Cost of Living in New York City

Bibliographic Entry	Result (w/surrounding text)	Standardized Result
Economist Intelligence Unit. Mercer Human Resource Consulting Cost of Living Survey 2004-Index Summary-Top 50 cities. 2004.		100.0 (comparative index)
Economist Intelligence Unit. Mercer Human Resource Consulting Cost of Living Survey 2004-Index Summary-Top 50 cities.2004.	"Two bedroom apartment (1 month's rent) €2,023"	$2,483.64/month (rent)
	"Phone rental (1 month) €21.17"	$25.99/month (telephone)
MSN. House & Home. Compare Cities with Sperling's Best Places. 2005.	"Cost of living indexes: Overall 189.1, Food and groceries 142.5, Utilities 179.9"	189.1 (comparative index)
	"Housing Median Value $314,000"	$314,000 (housing)

New York City is one of the most expensive cities to live in. Mercer Resource Consulting ranked as the 12th most expensive city in the world with Tokyo at number one, London at number two and Moscow at number three. In 2003, New York was ranked ten but due to currency fluctuations between the dollar and the Euro, 1:1, 0.8:1, European cities have surged to the top. Within the United States, New York remains the most expensive city with Los Angeles at twenty-seven and Chicago at thirty-five. The median income of a New York is $60,765, $10,000 more than the national median. Based on a US average at an index of 100.0, the overall cost of living in New York is 189.1. Housing is almost triple the national average at $314,000 for a house and $2,483.64 for one months rent of a two bedroom apartment. Secondary education is about $2,000 more than the national average at $7,428. Utilities, including electricity and gas, are almost twice the national index at 179.9. Food and groceries is about 1.5x the nation's index at 142.5. A mere cup of coffee with table service is $5.48 while in Buenos Aires, ranked 141st, the same service costs $1.10. In fact, despite attaining a lower ranking than cities like London and Tokyo, one thing remains the most expensive in New York, phone service for one month at $25.99. The cheapest city surveyed by Mercer Resource Consulting was Pittsburgh ranked 112th. According to the index, a person who earns $50,000 in Pittsburgh will need $97,9776 in New York. Overall, New York City is two-times as expensive as any other city in the United States.

Geeta Malieckal -- 2005