In the last quarter of 2024, three of the ten most expensive cities in the United States for business travel when it comes to food costs were located in California. However, the ranking was topped by Honolulu, which average daily food cost amounted to *** U.S. dollars at that time.

Of the most populous cities in the U.S., San Jose, California had the highest annual income requirement at ******* U.S. dollars annually for homeowners to have an affordable and comfortable life in 2024. This can be compared to Houston, Texas, where homeowners needed an annual income of ****** U.S. dollars in 2024.

New York was the most expensive U.S. city for business travelers in the last quarter of 2024, with the daily cost of accommodation, food, and car hire totaling *** U.S. dollars. In the second place was Boston, where business tourists spent around *** U.S. dollars each day on average.

In the last quarter of 2024, New York registered the highest hotel prices for business travelers among major U.S. cities. On average, a business visitor in the 'Big Apple' could spent around *** U.S. dollars on hotel accommodation per day.

As of mid-2024, Montevideo ranked as the second Latin American and Caribbean metropolis with the highest cost of living index. The Uruguayan capital obtained an index score of ****, only second to Port of Spain, in Trinidad and Tobago, with **** points. Monterrey and Panama City were the third and fourth most expensive cities to live in Latin America and the Caribbean that year, with scores surpassing ** points each.

As of October 2024, the city with the most expensive hotel rate in the United States was Boston. Visitors to the East Coast city could expect to pay 320 U.S. dollars for a doube room during that period. Meanwhile, New York ranked third with an average rate of 284 U.S. dollars.

New York was the world's most expensive city for business tourism in the 4th quarter of 2024, reaching an average daily cost of around *** U.S. dollars. Among the top ten of that period, three cities were located in the United States.

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.

Of the cities who have experienced cost of living increases, the top three are located in Latin America, two in Mexico and one in Costa Rica. Each moved 38, 39, and 48 spots in the ranking respectively since 2022. Due to increases in interest rates, the Mexican peso and Costa Rican colón have both appreciated against the U.S. Dollar. Comparatively, Singapore and Zurich were ranked the most expensive cities in the world.

Cities in the United States dominate the list of cities with the highest rents worldwide. New York was ranked as the most expensive city to rent in, ahead of San Francisco, with an index score of ***. Boston followed in third.

In 2023, Hong Kong was the city in the Asia-Pacific region which was the most expensive for business travel in terms of daily hotel cost, in which the average daily hotel cost was approximately ***** U.S. dollars. Contrastingly, the average daily cost of a hotel for business travel in Tianjin was approximately ***** U.S. dollars in 2023.

Puerto Rico's capital ranked in the second quarter of 2025 as the most expensive destination among major business travel cities in Latin America. In those months, a business trip to San Juan could cost on average around *** U.S. dollars per day, including hotel, basic meals, and transportation from the airport to the city center.

This statistic illustrates the value of leading European prime retail rents in the first quarter of 2017, by city. It can be seen that Paris had the highest retail rents at ***** U.S dollars per square foot. This was followed by London and Milan at ***** US dollars and *** US dollars per square foot respectively. Comparatively Frankfurt yielded retail rents of *** US dollars per square foot, almost a quarter that of Paris retail rents.

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.

In 2023, San Francisco was the city with the highest land prices in the United States at approximately *********** U.S. dollars per acre. Other cities in California such as San Jose and Los Angeles were at the top of the ranking, along with Urban Honolulu and New York City. Austin was the only Texan city that made it into the ranking.

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.

As of March 2024, the cost of living in Bogota was the highest among major Colombian cities. In total, the average cost per month amounted to *** U.S. dollars. Cartagena followed in the ranking, with a monthly cost of living of *** U.S. dollars at that time.

In the last quarter of 2024, Geneva registered the world's highest food cost for business travelers, with a daily rate of approximately *** U.S. dollars. Three cities in Switzerland were included in the top 10 for that period.

New York was the business travel destination with the highest hotel expenses at the end of 2024, registering an average daily cost of *** U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, the non-U.S. corporate travel destination with the highest hotel costs was London.

Washington DC was the most expensive major city for office space, among those being considered for Amazon’s second headquarters, in the United States in 2017. Tenants paid, on average, *** U.S. dollars per square foot for office space in that city, compared with *** U.S. dollars and *** U.S. dollars per square foot in Boston and Austin respectively.   Why is Washington DC so expensive? The GDP of the Washington metro area has steadily risen since 2001, which indicates that the economy is growing. This is not surprising, because it is the capital of the United States and, consequently, its political epicenter. All three branches of government, nearly *** foreign embassies and several international organizations - such as the IMF, the World Bank and the National Geographic Society - are located there, which also means that it’s the logical place for lobbying firms and many financial services companies to operate from.

Further growth expected in Washington DC The future of the office real estate market in Washington DC looks promising, due to its political importance and strong economy. Office rents are forecast to grow by almost *** percent by 2021, which is impressive given how high they already are. However, vacancy rates are also set to rise in the area, which means that more available office units will be unoccupied.