?? U.S. Singapore and New York City tied for the first rank amongst the world's most expensive cities in 2022, pushing Israel's Tel Aviv from the first place in 2021 to the third place in 2022. Both these cities had high inflation and a strong currency. Surprisingly, this is the Big Apple's first time atop the ranking.
Hong Kong. Hong Kong, located in southeastern China, tops the list as the world's most expensive city. With sky-high prices for accommodation, restaurants, and necessities like milk and bread, the city's cost of living is notoriously high.
New York overtakes Hong Kong as the most expensive city in the world for expats, new survey shows. Hong Kong has ended its four-year reign as the most expensive city globally for expatriates, according to a survey — as New York surpasses it to first place.
Tied with New York, Singapore often tops the list.
Monaco. Monaco tops the list of the most expensive countries. The European country is the most expensive to live in, with a cost of living of $3,585 per month.
According to Expatistan, this means Australia is one of the most expensive places to live (ranked 13 out of 74). Generally, a higher cost of living means that basic expenses have become – well, expensive.
Australia. Although Australia is one of the most expensive countries to live in, residents enjoy some of the highest purchasing power in the world. The country ranks No. 3 in this regard, granting its citizens almost 5% more purchasing power than the U.S.
Housing cost of living comparison
The most expensive place for housing in Australia is Sydney. Including utilities, it's 48.51% higher than the cost of Adelaide, which is the least priciest capital city. Monthly rent in a 2 bedroom apartment* is likely to cost you around $671 more a month in Sydney than in Melbourne.
Sydney has been ranked as the world's 10th most expensive city, according to the latest Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report, thanks to the price of groceries, rent and everyday services, ranking equally with Copenhagen.
In its report, Niche also ranked the cheapest places to live in the U.S. At the top of the list this year is Brownsville, Texas. Brownsville has been steadily rising in Niche's Lowest Cost of Living ranking over the past few years, placing number six in 2021, number three in 2022 and finally, number one in 2023.
All the cities on this graphic are classified as severely unaffordable—and, for the 12th year in a row, Hong Kong takes the top spot as the world's most unaffordable housing market, with a score of 23.2.
Melbourne is one of the most expensive cities in the world. Although you can enjoy an excellent quality of life on an average net salary in Melbourne, it is a fairly expensive city, as most of Australia's major cities are. The living cost in Melbourne varies greatly depending on your lifestyle and where you come from.
Dubai isn't actually much more expensive than London, New York, and other big cities. However, Dubai's not a very walkable city. Jaywalking is illegal, and crossings are few and far between. Taxi prices aren't too expensive but taking them often can add up.
Supply and demand imbalance
One of the primary reasons for high house prices in Australia is the imbalance between supply and demand. Housing supply is under ongoing strain due to an increasing population and a limited land supply, particularly in large cities like Melbourne and Sydney.
Dubai is an expensive city compared to other UAE locales. Numbeo's cost of living index estimates that a single person in Dubai needs about 3,700 United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED), or $1,000 USD per month, excluding rent.
Hong Kong
Here, the price of a property per square meter is the highest in the entire world. You will have to pay more than 25,000$ per m² to buy an apartment close to the city centre.
Cheapest Aussie cities to rent
So what about renters? Well, Adelaide is actually Australia's most affordable capital city for renters ($534), while Sydney is the most expensive ($711), according to the latest CoreLogic rental data.
Bellevue Hill has consistently come up on top as one of Sydney's richest postcodes, landing itself in the top five for the highest income earners for the past eight consecutive years. The postcode is yet another prestigious harbourside neighbourhood that is full of sprawling estate homes and expensive cars.
According to the report, Bermuda is the world's most expensive place to live. Switzerland ranks second on the list (and it's definitely not the only European country), followed by new entrant the Cayman Islands, Bahamas, and Barbados.
The most expensive house in Australia was sold for $130 million in 2022. Australia's most expensive home sold, however, was at One Sydney Harbour for $140 million. The median house price in Point Piper is now $9.9 million.
From the elite in Australia's most expensive suburb, Vaucluse, New South Wales, to mining and working class labourers of the country's cheapest housing market, Kambalda East in the West Australian Goldfields, the standards of living across the continent are exemplified by our real estate options.
Australia currently has the 12th highest cost of living in the world, with the USA and UK well behind at 21 and 23rd place respectively. The overall cost of living in Australia is 9% higher than the USA, but 10% cheaper than London.
The average annual salary in Australia is $68,900 and $35.30 per hour. It is just the average salary for basic workers but skilled and experienced workers also earn around $108,980 annually. The average salary also varies depending on the field of work and the job role of workers.
Housing Costs In Australia
Housing in Australia is much more expensive than the UK. Gathering sufficient funds for a deposit before securing an Australian salary can challenging.
Why is Australia's cost of living so high? Expert commentators point to high inflation combined with stagnating wages and insecure work as reasons that many Australians are struggling to pay for essential needs like food, housing and utilities.