The highest consumer spending per person of any city on the globe stands at $54,438 and it is in Zurich. This is 20% above the average across Switzerland of $45,300, according to Euromonitor International.
Geneva, the country’s second most populous city, has the world's fifth highest consumer spending, at $47,894, or 6% higher than the Swiss average.
Although just published, the figures refer to spending in 2013. Prices have taken a major leap since the Swiss National Bank removed its currency cap against the euro, driving up the franc some 15% against the dollar.
Boston, San Francisco and Washington DC rank second, third and fourth. Average spending in Boston was $53,051, a whacking 49% higher than the US average outside the big cities.
A person in San Francisco needs $50,775 every year and in DC it was $48,436.
Of the 20 most expensive cities, ten are in the US, two in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne) as well as Oslo, Gothenburg, Stockholm and Milan.
London was just shy of ranking in the top 20. Average expenditure in the UK’s capital was an annual £29,725, the 21st highest level of consumer expenditure in the world. It is 14% higher than the average UK resident, who spends £26,055 per year.
Property costs proved a key driver to expense. “Housing was by far the single largest item in the budget of city dwellers in developed world,” accounting for 24% of consumer expenditure, according to Euromonitor.
Adding to personal spending were medical costs. Increases were recorded in the last five years in 15 out of the top 20 priciest cities, including a “particularly vicious” growth rate in the US.
