Mumbai most expensive city for expats in India; see full list here (2024)

A report by Mercer's Cost of Living has positioned Mumbai as the most expensive city in India for expatriates. According to the report, after Mumbai, cities like New Delhi and Bengaluru fall on the second and third place in the most expensive list for expats list in India. The Mercer's Cost of Living survey was conducted across 227 cities from across five continents.

In Mercer's 2023 Cost of Living survey, Mumbai has been positioned at 147 in the global ranking, New Delhi at 169, Chennai (184), Bengaluru (189), Hyderabad (202), Kolkata (211), and Pune (213).

Globally, Hong Kong, Singapore and Zurich are the most expensive cities for international employees this year, the report shows.

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

The data collected provides all of the key information employers need to design efficient and transparent compensation packages for international assignees. It helps international employers design efficient and equitable compensation packages for over 400 assignment locations worldwide.

As per the report, the least expensive locations in the ranking include Havana, which dropped 83 spots, due in part to strong currency devaluations mid-last-year, and two cities in Pakistan -- Karachi and Islamabad.

Among Indian cities, besides Mumbai, the other surveyed cities -- Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Pune offer accommodation costs that are over 50 percent lower than Mumbai. Among these cities, Kolkata claims the lowest cost of expatriate accommodation, providing a more affordable option for residents and expatriates, the report said.

"We have observed a change in the relative positioning of Indian cities in the global ranking, which can be attributed to multiple factors.

"In particular, the shifting order is partly influenced by currency volatility and the inflationary increase in prices of goods and services in other regions, such as Europe, that has played a role in pushing down the overall rankings of Indian cities," said Rahul Sharma, India Mobility Leader, Mercer.

The report further noted that Mumbai (147) and Delhi (169), offer a cost-efficient destination for global multinational corporations (MNCs) looking to set up operations overseas, with a lower cost of living and expat accommodation costs compared to major cities in the Asia Pacific region like Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo.