There are many advantages to dwelling in an iconic metropolis like New York or Singapore, however the facilities and exclusivity can come at a excessive value.

As Visible Capitalist’s Avery Koop particulars under, cities change into “costly” resulting from quite a lot of elements akin to excessive demand for housing, a focus of high-paying companies and industries, and a excessive lifestyle. Moreover, elements akin to taxes, transportation prices, and availability of products and providers may contribute to the general value of dwelling in international cities.

The infographic above makes use of knowledge from EIU to rank the world most and least costly cities to stay in. To make the record, the EIU examines 400+ costs for over 200 services in 172 cities, surveying quite a lot of companies to trace worth fluctuations over the past yr.

Inflation + Robust Forex = Costly Cities

In the event you stay in a metropolis the place many residents discover it difficult to place a roof over their heads, meals on their plates, and make ends meet, you reside in an costly metropolis.

But when this inflation is compounded with a robust nationwide foreign money, you might stay in one of many world’s most costly cities.

Singapore and New York Metropolis tied for the primary rank amongst the world’s costliest cities in 2022, pushing Israel’s Tel Aviv from the primary place in 2021 to the third place in 2022. Each these cities had excessive inflation and a robust foreign money. Surprisingly, that is the Huge Apple’s first time atop the rating.

Town with probably the most costly actual property markets worldwide, Hong Kong ranked fourth on this record, adopted by Los Angeles, which moved up from its ninth rank in 2021.

Poor Economies = Cheaper Cities

Asia continues to dominate the record of the world’s least costly cities, adopted by components of North Africa and the Center East. Although affordability sounds good at face worth, sitting on the backside of the rating isn’t essentially a coveted place.

Whereas the price of dwelling in a few of the cities in these nations is low, it comes on the worth of a weak foreign money, poor economic system, and, in lots of circumstances, political and financial turmoil.

The last decade-long battle in Syria weakened the Syrian pound, led to a spiraling inflation and gasoline shortages, and additional collapsed its economic system. It’s no shock that its capital metropolis of Damascus has maintained its place because the world’s most cost-effective metropolis.

Tripoli and Tehran, the capitals of Libya and Iran, respectively, observe subsequent on this record, reflecting their weakened economies.

In the meantime, seven cities in Asia with the frequent denominator of high-income inequality and low wages dominate the record of the world’s most cost-effective cities. These embody three Indian cities, Tashkent in Uzbekistan, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Pakistan’s most populous metropolis of Karachi, and Sri Lankan capital–Colombo.