Munich has been ranked as the most expensive German city in an international cost of living study. Inflation has been blamed as the main driving factor behind the rising cost of living in cities around the world.

The Cost of Living City Ranking 2022

The Cost of Living City Ranking is a biannual study by the international management firm, Mercer. The study evaluates the price of over 200 items in 10 different categories, including housing, utilities, personal care, transport, home services and food, from over 400 countries around the world, to determine the cost of living for international employees.

This year, the international company updated its methodology and added newer, more relevant items to the basket, including smartphones and tablet computers. Items such as CDs and video rentals were removed.

The ranking sees Hong Kong reclaim its top spot after losing out to Ashgabat in Turkmenistan last year, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Inflation was largely blamed for the rising cost of living this year. However, despite low inflation, Asian cities dominated the ranking due to high prices and strong currencies driving up living costs.

Switzerland put in a "strong showing" this year, with all four of the remaining top five most expensive cities being located within the Swiss Confederation. Zurich continued its rise through the rankings and was crowned Switzerland’s most expensive city; second in the world. Geneva ranked third, with Basel and Bern rounding off the top five.

8 German cities ranked among most expensive globally

Eight German cities were featured in this year’s ranking, with all but one placing within the top 100 most expensive cities. Munich, unsurprisingly, was found to be the most expensive German city, rising 21 places to 33rd in the ranking. Berlin (46) was the second most expensive German city, followed by Hamburg (59), Frankfurt (62), Stuttgart (71), Düsseldorf (81), Leipzig (99) and Nuremberg (116).

Most of the above cities have become more expensive compared to last year’s ranking due to rising inflation in Germany, which has been driven by a number of factors including the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Interestingly, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf actually got less expensive.

The most expensive cities in the world

The 10 most expensive cities in the world, according to Mercer’s Cost of Living City Ranking 2022, are:

1. Hong Kong
2. Zurich
3. Geneva
4. Basel
5. Bern
6. Tel Aviv
7. New York City
8. Singapore
9. Tokyo
10. Beijing

For the complete ranking and more information including the impact of inflation, you can visit Mercer’s website.