Zurich in Switzerland was the most expensive business travel destination in Europe based on the average daily cost for food in 2020. That year, Zurich's total average meal price, including spending on breakfast, lunch, and dinner, amounted to roughly *** U.S. dollars. Another Swiss city, Basel, ranked second on the list in 2020, with daily food costs of around *** U.S. dollars.

Zurich in Switzerland was the most expensive business travel destination in Europe based on the average daily hotel costs in 2020. That year, Zurich's average fee for hotels amounted to roughly *** U.S. dollars. Another Swiss city, Geneva, ranked second on the list in 2020, with daily hotel costs of around *** U.S. dollars.

As of March 2020, the price of a monthly public transportation ticket was ***** forints in Budapest. After the capital the two most expensive cities in terms of public transport were Szeged and Miskolc.

West Virginia and Kansas had the lowest cost of living across all U.S. states, with composite costs being half of those found in Hawaii. This was according to a composite index that compares prices for various goods and services on a state-by-state basis. In West Virginia, the cost of living index amounted to **** — well below the national benchmark of 100. Virginia— which had an index value of ***** — was only slightly above that benchmark. Expensive places to live included Hawaii, Massachusetts, and California. Housing costs in the U.S. Housing is usually the highest expense in a household’s budget. In 2023, the average house sold for approximately ******* U.S. dollars, but house prices in the Northeast and West regions were significantly higher. Conversely, the South had some of the least expensive housing. In West Virginia, Mississippi, and Louisiana, the median price of the typical single-family home was less than ******* U.S. dollars. That makes living expenses in these states significantly lower than in states such as Hawaii and California, where housing is much pricier. What other expenses affect the cost of living? Utility costs such as electricity, natural gas, water, and internet also influence the cost of living. In Alaska, Hawaii, and Connecticut, the average monthly utility cost exceeded *** U.S. dollars. That was because of the significantly higher prices for electricity and natural gas in these states.

Geneva stands out as Europe's most expensive city for apartment purchases in early 2025, with prices reaching a staggering 15,720 euros per square meter. This Swiss city's real estate market dwarfs even high-cost locations like Zurich and London, highlighting the extreme disparities in housing affordability across the continent. The stark contrast between Geneva and more affordable cities like Nantes, France, where the price was 3,700 euros per square meter, underscores the complex factors influencing urban property markets in Europe. Rental market dynamics and affordability challenges While purchase prices vary widely, rental markets across Europe also show significant differences. London maintained its position as the continent's priciest city for apartment rentals in 2023, with the average monthly costs for a rental apartment amounting to 36.1 euros per square meter. This figure is double the rent in Lisbon, Portugal or Madrid, Spain, and substantially higher than in other major capitals like Paris and Berlin. The disparity in rental costs reflects broader economic trends, housing policies, and the intricate balance of supply and demand in urban centers. Economic factors influencing housing costs The European housing market is influenced by various economic factors, including inflation and energy costs. As of April 2025, the European Union's inflation rate stood at 2.4 percent, with significant variations among member states. Romania experienced the highest inflation at 4.9 percent, while France and Cyprus maintained lower rates. These economic pressures, coupled with rising energy costs, contribute to the overall cost of living and housing affordability across Europe. The volatility in electricity prices, particularly in countries like Italy where rates are projected to reach 153.83 euros per megawatt hour by February 2025, further impacts housing-related expenses for both homeowners and renters.

In 2017, the average selling price of housing across different cities and municipalities in Belgium varied widely. The average price in Ixelles was the highest at ******* euros, which was roughly *** times higher than in Charleroi (approximately ******* euros).

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis in 2020, house prices in Belgium continued increasing. Unsurprisingly, the Brussels-Capital Region was the most expensive region for housing.

Amsterdam is set to maintain its position as Europe's most expensive city for apartment rentals in 2025, with median costs reaching 2,500 euros per month for a furnished unit. This figure is double the rent in Prague and significantly higher than other major European capitals like Paris, Berlin, and Madrid. The stark difference in rental costs across European cities reflects broader economic trends, housing policies, and the complex interplay between supply and demand in urban centers. Factors driving rental costs across Europe The disparity in rental prices across European cities can be attributed to various factors. In countries like Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, a higher proportion of the population lives in rental housing. This trend contributes to increased demand and potentially higher living costs in these nations. Conversely, many Eastern and Southern European countries have homeownership rates exceeding 90 percent, which may help keep rental prices lower in those regions. Housing affordability and market dynamics The relationship between housing prices and rental rates varies significantly across Europe. As of 2024, countries like Turkey, Iceland, Portugal, and Hungary had the highest house price to rent ratio indices. This indicates a widening gap between property values and rental costs since 2015. The affordability of homeownership versus renting differs greatly among European nations, with some countries experiencing rapid increases in property values that outpace rental growth. These market dynamics influence rental costs and contribute to the diverse rental landscape observed across European cities.

As of September 2025, Mumbai had the highest cost of living among other cities in the country, with an index value of ****. Gurgaon, a satellite city of Delhi and part of the National Capital Region (NCR) followed it with an index value of ****.  What is cost of living? The cost of living varies depending on geographical regions and factors that affect the cost of living in an area include housing, food, utilities, clothing, childcare, and fuel among others. The cost of living is calculated based on different measures such as the consumer price index (CPI), living cost indexes, and wage price index. CPI refers to the change in the value of consumer goods and services. The wage price index, on the other hand, measures the change in labor services prices due to market pressures. Lastly, the living cost indexes calculate the impact of changing costs on different households. The relationship between wages and costs determines affordability and shifts in the cost of living. Mumbai tops the list Mumbai usually tops the list of most expensive cities in India. As the financial and entertainment hub of the country, Mumbai offers wide opportunities and attracts talent from all over the country. It is the second-largest city in India and has one of the most expensive real estates in the world.

Renting a bed in a double room is a cheap solution many students and workers resort to when looking for accommodation. This statistic shows the average monthly rent in 2020 in Italian cities that host one or more universities. Milan was the most expensive city to live in in this respect, with an average rent of *** euros per person. Rome came second in the list, with tenants of double rooms spending *** euros each on average. Palermo was the city in which double rooms were the cheapest, with an average monthly rent of only *** euros.

In 2024, the global business travel spending increased by more than ** percent. In the following years, it is expected that the expenditure of business tourists keeps growing, but not at the same pace. Resuming business travel after COVID-19 The global health crisis significantly affected the business travel industry, as is evident from the significant drop in business travel spending in 2020. Specifically, the predicted loss in business travel spending worldwide due to COVID-19 added up to more than *** billion U.S. dollars in 2020. While the pandemic is gradually becoming less severe, the impact it had on the travel industry remains. As of February 2022, around one out of ten employees worldwide were still either unwilling or unsure to take business trips. Most expensive cities for business travel Studies have identified the most expensive cities when embarking on travel for business purposes. In 2020, Tokyo was the most expensive city for business travel worldwide based on daily costs. Average costs per day in the capital city of Japan amounted to ****** U.S. dollars in that year. Looking at the most expensive cities for business travel worldwide by daily hotel costs, however, Tel Aviv reported the highest daily prices.

The average price of detached and duplex houses in the biggest cities in Germany varied between approximately ***** euros and 10,000 euros per square meter in 2024. Housing was most expensive in Munich, where the square meter price of houses amounted to ***** euros. Conversely, Berlin was most affordable, with the square meter price at ***** euros. How have German house prices evolved? House prices maintained an upward trend for more than a decade, with 2020 and 2021 experiencing exceptionally high growth rates. In 2021, the nominal year-on-year change exceeded 10 percent. Nevertheless, the second half of 2022 saw the market slowing, with the annual percentage change turning negative for the first time in 12 years. Another way to examine the price growth is through the house price index, which uses 2015 as a base. At its peak in 2022, the German house price index measured about *** percent, which means that a house bought in 2015 would have appreciated by ** percent. Is housing affordable in Germany? Housing affordability depends greatly on income: High-income areas often tend to have more expensive housing, which does not necessarily make them unaffordable. The house price to income index measures the development of the cost of housing relative to income. In the first quarter of 2024, the index value stood at ***, meaning that since 2015, house price growth has outpaced income growth by about ** percent. Compared with the average for the euro area, this value was lower.

The total supply of logistics property in the Netherlands from 2012 to 2020 (in thousand square meters) varied over time. Between 2014 and 2018, logistics property supply saw a year on year decrease, falling from approximately *** million square meters to *** million square meters. In the following years, supply rose, peaking at **** million square meters in 2020.

The source, the NVM, is a Dutch branch organization of real estate agents and appraisers. Almost ** percent of Dutch houses are sold by real estate agents who are members of this organization. Logistics real estate varies in prices based on location: Schiphol was the most expensive place to rent logistics property in 2019, with **** euros per square meter.

In 2020, ** percent of the food and beverage retailers in Singapore were restaurants, while more than half of all establishments included hawker stalls. Hawker stalls are popular with Singaporeans and visitors alike, providing tasty food at affordable prices in one of the world's most expensive cities.

The quarterly pulse monitor expects the Dutch house prices to climb by *** percent in 2025 due to the decline in purchasing power, higher cost of borrowing and worsening economic conditions. The price of Dutch residential property in 2025 was approximately ******* euros. These developments came on top of other issues that were already prevalent in the Dutch housing market, such as the discussion about nitrogen and its effect on housing construction. The effects of nitrogen on the price of a house At the end of 2019, months before the coronavirus, there was already a lot of uncertainty whether their predictions would hold true. This had to do with the so-called “nitrogen decision” (in Dutch: stikstofbesluit) in May 2019. Simply put, a Dutch advisory body found that the domestic policy for nitrogen emission (formally known as Programmatische Aanpak Stikstof or Programmatic Approach Nitrogen) went against European rules. As of August 2019, a sizable share of the Dutch population was not familiar with this nitrogen policy. However, the advisory body’s decision led to an immediate stop to all construction in the country (amongst other things). By the end of 2019, this stop was still in place. For 2020, newly to be constructed houses have to comply to new rules regarding nitrogen emission. This puts new pressure on a housing market that already had to keep with increasing demand. How about the housing market in Amsterdam? In the year 2022, Amsterdam ranked as the most expensive city in the Netherlands to acquire an apartment, with an average price per square meter that was ***** euros more expensive than in Utrecht. Amsterdam was also well above the average rents found in other cities. A house in Amsterdam had a rent of approximately ** euros per square meter in 2023, whereas rents in Rotterdam cost roughly ** euros per square meter. It should be noted, however, that rent changes in the Dutch capital are significantly lower than those found in Rotterdam and especially Utrecht.

Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt, and Versailles are the most expensive cities for residential real estate in France. In Paris, the average square meter price of an apartment was over 9,700 euros in December 2025, while the price for a house was even higher. Apartment prices in Paris went as high as 14,000 euros, depending on the arrondissement.

In 2020, the sales amount of Evergrande Group in Guangdong, a southeast province in China, amounted to over ** billion yuan. The province is home to the headquarter of Evergrande and has the largest population in the country. Even though the most expensive real estate markets are in tier-one cities in China, they only account for a small share of the companies sales amount.

In 2019, via Montenapoleone in Milan ranked as the most expensive retail location in Italy. The average yearly rent in the Milanese luxury shopping street was as high as 13.7 thousand euros per square meter. Via Condotti in Rome came second in the ranking with an average yearly rent per square meter of 12.5 thousand euros. Calle San Moisè in Venice and via Roma in Florence completed the ranking. These shopping locations host the most famous luxury brands worldwide, which also makes them a popular attraction among tourists.

Retail spaces in Italian cities

When considering the average price for retail space in Italian cities, the scenario changes. In 2019, a square meter for retail space in Venice cost on average 4.3 thousand euros, making it the most expensive city in Italy for retailers. Milan, the Italian fashion capital, and Naples followed in the list, with an average price per square meter of 3.5 thousand and 2.9 thousand euros, respectively.

Prices for residential real estate in Italian cities

Considering the average price for residential properties in major Italian cities, the scenario is different once again. According to data from 2020, Milan was by far the most expensive city in Italy to purchase a residential property. In fact, people looking to buy an apartment or a house in the Italian capital of fashion could expect to pay on average 4.7 thousand euros per square meter. Florence followed in the ranking (four thousand euros per square meter), and Rome (3.2 thousand euros per square meter). Venice came fourth: purchasing a dwelling in the island city cost on average 3.1 thousand euros per square meter.

Rent prices per square meter in the largest Dutch cities have been on an upward trend after a slight decline in 2020. Amsterdam remained the most expensive city to live in, averaging a monthly rent of 27.6 euros per square meter for residential real estate in the private rental sector. Monthly rents in Utrecht were around six euros cheaper per square meter. Both cities were above the average rent price of residential property in the Netherlands overall, whereas Rotterdam and The Hague were slightly below that. Buying versus renting, what do the Dutch prefer? The Netherlands is one of Europe’s leading countries when it comes to homeownership, having funded this with a mortgage. In 2023, around 60 percent of people living in the Netherlands were homeowners with a mortgage. This is because Dutch homeowners were able to for many years to deduct interest paid from pre-tax income (a system known in the Netherlands as hypotheekrenteaftrek). This resulted in the Netherlands having one of the largest mortgage debts across the European continent. Total mortgage debt of Dutch households reached a value of approximately 803 billion euros in 2023. Is the Dutch housing market overheating? There are several indicators for the Netherlands that allow to investigate whether the housing market is overheating or not. House price indices corrected for inflation in the Netherlands suggest, for example, that prices have declined since 2022. The Netherlands’ house-price-to-rent-ratio, on the other hand, has exceeded the pre-crisis level in 2019. These figures, however, are believed to be significantly higher for cities like Amsterdam, as it was suggested for a long time that the prices of owner-occupied houses were increasing faster than rents in the private rental sector.

The quarterly pulse monitor expects the Dutch house prices to fall by five percent in 2023 due to the decline in purchasing power, higher cost of borrowing and worsening economic conditions. The price of Dutch residential property in 2022 was approximately 489,000 euros. These developments came on top of other issues that were already prevalent in the Dutch housing market, such as the discussion about nitrogen and its effect on housing construction. The effects of nitrogen on the price of a house At the end of 2019, months before the coronavirus, there was already a lot of uncertainty whether their predictions would hold true. This had to do with the so-called “nitrogen decision” (in Dutch: stikstofbesluit) in May 2019. Simply put, a Dutch advisory body found that the domestic policy for nitrogen emission (formally known as Programmatische Aanpak Stikstof or Programmatic Approach Nitrogen) went against European rules. As of August 2019, a sizable share of the Dutch population was not familiar with this nitrogen policy. However, the advisory body’s decision led to an immediate stop to all construction in the country (amongst other things). By the end of 2019, this stop was still in place. For 2020, newly to be constructed houses have to comply to new rules regarding nitrogen emission. This puts new pressure on a housing market that already had to keep with increasing demand. How about the housing market in Amsterdam? In the year 2022, Amsterdam ranked as the most expensive city in the Netherlands to acquire an apartment, with an average price per square meter that was 2,000 euros more expensive than in Utrecht. Amsterdam was also well above the average rents found in other cities. A house in Amsterdam had a rent of approximately 26 euros per square meter in 2023, whereas rents in Rotterdam cost roughly 18 euros per square meter. It should be noted, however, that rent changes in the Dutch capital are significantly lower than those found in Rotterdam and especially Utrecht.

Australia’s real house price index increased to ***** in the first quarter of 2025. House prices fluctuated over the reported period compared to the base year of 2015, experiencing a sharp increase throughout 2021, with the country’s house price index peaking in the first quarter of 2022 at *****. Prospective homeowners priced out of the market Recent house price increases reflect the ongoing challenges of housing affordability in Australia. Property prices largely outpace income growth, reigniting discussions about whether the country is stuck in a property bubble, a topic that has been debated for over a decade. The country’s house price-to-income ratio hit ***** in the second quarter of 2024, the highest ratio recorded over the past five years, making it increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder. Unaffordable rental conditions Australia’s rental market has also seen challenges, with the rent price index continuing to climb throughout 2024 into the first quarter of 2025, making the prospect of renting less appealing. As of March 2025, the average weekly house rent price in Sydney stood at *** Australian dollars, the highest across the country’s major cities. Canberra, Darwin, and Perth were the next most expensive markets for house rents, while Hobart was the most affordable capital city for both house and unit rent prices.