Cost of living in 2017: the most and least expensive cities
Where does a salary stretch furthest, and where does it evaporate on groceries and a coffee? As of 2017, the crowd-sourced Numbeo Cost of Living Index drew the sharpest possible line: a basket that costs 100 in New York cost close to 150 in Zurich — and barely a quarter of that in Cairo.
Numbeo's index is built from prices submitted by users around the world and pegged to a single reference point: New York City = 100. Every other city is scaled against it, so an index of 130 means everyday goods and services cost about 30% more than in New York, and an index of 26 means they cost roughly a quarter as much. The headline figure covers groceries, dining out, transport and utilities but excludes rent, which Numbeo reports separately.
On the 2017 mid-year list of several hundred cities, the top was almost entirely Swiss. Zurich led the major cities at an index of about 149.5, followed by Geneva at roughly 142.1, with Basel, Bern, Lausanne and Lugano close behind. The Atlantic tax haven of Hamilton, Bermuda, slotted in near the very top at around 148, and Reykjavik reached about 130.7. Norway supplied the next cluster — Stavanger near 117 and Oslo around 114.8.
The cheapest major cities
At the other end, the pattern was just as consistent. The lowest scores belonged overwhelmingly to Indian cities, with a handful of Egyptian and Ukrainian entries alongside them. Among the world's genuinely large, well-connected cities, Cairo stood out: a Numbeo index of roughly 26.2 in mid-2017 meant the everyday cost of living was about a quarter of New York's. In practical terms, a household budget that barely covers the basics in Zurich would go five to six times further in Cairo.
That gap is the headline number worth remembering. Between the priciest Swiss cities and the cheapest major hubs, the same basket of goods and services differed by a factor of more than five — before rent, which only widens the spread.
The same basket that cost 100 in New York cost about 150 in Zurich and roughly 26 in Cairo — a spread of more than five to one across the world's cities.
Which basket you measure changes the answer
It is tempting to ask which city was simply "the most expensive in 2017," but the honest answer is that it depends entirely on whose index you read. Numbeo tracks crowd-sourced consumer prices and excludes rent, which is why Swiss cities dominate its list. Other widely cited surveys measure different things for different people, and they crown different winners.
- Numbeo (crowd-sourced, excl. rent): Zurich and the Swiss cities on top; New York fixed at 100.
- Mercer 2017 (corporate-assignment basket): ranked Luanda, Angola, the most expensive city for employers relocating staff.
- EIU Worldwide Cost of Living 2017 (expatriate basket): ranked Singapore first, the fourth year running.
The divergence is not error; it is method. Mercer weights housing and expatriate goods for corporate transfers, so a city with scarce international-standard accommodation can leap to the top. The Economist Intelligence Unit prices a fixed expatriate basket and converts it at prevailing exchange rates. Numbeo aggregates what ordinary users report paying. Each is internally consistent, and each names a different city.
Why the rankings keep moving
Numbeo's figures are a snapshot, not a constant. Because they are compiled from user submissions and expressed against a New York baseline, they respond quickly to two things: local price changes and, above all, exchange-rate swings. A strengthening Swiss franc or a weakening emerging-market currency can move a city several places between editions without any real change in local prices. Reykjavik's climb up the index through the mid-2010s owed as much to a recovering króna as to Icelandic shopkeepers raising tags.
The broad geography has proved durable — Swiss cities have stayed at or near the top in the years since 2017, and the cheapest major cities remain concentrated in South Asia and North Africa. But the precise order and the index values are re-cut every year, so any single ranking is best read as "as of 2017," not as a permanent verdict.
Frequently asked questions
Which was the most expensive city to live in in 2017?
On Numbeo's mid-2017 index (New York = 100), Zurich topped the major cities at about 149.5, with Geneva near 142 and Swiss cities filling most of the top ten. Hamilton, Bermuda, sat near the very top as well.
Which was the cheapest major city in 2017?
Among large world cities, Cairo was one of the cheapest, with a Numbeo index around 26 in mid-2017 — roughly a quarter of New York's cost of living. Several Indian cities scored lower still on the full list.
How does Numbeo measure the cost of living?
It aggregates prices submitted by users worldwide — groceries, dining, transport and utilities — and scales every city against New York = 100. The headline index excludes rent, which Numbeo reports as a separate figure.
Why does Numbeo differ from Mercer or the EIU?
Each measures a different basket for a different audience. Numbeo uses crowd-sourced consumer prices excluding rent. Mercer's 2017 corporate-assignment survey ranked Luanda first; the EIU's 2017 expatriate survey ranked Singapore first.
Have the rankings changed since 2017?
Yes. The list is annual, crowd-sourced and sensitive to exchange rates, so both the order and the values shift each edition. Swiss cities have stayed near the top since, but the exact figures move year to year.
- Numbeo — Cost of Living Index by City, 2017 (mid-year); New York = 100 baseline (Zurich 149.5, Geneva 142.1, Reykjavik 130.7, Oslo 114.8, New York 100.0, Tokyo 97.7, Cairo 26.2).
- Numbeo — Cost of Living Index methodology (crowd-sourced consumer prices; Cost of Living Index excludes rent).
- Mercer — 2017 Cost of Living Survey (Luanda ranked most expensive), cited for methodological contrast.
- Economist Intelligence Unit — Worldwide Cost of Living 2017 (Singapore ranked most expensive), cited for methodological contrast.