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Top 10 most expensive cities to live in 2026: Swiss cities lead as NY slips; check where Indian cities rank

Top 10 most expensive cities in 2026 in the world: Numbeo’s Cost of Living Index by City 2026 reveals Zurich at the top, while Indian cities secure low-cost positions.

2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 11, 2026 05:58 AM IST

Cost of Living Index: Top 10 most expensive cities in 2026 in the world (Source: Canva Pro)

World’s top 10 most expensive cities to live in 2026: At a time when global living expenses continue to rise—driven by inflation, currency fluctuations, and growing demand for premium urban lifestyles—Swiss cities have once again dominated Numbeo’s Cost of Living Index by City 2026, taking six of the top 10 spots.

Zurich, with a cost-of-living index score of 118.5, retains its position as the most expensive city in the world in 2026.

Other Swiss cities, including Geneva, Basel and Bern, round out the top six.

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The Cost of Living Index reflects the estimated average expenses for a family of four in each city.

Notably, America’s most expensive urban hub, New York, previously ranked 4th in 2025, has dropped three places to 7th this year.

Similarly, San Francisco also experienced a decline in its ranking this year, falling from 7th to 10th.

Iceland’s capital city, Reykjavik, also makes it to the list at No. 8, along with several cities outside Europe and North America that showed notable movement.

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Tel Aviv-Yafo climbed seven places to 11th in 2026, with Singapore remaining the only Asian city in the top 20, ranking 14th.

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Three Indian cities, Indore, Bhopal, and Patna, are featured in 2026, ranking #477, #473, and #470, respectively.

As a result, they have overtaken North African cities such as Cairo and Pakistani cities like Lahore and Karachi, which were previously ranked in 2025, to secure positions in the low-cost bottom 10 rankings.

The world’s top 10 cities with the highest cost-of-living in 2026:

Zurich

Switzerland

Cost of Living Index

118.5

Rent Index: 70.6

Combined Index: 97.1

Purchasing Power: 164.4

Geneva

Switzerland

Cost of Living Index

116.5

Rent Index: 65.1

Combined Index: 93.6

Purchasing Power: 158.5

Basel

Switzerland

Cost of Living Index

112.4

Rent Index: 49.6

Combined Index: 84.4

Purchasing Power: 183.7

Lausanne

Switzerland

Cost of Living Index

111.5

Rent Index: 55.0

Combined Index: 86.3

Purchasing Power: 163.7

Lugano

Switzerland

Cost of Living Index

110.1

Rent Index: 47.0

Combined Index: 81.9

Purchasing Power: 153.6

Bern

Switzerland

Cost of Living Index

110.0

Rent Index: 46.8

Combined Index: 81.8

Purchasing Power: 174.4

New York

United States

Cost of Living Index

100.0

Rent Index: 100.0 (Baseline)

Combined Index: 100.0

Purchasing Power: 100.0

Reykjavik

Iceland

Cost of Living Index

98.9

Rent Index: 50.1

Combined Index: 77.1

Purchasing Power: 109.0

Honolulu

United States

Cost of Living Index

98.2

Rent Index: 63.9

Combined Index: 82.9

Purchasing Power: 96.0

#10

San Francisco

United States

Cost of Living Index

97.6

Rent Index: 80.5

Combined Index: 90.0

Purchasing Power: 151.0

Source: Numbeo Cost of Living Index by City 2026 • New York City = 100.0 baseline reference

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Cherry Gupta

Cherry Gupta is an Assistant Manager – Content at The Indian Express. She leads the Top 10 section, curating list-based features on key national and international developments, and manages daily news content. She also produces SEO-driven articles and collaborates with the Lifestyle team to conduct interviews with notable artists and write workplace culture features. ... Read More