Copenhagen is home to the highest wage earners



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The most expensive and
richest cities in the world

A report by UBS

Ranking: The richest cities in the world
(By personal earnings)

22 August 2009: The UBS survey of 73 international cities found that employees in Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva and New York had the highest gross earnings. The undisputed champion in our international wage comparison is Zurich. Net incomes are higher there than in any other city in the world. With its extremely high gross wages and comparatively low tax rates, Switzerland is a very employee-friendly country. No other city in the comparison allowed workers to take home more income at the end of the month than Zurich and Geneva. A continental comparison of average incomes paints a different picture: on average, the world’s highest gross and net wages are paid in North America. However, there is a wage differential in North America as well. Wages in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago are significantly higher on average than in the Canadian metropolises of Montreal and Toronto.

Rank 2009
Rank 2008
Cities
1
6
Copenhagen
2
1
Zurich
3
4
Geneva
4
11
New York
5
3
Oslo
6
14
Los Angeles
7
10
Munich
8
5
Luxembourg
9
9
Frankfurt
10
2
Dublin
11
17
Brussels
12
8
Helsinki
13
29
Miami
14
16
Chicago
15
23
Amsterdam
16
12
Berlin
17
18
Stockholm
18
20
Tokyo
19
13
Vienna
20
15
Sydney
21
7
London
22
26
Paris
23
24
Lyon
24
19
Toronto
25
21
Montreal
26
30
Milan
27
25
Nicosia
28
28
Madrid
29
27
Barcelona
30
33
Rome
31
32
Athens
32
35
Lisbon
33
39
Ljubljana
34
22
Auckland
35
-
Tel Aviv
36
31
Dubai
37
42
Hong Kong
38
34
Seoul
39
37
Taipei
40
36
Singapore
41
44
Moscow
42
46
Tallinn
43
41
Johannesburg
44
38
Manama
45
43
Prague
46
40
São Paulo
47
45
Istanbul
48
53
Vilnius
49
49
Rio de Janeiro
50
54
Riga
51
51
Warsaw
52
47
Bratislava
53
-
Doha
54
52
Caracas
55
50
Budapest
56
58
Bucharest
57
55
Buenos Aires
58
59
Bogotá
59
60
Shanghai
60
56
Lima
61
48
Santiago
62
57
Kuala Lumpur
63
62
Sofia
64
65
Beijing
65
63
Kiev
66
66
Bangkok
67
-
Cairo
68
64
Nairobi
69
61
Mexico City
70
69
Delhi
71
68
Manila
72
70
Jakarta
73
67
Mumbai

UBS survey: Introduction | The most expensive cities | The richest cities (personal earnings) | Richest cities (purchasing power) | The iPod index |

Methodology
USB conducted its standardized Prices and Earnings survey in 73 international cities in March 2009. The data was collected by several independent observers in each city. In all, more than 30,000 data points were included in the analysis. All amounts were converted into a single currency to ensure that the surveyed prices and earnings could be compared. To compensate for daily exchange rate fluctuations, we used the average exchange rate over the data collection period. An international price comparison needs a common, standard basket of goods and services. As in past studies, the basket of goods and services was based on Western European consumer preferences. Living costs were calculated based on a survey of 154 items in total. They include 122 products and services that are used directly to calculate the reference basket. Apartment rents were classified as high-, mid- and low-priced.


Related research
THE MOST EXPENSIVE AND RICHEST CITIES IN THE WORLD

UBS survey (August 2009): Most expensiv and richeste cities (Intro) | World's most expensive cities (table) | Richest cities by personal earnings (table) | Richest cities by purchasing power (table | The iPod index |

ECA International survey (June 2009): Introduction | Table: World | Table: Europe | Table: Asia |

Mercer survey (2009): Most expensive cities

EIU survey (2009): Most expensive cities

RICHEST CITIES BY GDP
Introduction | 150 richest cities in 2005 | 150 richest cities in 2020 | Europe's richest cities |






The World Mayor Project is seeking outstanding mayors for the 2010 Prize


World Mayor 2010:
Is your mayor
among the best?

City Mayors, the international think tank on urban affairs, is seeking nominations for the 2010 World Mayor Prize. The Prize, which has been awarded since 2004, honours mayors with the vision, passion and skills to make their cities incredible places to live in, work in and visit. The World Mayor Project aims to show what outstanding mayors can achieve and raise their profiles nationally and internationally.

The organisers of the World Mayor Project are looking for city leaders who excel in qualities like: leadership and vision, management abilities and integrity, social and economic awareness, ability to provide security and to protect the environment as well as the will and ability to foster good relations between communities from different cultural, racial and social backgrounds.
If you think your mayor is among the best in the world, nominate him or her now


Previous winners
and runner-ups
:

In 2004: Winner: Edi Rama (Tirana); Runner-up: Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Mexico City}; In third place - Walter Veltroni (Rome)
In 2005: Winner – Dora Bakoyannis (Athens); Runner-up - Hazel McCallion (Mississauga); In third place - Alvaro Arzú (Guatemala City)
In 2006: Winner – John So (Melbourne); Runner up – Job Cohen (Amsterdam); In third place - Stephen Reed (Harrisburg)
In 2008: Winner – Helen Zille (Cape Town); Runner up - Elmar Ledergerber (Zurich); In third place - Leopoldo López (Chacao)
More