Everyone feels the pinch of inflation and rising costs. In cities around the world where the economy is strong or where housing prices are rising fast, the cost of living can become especially high. We think it’s very important to look at the data to have perspective on how the city you live in rates compared to the most expensive cities in the world.

According to the website Numbeo which tracks the cost of living across the globe, Asian cities aren’t as expensive as many who live there think it may be. In fact, Switzerland comes up as the most expensive country in the world and its cities lead the list as very costly places to live.  In fact they are the top 6 most expensive cities in the world. By comparison, Tokyo is the only Asian city to crack the top 20.

The report sets the cost of living in New York as the baseline and then evaluates local prices for rent, food, restaurants and other essentials against New York’s.  In East Asia and Southeast Asia Japan, South Korea and Singapore rank high on the most expensive cities in the world list.