According to the European Backpacker Price Index for 2025, Zurich in Switzerland was the most expensive destination for budget travelers. The average daily cost in that city – based on prices for a cheap hostel, budget meals, public transport, and a limited budget for entertainment – amounted to almost 164 U.S. dollars as of January 2025. In comparison, the same trip to Budapest, one of the most affordable cities for backpacking in Europe, would have cost less than 50 U.S. dollars per day.

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.

The price of tap water in the United States varied greatly from city to city in 2021. One of the most expensive cities for tap water in the U.S. is San Francisco, where one cubic meter costs an average of **** U.S. dollars per cubic meter. In comparison, citizens in the Arizona state capital of Phoenix paid, on average, **** U.S. dollars per cubic meter. This is roughly ** percent lower than the U.S. average. Rising water bills in the U.S. Over the past decade, water bills in the U.S. have increased considerably in a number of major cities. In Austin, Texas, water bills rose by *** U.S. dollars between 2010 and 2018, an increase of *** percent. The sharp rising costs has left many in the United States with unaffordable water bills, especially in low income areas in cities such as New Orleans, Cleveland, and Santa Fe. U.S. water crisis One of the reasons for the rising water bills in the U.S. is the aging and deteriorating water infrastructure. In addition to rising bills, outdated treatment plants with leaking pipes have resulted in harmful toxins and chemicals contaminating drinking water. A number of highly populated cities in the U.S. have been found to have high concentrations of PFAs in tap water, exposing millions of people to potentially unsafe drinking water.

Buenos Aires, Argentina, was the least affordable city in South America in the first half of 2022 to buy an apartment. The ratio measures the number of years needed for a two-earner household where one person works full time and one person works half-time to buy a 90-square meter apartment. It assumes the property has the average square meter price for the city and that home buyers earn the average net salary. Montevideo, Uruguay, was one of the most affordable cities, where it took about nine years to buy an apartment.

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2024. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 116.2 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

In 2020, Hong Kong had the most expensive residential property market worldwide, with an average property price of 1.25 million U.S. dollars. The government of Hong Kong provide public housing for lower-income residents and almost 45 percent of the Hong Kong population lived in public permanent housing in 2018.

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.

In October 2024, the median sales price of residential properties in New York City reached approximately 735,000 U.S. dollars, down from almost 794,000 U.S. dollars in July 2024. This was significantly higher than the national average for existing single-family homes.