Every May, Deutsche Bank releases its annual “Mapping the world’s prices” report, cataloging the cost of goods and services in a cross section of the world’s biggest and most powerful cities.
To determine the cost of living all over the globe, the bank looks at everything from the cost of a packet of cigarettes to how much the average rent costs on a two-bedroom apartment.
One factor Deutsche’s survey examines is how much people earn on average every month. The figure, which deducts taxes, is a handy indicator of the wealth of a city.
Broadly speaking, the cities that rank highly are in the northern hemisphere in developed Western economies, but southern-hemisphere powerhouses like Australia and New Zealand also feature.
Unsurprisingly, people living in cities where the cost of living is high tend to have higher salaries, with financial centers like London, New York, and Frankfurt, Germany, featuring prominently. Wages in Frankfurt have risen more than $200 a month over the past year, as banks look to move London-based workers to the city post-Brexit.
The top echelons of the list are relatively unchanged from last year, with the top four cities the same as in 2017, albeit in a slightly different order.
Check out the cities where people earn the most below. We've included any city where the average monthly salary is higher than $2,000 a month net of taxes.
28. Vienna — $2,425
27. Vancouver, Canada — $2,458
26. Brussels — $2,480
25. Berlin — $2,482
24. Toronto — $2,519
23. Hong Kong — $2,550
22. Edinburgh, United Kingdom — $2,565
21. Auckland, New Zealand — $2,723
20. Dublin — $2,762
19. Paris — $2,886
18. Wellington, New Zealand — $2,946
17. Helsinki — $2,988
16. Stockholm — $2,999
15. Tokyo — $3,004
14. Amsterdam — $3,058
13. Singapore — $3,099
12. Melbourne, Australia — $3,263
11. London — $3,381
10. Frankfurt, Germany — $3,389
9. Dubai, United Arab Emirates — $3,447
8. Copenhagen, Denmark — $3,462
7. Chicago — $3,650
6. Oslo, Norway — $3,664
5. Boston — $3,740
4. Sydney — $3,914
3. New York City — $4,115
2. San Francisco — $4,974
1. Zurich — $5,764
