Calgary has been named one of the most expensive cities in Canada

People may be flocking here to beat the housing prices elsewhere, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t really expensive to live in Calgary.

The recent cost of living survey released by Mercer shows that Calgary is in the top five for most expensive cities to live in Canada.

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Calgary trails the usual suspects of Toronto and Vancouver, along with Montreal and Ottawa on the global rankings. This is the second straight year that Toronto finished as the most expensive Canadian city with Vancouver coming in second.

But while things have been getting pricier here, it’s a whole lot worse elsewhere.

The survey says Canada is on the low end of the list for North America with 19 American cities ahead of Toronto.

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Mercer says its cost of living survey measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment.

Compared to Canadian cities, the cost of living has increased more year-over-year in the US, with all American cities surveyed having gone up in the rankings since last year and all Canadian cities going down.

Globally, Calgary ranks 145th, which is down four spots from last year.

Hong Kong has been named the most expensive city in the world, followed by Singapore at number two and Zurich in third. Zurich is one of four cities in Switzerland in the top seven.

Zurich, Switzerland/Shutterstock

10 most expensive cities in the world:

Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR)
Singapore, Singapore
Zurich, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland
Basel, Switzerland
New York City, US
Bern, Switzerland
Tel Aviv, Israel
Copenhagen, Denmark
Nassau, Bahamas

10 least expensive cities in the world

Islamabad, Pakistan (least expensive)
Karachi, Pakistan
Havana, Cuba
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Windhoek, Namibia
Ankara, Turkey
Durban, South Africa
Tunis, Tunisia
Tashkent, Uzbekistan

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