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The World's Most Expensive City

It's not New York, Tokyo or London. The priciest city in the world is Moscow--for the second year in a row.

Moscow is the most expensive city in the world due largely to the high cost of housing and the poor exchange rate against the dollar, according to the annual survey of 143 cities worldwide conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. The survey measured the comparative cost of more than 200 items such as housing, transportation and food using New York City--and the U.S. dollar--as the baseline. This cost-of-living survey is designed to help expatriates who live and work in foreign cities, a proposition that has become especially pricey for Americans since the dollar has weakened and the euro has strengthened.

London was second on the list, up from fifth place. Seoul was the third-priciest city, followed by Tokyo and Hong Kong, all down one from 2006. New York City is the only U.S. city to make the top 20 list. For the fifth year in a row, the least expensive city surveyed was Asuncion in Paraguay.

The most expensive fast-food hamburger is in Copenhagen, while the cheapest is in Beijing. Moscow serves the most expensive cup of coffee, while the least expensive cup can be purchased in Buenos Aires. Tokyo is the most expensive city for renting a luxury two-bedroom unfurnished apartment, and Johannesburg is the cheapest.

The top 20 most expensive cities worldwide:

1. Moscow

2. London

3. Seoul

4. Tokyo

5. Hong Kong

6. Copenhagen

7. Geneva

8. Osaka

9. Zurich

10. Oslo

11. Milan

12. St. Petersburg

13. Paris

14. Singapore

15. New York

16. Dublin

17. Tel Aviv

18. Rome

19. Vienna

20. Beijing

(Source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting)

High-ranking U.S. cities include: Los Angeles (42), Miami (51) and San Francisco (54).

--From the Editors at Netscape