Most Expensive Cities in Asia

Ranking of cities by overall cost of living index. Index of 100 = New York City.

Top 5 Ranked

Singapore

20% more expensive

Tel Aviv-Yafo

20% cheaper

Hong Kong

31% cheaper

4 Ashqelon

5 Holon

Singapore

20% more expensive

Tel Aviv-Yafo

20% cheaper

Hong Kong

31% cheaper

4 Ashqelon 32% cheaper

5 Holon 35% cheaper

Overview

This ranking uses a weighted cost index calculated from user-contributed price data across 7 categories. For each city, we compute the average price in each category and compare it to New York City (baseline = 100). A score below 100 means cheaper; above 100 means more expensive.

Housing (35%): Rent, utilities, and accommodation costs

Groceries (20%): Food, beverages, and household supplies

Transportation (15%): Public transit, fuel, and vehicle costs

Dining (10%): Restaurants, cafes, and takeout meals

Entertainment (8%): Leisure activities, movies, and sports

Clothing (7%): Apparel, footwear, and accessories

Childcare (5%): Daycare, babysitting, and child-related services

City Rankings

Rank	City	Overall	Housing	Groceries	Transport	Dining	Entertain	Clothing	Childcare
1	Singapore Singapore	120	82	72	382	45	76	89	50
2	Tel Aviv-Yafo Israel	80	50	74	139	107	62	123	46
3	Hong Kong Hong Kong	69	63	74	106	39	58	87	39
4	Ashqelon Israel	68	29	67	131	107	50	116	46
5	Holon Israel	65	33	63	127	94	49	98	22
6	Dubai United Arab Emirates	60	61	47	75	52	62	99	26
7	Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates	58	42	48	122	51	49	76	22
8	Riyadh Saudi Arabia	50	31	45	91	39	66	83	17
9	Istanbul Turkey	49	24	35	127	48	38	78	33
10	Taipei Taiwan	49	21	71	100	32	32	76	31
11	Moscow Russia	49	31	40	101	46	30	100	25
12	Al Ain United Arab Emirates	49	25	47	122	39	40	64	10
13	Seoul South Korea	48	24	81	69	39	38	65	36
14	Ankara Turkey	47	19	33	132	45	35	75	24
15	HsinChu Taiwan	47	14	63	110	24	39	84	26
16	Yerevan Armenia	46	21	37	92	45	54	111	12
17	Tokyo Japan	45	28	69	61	34	46	62	26
18	Daegu South Korea	45	12	78	73	33	34	87	46
19	Siem Reap Cambodia	45	10	40	179	24	22	34	9
20	Chiba Japan	43	23	59	82	31	37	55	31
21	Tehran Iran	43	12	18	186	22	14	61	4
22	Tainan Taiwan	43	9	69	100	31	29	75	11
23	Daejeon South Korea	43	12	74	73	32	24	69	56
24	Saint Petersburg Russia	42	20	37	98	39	26	96	15
25	Angeles Philippines	41	9	44	144	15	20	54	12
26	Bangkok Thailand	41	16	44	102	24	34	73	23
27	Incheon South Korea	41	16	71	69	34	26	64	18
28	Kuala Lumpur Malaysia	41	15	43	110	25	31	67	15
29	Jeddah (Jiddah) Saudi Arabia	40	17	39	87	36	55	73	12
30	Taoyuan Taiwan	39	12	50	96	30	27	63	26
31	Nagoya Japan	38	16	62	61	32	37	53	19
32	Selangor Malaysia	38	13	41	110	18	27	63	7
33	Kyoto Japan	37	15	58	61	39	39	53	10
34	Bishkek Kyrgyzstan	37	14	29	103	31	28	70	9
35	Koh Samui Thailand	37	16	43	77	30	25	69	23
36	Shanghai China	36	23	39	54	24	36	66	51
37	Taguig City Philippines	36	15	40	92	21	28	51	23
38	Tbilisi Georgia	36	19	37	51	48	39	89	8
39	Amman Jordan	35	13	33	77	34	42	77	10
40	Johor Bahru Malaysia	35	14	38	97	22	25	44	11
41	Beijing China	35	22	37	50	23	37	71	40
42	Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam	35	14	32	102	15	14	61	23
43	Shah Alam Malaysia	34	10	41	93	20	27	49	11
44	Almaty Kazakhstan	33	17	30	63	35	29	78	17
45	Jakarta Indonesia	32	10	36	82	17	19	63	19
46	Ningbo China	31	10	39	77	19	19	51	26
47	Tashkent Uzbekistan	31	17	28	55	23	31	83	17
48	Colombo Sri Lanka	31	9	50	72	31	16	37	1
49	Baku Azerbaijan	31	12	28	56	41	28	82	11
50	Batumi (Ajara) Georgia	30	14	30	41	41	31	88	6
51	Hua Hin Thailand	30	13	34	60	30	33	42	18
52	Astana Kazakhstan	29	12	29	55	34	29	63	8
53	Xiamen China	27	9	34	46	21	30	59	38
54	Jinan China	27	8	28	53	19	53	51	29
55	Fuzhou China	27	8	35	53	19	29	60	16
56	Tianjin China	26	10	34	50	23	14	52	32
57	Kathmandu Nepal	26	5	25	87	20	16	36	5
58	Cagayan de Oro City Philippines	24	10	34	55	19	16	36	4
59	Dhaka Bangladesh	24	3	27	79	19	17	31	3
60	Mumbai India	24	15	23	46	25	18	36	7
61	Yogyakarta Indonesia	22	7	28	54	11	12	55	6
62	Islamabad Pakistan	22	6	21	58	19	16	45	6
63	Gurgaon India	21	8	23	43	23	20	38	8
64	Pune India	20	7	25	40	23	16	42	4
65	Hyderabad India	20	6	22	46	22	16	35	4
66	Delhi India	19	6	20	42	23	17	39	3
67	Bangalore India	19	8	23	37	19	15	37	6
68	Chennai India	18	5	23	46	16	13	33	3
69	Karachi Pakistan	18	5	20	47	15	13	36	2
70	Lahore Pakistan	18	4	19	48	16	13	34	2
71	Ahmedabad India	17	5	22	37	19	14	33	2
72	Ernakulam India	17	4	19	49	13	12	27	4
73	Salem India	16	3	20	45	16	14	27	2
74	Kolkata India	16	4	20	36	17	13	30	3
75	Jamshedpur India	16	3	19	36	17	18	29	3
76	Pondicherry India	15	5	17	35	13	9	31	3
77	Udaipur India	14	2	17	32	16	13	33	2
78	Jabalpur India	13	3	16	31	14	13	28	2

Index value of 100 = New York City. Lower values indicate cheaper cost of living.

Asia Cost Heatmap

Interactive map showing the most expensive cities in Asia. Larger, redder circles indicate higher cost of living.

Lower cost

Medium cost

Higher cost

Understanding City Cost Differences

City costs are shaped by real estate markets, local wages, and demand for urban amenities. Global cities with strong economies and international appeal tend to be more expensive. Transportation costs vary based on car dependency versus public transit availability. Dining and entertainment costs reflect local wages and tourism demand. Comparing city costs helps with career decisions, retirement planning, and lifestyle choices.

Source: User-contributed price data. Rankings are based on the weighted average of category indices.

Last updated: January 2026

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Most Expensive Cities in Asia

Top 5 Ranked

Singapore

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Hong Kong

Singapore

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Hong Kong

Overview

City Rankings

Asia Cost Heatmap

Understanding City Cost Differences

Continue Reading

Cost of Living Index by Country

Cost of Living Index by US State

Cost of Living Index by City

Most Expensive Cities in the US

Most Expensive Cities in North America

Most Expensive Cities in Europe