most expensive cities toronto

Here's where Toronto ranks among the world's most expensive cities

Toronto has retained its title of Canada's most expensive city for the second year in a row, according to the results of Mercer's Cost of Living Survey released on Wednesday.

But for all the talk of declining affordability and runaway housing prices in Toronto, it may come as a surprise to learn that the famously-expensive metropolis doesn't rank particularly high on the Cost of Living Survey's list of 227 global cities across five continents.

Toronto is just the 90th most expensive city in the world for 2023, a minor improvement from the 89th spot the city earned the year before.

Trailing Toronto (which is a good thing in lists like these), Vancouver slid eight spots down the list but holds onto its position as Canada's second-most expensive city at 116th place. Montreal dropped ten spots to 135th place, Ottawa fell five spots to 137th, and Calgary moved down four spots to 145th place.

Nicole Stewart, Senior Principal and Office Business Leader Career at Mercer Canada, notes the "domestic inflationary pressures that are affecting overall quality of living," while also acknowledging that the country "continues to be an attractive destination for remote workers."

"Extensive remote work flexibility is causing many employees to re-shift their priorities and think differently about where they want to work and live, and this will continue to force organizations to develop effective compensation strategies for their globally distributed workforces," added Stewart.

The annual study cites Canada's ongoing period of economic stagnation, where the country's GDP contracted by 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2022 and growth slowed to just 3.5 per cent over the entire year, declining from 5 per cent in 2021.

High inflation rates proved another factor in rising living costs, though overall inflation rates have decreased in 2023 to 5.2 per cent in February 2023 compared to the stratospheric 8.1 per cent figure seen last June.

A full ranking of the 227 global cities can be found on Mercer's Cost of Living Survey website.

Here are the top 100 most expensive cities for 2023:

  1. Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR)
  2. Singapore, Singapore
  3. Zurich, Switzerland
  4. Geneva, Switzerland
  5. Basel, Switzerland
  6. New York City, United States
  7. Bern, Switzerland
  8. Tel Aviv, Israel
  9. Copenhagen, Denmark
  10. Nassau, Bahamas
  11. Los Angeles, United States
  12. Shanghai, China
  13. Beijing, China
  14. San Francisco, United States
  15. Honolulu, United States
  16. Seoul, South Korea
  17. London, United Kingdom
  18. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  19. Tokyo, Japan
  20. Shenzhen, China
  21. Boston, United States
  22. Miami, United States
  23. Washington, DC, United States
  24. Chicago, United States
  25. Vienna, Austria
  26. Bangui, Central African Republic
  27. Djibouti, Djibouti
  28. Amsterdam, Netherlands
  29. Atlanta, United States
  30. Luanda, Angola
  31. Seattle, United States
  32. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
  33. Prague, Czech Republic
  34. Helsinki, Finland
  35. Paris, France
  36. Guangzhou, China
  37. Berlin, Germany
  38. Munich, Germany
  39. Conakry, Guinea Republic
  40. N'Djamena, Chad
  41. Brussels, Belgium
  42. Victoria, Seychelles
  43. Abu Dhabi,United Arab Emirates
  44. San Juan, Puerto Rico
  45. Buenos Aires, Argentina
  46. The Hague, Netherlands
  47. Lagos, Nigeria
  48. Frankfurt, Germany
  49. Milan, Italy
  50. Philadelphia, United States
  51. Dublin, Ireland
  52. Libreville, Gabon
  53. Dallas, United States
  54. Montevideo, Uruguay
  55. Qingdao, China
  56. Sydney, Australia
  57. Taipei, Taiwan
  58. Luxembourg, Luxembourg
  59. Rome, Italy
  60. Oslo, Norway
  61. Houston, United States
  62. Hamburg, Germany
  63. San Jose, Costa Rica
  64. Riga, Latvia
  65. Pittsburgh, United States
  66. Dakar, Senegal
  67. Minneapolis, United States
  68. Busan, South Korea
  69. Stuttgart, Germany
  70. Noumea, New Caledonia
  71. Melbourne, Australia
  72. Portland, United States
  73. Nanjing, China
  74. Dusseldorf, Germany
  75. Barcelona, Spain
  76. Shenyang, China
  77. Abidjan, Côte D'Ivoire
  78. St. Louis, United States
  79. Mexico City, Mexico
  80. Detroit, United States
  81. Douala, Cameroon
  82. Brisbane, Australia
  83. Madrid, Spain
  84. Brazzaville, Republic Of Congo
  85. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  86. Edinburgh, United Kingdom
  87. Santiago, Chile
  88. Cleveland, United States
  89. Chengdu, China
  90. Toronto, Canada
  91. Leipzig, Germany
  92. Lyon, France
  93. Osaka, Japan
  94. Canberra, Australia
  95. Stockholm, Sweden
  96. Nuremberg, Germany
  97. Athens, Greece
  98. Manama, Bahrain
  99. Chongqing, China
  100. Tallinn, Estonia
Lead photo by

Jack Landau


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