People may be flocking to Alberta to beat the cost of living elsewhere in Canada, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t really expensive to live in Calgary.
The annual cost of living survey for international workers just released by Mercer shows that Calgary is among the top five most expensive cities to live in Canada and within the top 150 cities in the world.
Calgary wiggled up to #141 on this year’s ranking of world cities, moving up by four places.
In North America, New York City (number 7 in the global ranking) remains the most expensive city. It is followed by Nassau, Bahamas (9), Los Angeles (10), Honolulu (12), and San Francisco (13).
Of the 10 most expensive cities for international assignees, half are located in Western Europe, with Switzerland being home to a whopping four. However, it is Southeast Asian cities that lead the list, with Hong Kong and Singapore remaining in the first and second positions, respectively.
Mercer’s annual Cost of Living City Ranking provides trends and insights for those who need to make informed decisions about global mobility operations and international assignees.
The ranking lists 226 cities in the world in order from the most expensive to the least expensive places to live and assesses the comparative costs of over 200 items in each location—from housing and transportation to food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment.