New Zealand and Australian cities have experienced the fastest rise in this year’s cost-of-living ranking, mainly because of the strength of local currencies.
Auckland has catapulted from 115th to 80th place in Mercer Human Resource Consulting’s annual cost-of-living survey and Wellington is not far behind (up from 116th to 86th). Christchurch and Dunedin are placed 107th and 128th.
The study looks at costs from the viewpoint of globetrotting senior executive and uses New York as benchmark. To estimate rankings, it compares what US$100 would buy in New York with how much it buys elsewhere and, given movement of both the Kiwi and Aussie dollars against the Greenback in the past year, it doesn’t go nearly as far as it once did.
That’s particularly evident in Sydney which is now ranked 20th with score of 91.8 – in other words what costs $100 in New York would cost $91.80 in Sydney. In Auckland it would cost US$74.20, in Wellington US$72.80 and in Christchurch US$67.30.
The world’s most expensive city is Tokyo (130.7 points) which is three times more costly than the cheapest ranked city of Asuncion in Paraguay. London is the most expensive city in Europe (119th) and New York remains the priciest city in North America.
The world’s four most costly cities are Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong and Seoul.
Agri experts warn New Zealand’s food and fibre future could arrive by default rather than by design
Management Editorial Team
June 24, 2026
Despite near universal optimism in the rural sector, a panel of New Zealand’s leading food and agri minds say the sector must be intentional about its future path if it’s to successfully navigate the social, economic, environmental and technological forces impacting its operating environment.
