New cost of living survey identifies Vancouver as a total bargain
Apparently calling Vancouver home is a bargain when you compare it to the global stage. According to the 2023 Mercer Cost of Living survey, which identifies which cities are the most expensive in the world for international employees, “Canadian cities are at the cheaper end of the ranking for North America.”
Within Canada, Vancouver isn’t the most expensive city, either. The survey included 227 global cities across five continents. For 2023, Toronto is the most expensive city in Canada at #90 globally while Vancouver is the second most expensive, sitting at #116 overall.
Worldwide, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Zurich take the top three spots respectively.
Top 10 most and least expensive cities in the world 2023 | Mercer
Researchers measured the “comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment” to come up with the ranking.
Mercer says that even though Canada is experiencing a “slight period of economic stagnation,” the inflation rate lowered in 2023. All American cities in the survey went up in the rankings because the cost of living has increased more year over year in the US than in Canada.
Remarkably, Vancouver and Toronto actually offer among the lowest cost and highest quality of living on the list.
2023 Cost of living and quality of living correlation | Mercer
“We see that despite domestic inflationary pressures that are affecting the overall quality of living, Canada continues to be an attractive destination for remote workers,” said Nicole Stewart, principal of career at Mercer Canada.
“Extensive remote work flexibility is causing many employees to reshift their priorities and think differently about where they want to work and live, and this will continue to force organizations to develop effective compensation strategies for their globally distributed workforces,” said Stewart.
What do you think, does Vancouver offer a low cost of living?
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