Even though inflation is easing, many Americans still feel the financial squeeze. Yet, there are six international cities where the cost of living index surpasses that of any city in the United States.
To determine the top 30 cities with the highest cost of living indexes, crowdsourcing database Numbeo compared the cost of living in major cities in the world with that of New York City (NYC). Using NYC as a baseline, they compared several indexes to it, such as each city’s cost of rent, groceries, and restaurants.
The results are as follows, with indexes over 100 meaning the expense for a category is higher than NYC; indexes under 100 indicate they’re cheaper.
1: Hamilton, Bermuda
Hamilton has the highest cost of living in the world, with a total cost of living index of 137.4. Although rent is slightly cheaper (94.7) in this Bermuda city than in NYC, its groceries and restaurant price indexes are an astounding 147.7 and 131.3, respectively.
2: Basel, Switzerland
If you have your heart set on moving to Switzerland someday, you’re going to need a boatload of money if the following five cities on this list are any indication. Of Switzerland’s pricey cities, Basel has the highest cost of living, with a cost of living index of 120.2. The silver lining? Although Basel residents spend lots of money on groceries (135.7 on the groceries index), their rent index is a low 46.6.