Mumbai retains top spot as India's most expensive city for expats: Survey

Most expensive city in India 2024: The financial capital of India has retained the top spot as the most expensive city for expats in the country, followed by Delhi, a report showed on Monday. Within Asia, Mumbai and Delhi experienced upward movement in the rankings. Mumbai climbed six spots while Delhi has moved up by two spots.

As a result, Mumbai is now ranked as the 21st most expensive city in Asia for expatriates while Delhi holds the 30th position among surveyed locations in the region, according to Mercer's '2024 Cost of Living Survey'.

“In the face of global economic challenges, India has remained largely resilient,” said Rahul Sharma, India Mobility Leader at Mercer. The Indian economy has experienced significant growth, primarily driven by domestic demand and a thriving services sector.

Factors such as employment growth, rising middle class, and overall economic growth positively impacted the cost of living in the country, according to the survey.

“Despite Mumbai's rise in rankings, the overall affordability of Indian cities remains a key advantage for multinational organisations or Indian companies looking to attract global talent,” Sharma mentioned.

Globally, Hong Kong has once again claimed the top spot as the most expensive city to live in. In this year's survey, Mumbai has climbed 11 places to rank 136th globally. Other Indian cities in the ranking include New Delhi (164) has risen 4 spots in position, Chennai (189) has dropped 5 spots in position, Bengaluru (195) has dropped in ranking by 6 spots, Hyderabad (202) remained stable, Pune (205) has risen 8 spots in position, and Kolkata (207) has risen 4 spots in position.

Mumbai and Pune remain the most expensive in terms of energy and utility costs, said the survey. “Our thriving economy, fuelled by domestic demand and a robust services sector, offers a stable environment for global talent,” said Sharma.