After a pandemic-induced pause, Deutsche Bank is back with the ninth edition of Mapping the World’s Prices —first launched in 2012. And there’s no better moment to reassess the global landscape of relative prices. Inflation has made a roaring comeback over the last five years, currency swings are influencing purchasing power, and the world’s cost-of-living leaderboard is shifting quickly. They focused on 69 cities that matter most to global financial markets. If your portfolio cares about a city, it’s probably in here.
So—how does your city stack up? Who has the best quality of life? Where are salaries soaring? How much does a square metre of apartment cost you? Where is rent breaking the bank? Where can you still afford to drink good wine and date well? Where should you go to buy a new iPhone? What does coffee, beer, cinema tickets and denim cost around the world? We have a surprise new number one in the quality of life stakes in this edition. A clue would be that this country is 90 spots lower in the FIFA world football rankings. Can you guess who it might be?
When Deutsche Bank first published this report, US cities were a bit of a bargain relative to their developed market peers—rarely cracking the global top 10 for prices, or pay for that matter. Fast-forward a decade or so and the US is now jostling with Geneva and Zurich at the top of many of the charts. Yes, a strong dollar helped but the story runs deeper: it’s a tale of US exceptionalism, Wall Street strength, and a tech sector that’s gone global (but has remained American led).
That said, the DB House View suggests we might be nearing the top of the arc. If 2012 marked “cheap US,” 2025 may represent “peak US”—at least in pricing terms. The policy mix at home hints at a correction in relative pricings, and by the time we release the 2030 edition, the rankings could look quite different.
One surprise in the report is how ‘cheap’ India remains versus its international peers. It will likely be the third-largest economy in the world by the end of the decade and remain one of the fastest growing. So Indian cities may have the most to climb in the years ahead.
In the report, you’ll find a bulleted summary section followed by some further commentary alongside selected charts showcasing the highest priced 25 cities across key categories—from rents to salaries to lifestyle costs. This is followed by the full tables across all 69 cities.