Source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2005 Cost-of-Living Survey
| 2005 Rank |
City |
| 1 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 2 | Osaka, Japan |
| 3 | London, United Kingdom |
| 4 | Moscow, Russia |
| 5 | Seoul, South Korea |
| 6 | Geneva, Switzerland |
| 7 | Zurich, Switzerland |
| 8 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 9 | Hong Kong, Hong Kong |
| 10 | Oslo, Norway |
| 11 | Milan, Italy |
| 12 | Paris, France |
| 13 | New York City, United States |
| 13 | Dublin, Ireland |
| 15 | St. Petersburg, Russia |
| 16 | Vienna, Austria |
| 17 | Rome, Italy |
| 18 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 19 | Beijing, China |
| 20 | Sydney, Australia |
| 20 | Helsinki, Finland |
| 22 | Douala, Cameroon |
| 22 | Istanbul, Turkey |
| 24 | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 24 | Budapest, Hungary |
| 26 | Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire |
| 27 | Warsaw, Poland |
| 28 | Prague, Czech Republic |
| 29 | Taipei, Taiwan |
| 30 | Shanghai, China |
| 31 | Bratislava, Slovak Republic |
| 32 | Düsseldorf, Germany |
| 33 | Luxembourg, Luxembourg |
| 34 | Singapore, Singapore |
| 34 | Frankfurt, Germany |
| 36 | Dakar, Senegal |
| 37 | Munich, Germany |
| 38 | Berlin, Germany |
| 39 | Tel Aviv, Israel |
| 40 | Glasgow, United Kingdom |
| 41 | Athens, Greece |
| 41 | Brussels, Belgium |
| 43 | Barcelona, Spain |
| 44 | Los Angeles, United States |
| 45 | White Plains, United States |
| 46 | Madrid, Spain |
| 47 | Birmingham, United Kingdom |
| 48 | Zagreb, Croatia |
| 49 | Hamburg, Germany |
| 50 | Hanoi, Vietnam |
| 50 | San Francisco, United States |
| 52 | Chicago, United States |
| 52 | Beirut, Lebanon |
| 54 | Riga, Latvia |
| 54 | Kiev, Ukraine |
| 56 | Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam |
| 57 | Miami, United States |
| 58 | Algiers, Algeria |
| 59 | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 60 | Tallin, Estonia |
| 61 | Lyon, France |
| 61 | Honolulu, United States |
| 63 | Shenzhen, China |
| 64 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| 65 | Guangzhou, China |
| 66 | Lisbon, Portugal |
| 67 | Amman, Jordan |
| 68 | Melbourne, Australia |
| 69 | Auckland, New Zealand |
| 70 | Houston, United States |
| 71 | Jakarta, Indonesia |
| 72 | Kuwait City, Kuwait |
| 73 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| 74 | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| 75 | Almaty, Kazakhstan |
| 76 | Wellington, New Zealand |
| 76 | Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| 78 | Washington, D.C., United States |
| 79 | Boston, United States |
| 80 | Morristown, United States |
| 81 | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| 82 | Toronto, Canada |
| 83 | Atlanta, United States |
| 84 | Brisbane, Australia |
| 85 | Leipzig, Germany |
| 86 | Manama, Bahrain |
| 87 | Vancouver, Canada |
| 88 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| 89 | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
| 89 | Adelaide, Australia |
| 91 | Vilnius, Lithuania |
| 91 | Accra, Ghana |
| 93 | Perth, Australia |
| 94 | Denver, United States |
| 95 | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 96 | Lagos, Nigeria |
| 97 | Cairo, Egypt |
| 98 | Calgary, Canada |
| 99 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| 100 | Limassol, Cyprus |
| 101 | Detroit, United States |
| 102 | St. Louis, United States |
| 103 | Seattle, United States |
| 103 | Bucharest, Romania |
| 105 | Kingston, Jamaica |
| 105 | Mumbai, India |
| 107 | Montreal, Canada |
| 108 | Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| 109 | Cleveland, United States |
| 110 | New Delhi, India |
| 111 | Pittsburgh, United States |
| 112 | Portland (Ore.), United States |
| 113 | Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei |
| 114 | Panama City, Panama |
| 115 | Monterrey, Mexico |
| 116 | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| 117 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| 118 | Lima, Peru |
| 119 | Nairobi, Kenya |
| 119 | Winston-Salem, United States |
| 119 | São Paulo, Brazil |
| 122 | Ottawa, Canada |
| 123 | Lusaka, Zambia |
| 124 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| 125 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| 126 | Tunis, Tunisia |
| 127 | Dacca (Dhaka), Bangladesh |
| 128 | Santiago, Chile |
| 129 | Tehran, Iran |
| 130 | Blantyre, Malawi |
| 131 | Tianjin, China |
| 132 | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| 133 | Bogotá, Colombia |
| 134 | Harare, Zimbabwe |
| 135 | San José, Costa Rica |
| 136 | Karachi, Pakistan |
| 137 | Quito, Ecuador |
| 138 | Chennai (Madras), India |
| 138 | Caracas, Venezuela |
| 140 | Montevideo, Uruguay |
| 141 | Bangalore, India |
| 142 | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| 143 | Manila, Philippines |
| 144 | Asunción, Paraguay |
