These are world's most expensive cities to live in 2022, two top the list

New York was the world’s most expensive metropolis in 2022, sharing the title with Singapore, as soaring energy prices doubled the inflation rate across the major global cities, Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual survey said.

Last year Tel Aviv topped the list but it dropped to third this year, while Sydney snuck into the top 10 this time and Moscow and St Petersberg in Russia scaled the rankings by as much as 88 places amid sanctions following Ukraine invasion, the EIU’s Worldwide Cost of Living report found.

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Six of the eight highest climbers (after the two Russian cities) were US cities, led by Atlanta going from 42nd to 46th in the rankings of the 172 cities surveyed. Cities in countries where their currency slumped in 2022 featured among those dropping down the listing of most costly cities. Japan’s Tokyo and Osaka were among the 10 biggest drops, ending at 37th and 43rd respectively, down from 13th and 10th in 2021.

Stockholm and Luxembourg dropped the most, both losing 38 places to 99th and 104th. Damascus in Syria and Tripoli in Libya retained their slots as the cheapest cities surveyed.

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London dropped to 28th from 17th in 2021. Edinburgh came in at 46th, down from 27th, while Manchester was 73rd most expensive compared with 41st last year.

Australian cities generally edged up the rankings as Melbourne moved up to 15th from 16th last year, while Brisbane was 32nd up from 36th. Perth bucked the trend, dropping two spots to 73rd.

“Unless the war in Ukraine escalates, we predict that commodity prices for energy, food and for supplies such as metals are likely to fall sharply in 2023 compared with 2022 levels, although they are likely to stay higher than previous levels,” the report said.