Which world city has the highest Cost of Living Index?

Zurich has the highest Cost of Living Index in 2026, at 118.5, followed by Geneva (116.5) and Basel (112.4).

Which world city has the lowest Cost of Living Index?

Bristol has the lowest Cost of Living Index in 2026, at 71.1.

What is the median Cost of Living Index across world cities?

The median is 76.2 across the 87 world cities with data in 2026.

Where does this most expensive cities in the world data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Cost of Living Index by City 2025 - Numbeo. Last updated 2026-10-28.

World City rankings

Most Expensive Cities in the World

Name: Most Expensive Cities in the World
Creator: Rankodex

Zurich has the highest Cost of Living Index in 2026 (118.5), followed by Geneva (116.5) and Basel (112.4). Bristol has the lowest (71.1).

Economics87 cities · 6 metricsUpdated Oct 28, 2026Original page

1 source

Cost of Living Index by City 2025 - Numbeo

Showing

Year 202687 of 1,103 cities

Compare this metric Add to combined ranking Open full map

Cost of Living Index, 2026

Green is better, red is worse (lower is better). Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 87 cities.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one city; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

76.2

Middle half 73.0 – 83.3

Average

80.3

87 cities

Lowest (best)

71.1

Bristol

Highest (worst)

118.5

Zurich

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

87 cities · # = rank by Cost of Living Index

#
1	Bristol	71.1
2	Canberra	71.2
2	Leiden	71.2
2	Spokane	71.2
5	Graz	71.3
5	Reading	71.3
7	Cologne	71.4
8	Stuttgart	71.5
8	Minneapolis	71.5
8	Buffalo	71.5
11	Phoenix	71.6
11	Antwerp	71.6
11	Darmstadt	71.6
14	Eindhoven	71.7
14	Wiesbaden	71.7
16	Baltimore	71.8
17	Hamburg	71.9
17	Galway	71.9
19	Lyon	72.2
19	Cork	72.2
21	Dallas	72.9
22	Edinburgh	73.0
22	Colorado Springs	73.0
24	Milan	73.1
25	Nice	73.4
25	Heidelberg	73.4
27	Brussels	73.5
28	Vienna	73.9
28	Marseille	73.9
28	Dusseldorf	73.9
28	Cambridge	73.9
32	Helsinki	74.3
33	Rotterdam	74.6
34	Strasbourg	74.7
35	Sydney	75.1
35	Denver	75.1
37	Portland	75.2
38	Atlanta	75.3
39	Guildford	75.4
40	Fort Lauderdale	75.5
41	Beersheba	75.9
42	Chicago	76.0
43	Munich	76.1
44	Oxford	76.2
45	Espoo	76.4
46	Dublin	76.7
47	New Orleans	77.1
48	Utrecht	77.3
48	Odense	77.3
50	Paris	78.6
50	Stockholm	78.6
52	Philadelphia	78.8
53	Aarhus	78.9
54	Sacramento	79.2
55	Miami	79.5
55	Haarlem	79.5
57	Irvine	79.6
58	Haifa	80.0
59	Luxembourg	80.6
60	Aalborg	80.9
61	Los Angeles	81.5
61	Anchorage	81.5
63	San Diego	82.0
64	Amsterdam	82.6
65	Jerusalem	83.0
66	Berkeley	83.5
67	Ramat Gan	83.7
68	Trondheim	84.9
69	Oakland	85.2
70	Bergen	85.6
71	Copenhagen	85.7
72	Charleston	86.0
73	San Jose	86.4
74	Washington	87.3
75	London	87.5
76	Singapore	87.7
77	Oslo	90.2
78	Seattle	90.3
79	San Francisco	97.6
80	Honolulu	98.2
81	Reykjavik	98.9
82	Bern	110.0
83	Lugano	110.1
84	Lausanne	111.5
85	Basel	112.4
86	Geneva	116.5
87	Zurich	118.5

What correlates with Cost of Living Index (2026)?

Pearson r against 12 other city metrics sharing at least 53 cities. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Cost of Living Index tend to score higher on these

Population Density (Pop. per km²)Population Density by City
r = +0.16 · weak · n = 53
Plot
Population Density (pop. per mi²)Population Density by City
r = +0.16 · weak · n = 53
Plot
Urban Area DensityLargest City in the World by Area
r = +0.16 · weak · n = 53
Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Cost of Living Index tend to score lower on these

City Size (km²)Population Density by City
r = −0.13 · weak · n = 53
Plot
City Size (mi²)Population Density by City
r = −0.13 · weak · n = 53
Plot
Urban Area (sq. mi.)Largest City in the World by Area
r = −0.12 · weak · n = 53
Plot
Urban Area (sq. km.)Largest City in the World by Area
r = −0.12 · weak · n = 53
Plot

Quick answers

Which world city has the highest Cost of Living Index?: Zurich has the highest Cost of Living Index in 2026, at 118.5, followed by Geneva (116.5) and Basel (112.4).
Which world city has the lowest Cost of Living Index?: Bristol has the lowest Cost of Living Index in 2026, at 71.1.
What is the median Cost of Living Index across world cities?: The median is 76.2 across the 87 world cities with data in 2026.
Where does this most expensive cities in the world data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Cost of Living Index by City 2025 - Numbeo. Last updated 2026-10-28.