Mercer - Cost of Living

The figures for Mercer's cost of living and rental accommodation costs comparisons are based on a survey conducted in March 2009. The 2009 comparisons are based on a similar survey conducted in March 2008. The information is used by governments and major companies to protect the purchasing power of their employees when transferred abroad; rental accommodation costs data is used to assess local expatriate housing allowances. The choice of cities surveyed is based on the demand for corresponding data from companies and governmental organizations.

Reproduced with permission from Mercer.

	City	Country	Rank	Score
	Tokyo	Japan	1	143.7
	Osaka	Japan	2	119.2
	Moscow	Russia	3	115.4
	Geneva	Switzerland	4	109.2
	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	5	108.7
	Zurich	Switzerland	6	105.2
	Copenhagen	Denmark	7	105
	New York City	US	8	100
	Beijing	China	9	99.6
	Singapore	Singapore	10	98
	Milan	Italy	11	96.9
	Shanghai	China	12	95.2
	Paris	France	13	95.1
	Oslo	Norway	14	94.2
	Caracas	Venezuela	15	93.3
	London	UK	16	92.7
	Tel Aviv	Israel	17	91.9
	Rome	Italy	18	91.2
	Helsinki	Finland	19	90.5
	Dubai	UAE	20	90.1
	Vienna	Austria	21	89.3
	Shenzhen	China	22	89
	Los Angeles	US	23	87.6
	Guangzhou	China	24	87.6
	Dublin	Ireland	25	87.4
	Abu Dhabi	UAE	26	86.7
	Douala	Cameroun	27	86.1
	Athens	Greece	28	85.9
	Amsterdam	Netherlands	29	85.7
	Bratislava	Slovakia	30	84.8
	White Plains	US	31	84.7
	Lagos	Nigeria	32	84.6
	Tehran	Iran	33	84.1
	Abidjan	Ivory Coast	34	82.5
	Dakar	Senegal	35	82.5
	San Francisco	US	36	82.5
	Madrid	Spain	37	82.3
	Barcelona	Spain	38	82.1
	Luxembourg	Luxembourg	39	82.1
	Algiers	Algeria	40	81.7
	Honolulu	US	41	81.6
	Brussels	Belgium	42	81.6
	Beirut	Lebanon	43	81.6
	Almaty	Kazakhstan	44	81.5
	Miami	US	45	81.4
	St Petersbourg	Russia	46	81.3
	Munich	Germany	47	81.2
	Frankfurt	Germany	48	80.9
	Berlin	Germany	49	80.8
	Chicago	US	50	80.7

Notes and References

Base City: New York, US (=100)

The Cost of Living Indices above have been prepared specifically for the purpose of the press release. The indices are based on Mercer's cost of living database and are modified to include housing and and to reflect constant weighting and basket items. The results may differ from those calculated by Mercer's client who use the results solely for the purpose of expatriate compensation. We do not recommend that expatriates use the figures represented here to compare with their own compensation packages.