 | Bangkok | Thailand | |
| 88 | 63 | Santiago | Chile | |
| 90 | 135 | Birmingham | United Kingdom | |
| 91 | 116 | Stuttgart | Germany | |
| 92 | 73 | Prague | Czech Republic | |
| 92 | 106 | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 94 | 128 | Aberdeen | United Kingdom | |
| 94 | 109 | Lisbon | Portugal | |
| 96 | 64 | Vancouver | Canada | |
| 97 | 117 | Honolulu, HI | United States | |
| 98 | 60 | Bogota | Colombia | |
| 98 | 103 | Kiev | Ukraine | |
| 98 | 114 | Miami, FL | United States | |
| 101 | 42 | Djibouti | Djibouti | |
| 101 | 68 | Toronto | Canada | |
| 103 | 89 | Amman | Jordan | |
| 103 | 31 | Niamey | Niger | |
| 105 | 113 | Lome | Togo | |
| 105 | 131 | Ouagadougou | Burkina Faso | |
| 107 | 125 | Casablanca | Morocco | |
| 108 | 157 | Glasgow | United Kingdom | |
| 109 | 123 | Boston, MA | United States | |
| 110 | 129 | Tallinn | Estonia | |
| 111 | 95 | Almaty | Kazakhstan | |
| 111 | 122 | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | |
| 113 | 127 | Limassol | Cyprus | |
| 114 | 87 | Montevideo | Uruguay | |
| 115 | 111 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | |
| 116 | 144 | Ljubljana | Slovenia | |
| 117 | 154 | Dhaka | Bangladesh | |
| 117 | 147 | Nairobi | Kenya | |
| 119 | 71 | Jakarta | Indonesia | |
| 120 | 158 | Belfast | United Kingdom | |
| 120 | 131 | Zagreb | Croatia | |
| 122 | 120 | Maputo | Mozambique | |
| 123 | 95 | Montreal | Canada | |
| 124 | 139 | Algiers | Algeria | |
| 125 | 97 | Calgary | Canada | |
| 125 | 135 | Dallas, TX | United States | |
| 125 | 103 | Manila | Philippines | |
| 128 | 110 | Accra | Ghana | |
| 129 | 148 | Nurnberg | Germany | |
| 130 | 139 | Vilnius | Lithuania | |
| 131 | 134 | Hanoi | Vietnam | |
| 132 | 144 | Morristown, NJ | United States | |
| 132 | 126 | San Jose | Costa Rica | |
| 134 | 106 | Havana¹ | Cuba | |
| 135 | 130 | Budapest | Hungary | |
| 135 | 141 | Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam | |
| 135 | 85 | Istanbul | Turkey | |
| 135 | 112 | Lima | Peru | |
| 139 | 143 | San Juan | Puerto Rico | |
| 140 | 118 | Mumbai | India | |
| 141 | 153 | Leipzig | Germany | |
| 142 | 150 | Warsaw | Poland | |
| 143 | 144 | Houston, TX | United states | |
| 144 | 73 | Brasilia | Brazil | |
| 145 | 151 | Panama City | Panama | |
| 146 | 121 | Kigali | Rwanda | |
| 147 | 151 | Atlanta, GA | United States | |
| 147 | 141 | Kuwait City | Kuwait | |
| 149 | 133 | Port of Spain | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 150 | 154 | Manama | Bahrain | |
| 150 | 138 | Mexico | Mexico | |
| 152 | 118 | Ottawa | Canada | |
| 153 | 154 | Cairo | Egypt | |
| 153 | 163 | Khartoum¹ | Sudan | |
| 153 | 159 | Seattle, WA | United States | |
| 156 | 160 | Minneapolis, MN | United States | |
| 157 | 124 | New Delhi | India | |
| 158 | 162 | Doha | Qatar | |
| 159 | 169 | Bucharest | Romania | |
| 160 | 160 | Detroit, MI | United States | |
| 161 | 163 | St. Louis, MO | United states | |
| 162 | 168 | Pittsburgh, PA | United states | |
| 163 | 170 | Rabat | Morocco | |
| 164 | 167 | Colombo | Sri Lanka | |
| 165 | 173 | Port Louis | Mauritius | |
| 166 | 173 | Portland, OR | United States | |
| 167 | 175 | Cleveland, OH | United States | |
| 168 | 170 | Muscat | Oman | |
| 169 | 177 | Phnom Penh | Cambodia | |
| 170 | 176 | Guatemala City | Guatemala | |
| 171 | 180 | Damascus¹ | Syria | |
| 172 | 181 | Sofia | Bulgaria | |
| 173 | 172 | Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic | |
| 174 | 148 | Lusaka | Zambia | |
| 175 | 182 | Jeddah | Saudi Arabia | |
| 176 | 163 | Asuncion | Paraguay | |
| 177 | 190 | Quito | Ecuador | |
| 178 | 186 | Dar es Salaam | Tanzania | |
| 178 | 163 | Kingston | Jamaica | |
| 180 | 185 | Tashkent | Uzbekistan | |
| 181 | 193 | Harare | Zimbabwe | |
| 182 | 193 | Winston Salem, NC | United States | |
| 183 | 178 | Monterrey | Mexico | |
| 184 | 192 | Belgrade | Serbia | |
| 185 | 179 | Chennai | India | |
| 186 | 182 | Addis Ababa | Ethiopia | |
| 187 | 195 | Yerevan | Armenia | |
| 188 | 199 | Sarajevo | Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| 189 | 202 | Tirana | Albania | |
| 190 | 198 | San Salvador | El Salvador | |
| 191 | 187 | Minsk | Belarus | |
| 191 | 199 | Nouakchott | Mauritania | |
| 193 | 203 | Skopje | Macedonia | |
| 194 | 205 | Kampala | Uganda | |
| 194 | 195 | Tbilisi | Georgia | |
| 196 | 189 | Bangalore | India | |
| 197 | 184 | Gaborone | Botswana | |
| 198 | 201 | Ashkhabad | Turkmenistan | |
| 199 | 190 | Banjul | Gambia | |
| 200 | 204 | Tegucigalpa | Honduras | |
| 201 | 209 | Blantyre | Malawi | |
| 202 | 210 | Tunis | Tunisia | |
| 203 | 187 | Johannesburg | South Africa | |
| 204 | 211 | La Paz | Bolivia | |
| 205 | 197 | Cape Town | South Africa | |
| 205 | 206 | Kolkata | India | |
| 207 | 212 | Managua | Nicaragua | |
| 208 | 208 | Islamabad | Pakistan | |
| 209 | 213 | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | |
| 210 | 207 | Windhoek | Namibia | |
| 211 | 214 | Karachi | Pakistan | |
* Tripoli, Libya, and Bangui, Central African Republic, are missing from this year’s rankings. Mercer was not able to collect prices due to the security situations in those locations. We have also left Caracas, Venezuela, out of the rankings as a result of the complex currency situation that includes multiple exchange rates; its ranking would have varied greatly depending on the official exchange rate selected.
¹ The rank of this location is based on estimates, due to US government sanctions.