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    8 of the World’s Current 10 Most Expensive Cities Are in Switzerland
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    8 of the World’s Current 10 Most Expensive Cities Are in Switzerland

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    10. Internal_Leke on

      It never compares the same things overall.

      New York is cheaper mostly because it can go down in quality at level Switzerland does not tolerate.

      Meat in New York can be super cheap compared to Switzerland, but if one would to buy the same quality (organic, decent pay to workers, decent living conditions of animals, local), then it’s basically the same price.

      Restaurants in New York can be cheaper, sure, but as soon as one wants to have some decent quality and service, it is at least as pricey as Zurich.

    11. Ozzy_chef on

      Because no-one is gonna read how they come up with these figures-

      Understanding our Cost of Living Indexes

      Numbeo provides a series of cost of living indices that compare various aspects of living expenses in cities worldwide, using New York City (NYC) as the baseline with an index value of 100%. Here’s a detailed explanation of each index:​

      -Cost of Living Index (Excl. Rent): This index measures the relative prices of consumer goods and services—including groceries, dining, transportation, and utilities—but excludes housing costs like rent or mortgage payments. For example, a city with a Cost of Living Index of 120 suggests that everyday expenses are 20% higher than in NYC, excluding rent.​

      -Rent Index: This index evaluates the average cost of renting apartments in a city compared to New York City. An index value of 80 indicates that rental prices are approximately 20% lower than those in New York City.

      -Groceries Index: This index assesses the cost of grocery items in a city relative to New York City. It is calculated using the weighted prices of various food items commonly found in the “Markets” section of Numbeo’s database.​

      -Restaurants Index: This index compares the prices of meals and beverages in restaurants and bars between a given city and New York City, reflecting dining out expenses.

      -Cost of Living Plus Rent Index: This comprehensive index combines the costs captured in the Cost of Living Index and the Rent Index, providing an overall comparison of both everyday expenses and housing costs relative to New York City.

      -Local Purchasing Power: This index indicates the relative purchasing power of residents in a city based on the average net salary. A value of 40 implies that, on average, residents can afford 60% fewer goods and services than those in New York City earning an average salary.​

    12. Amadeus404 on

      Sometimes it’s Luxembourg, or Oslo, or Honk-Kong. It’s often because of the change rate, the cost of living is converted in USD. If the franc is high and the dollar is low then Swiss cities climb up these rankings.

    13. New_Background_4346 on

      The cost of living in a city is a somewhat useless statistic, the interesting number is how much a person can save living there.

      Living in Zurich might be very expensive, but people save on average (at least in my job sector) 20-40k + Swiss francs a year compared to lower income cities/cantons. That’s the real difference.

    17. Budget_Department822 on

      Lucerne more expensive than geneva? Never would have thought. Rent in geneva is madness

    36. kart0ffel12 on

      Chf is absolutely expensive now vs any other currency so this is no surprize. Though if you account for slaries this rank would look totally different.

    40. Signor_C on

      Honestly, I never understood these charts. I have the impression that cities like NYC or Boston are way more expensive than Zurich (and I say this as someone living in Zurich)

    46. redsterXVI on

      Your post is kinda misleading. They only looked at 8 Swiss cities, so we couldn’t have more than 8 out of the top 10 spots anyway. No chance Winterthur wouldn’t beat Honolulu.

    47. Cyberspace_Sorcerer on

      This is such a weird chart. I cannot for the life of me imagine why would not compare the ratio of the median rent to median salary.

      What is the point of comparing it to new York city?