Hong Kong ranked most expensive city to live in
House prices in Hong Kong are 20 times average household income
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Hong Kong is the least affordable city to live in, according to a new ranking.
The Asian metropolis came top in the 16th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey: 2020, which ranked 309 cities in eight countries around the world on how expensive their housing was.
Affordability was measured by the median house price divided by the median household income.
Hong Kong came top with a “median multiple” score of 20.8, meaning average house prices are more than 20 times a typical household income, thanks to tight government control on new property development. It fell slightly this year, down from 20.9 in 2019.
Vancouver came second, with a median multiple of 11.9, followed by Sydney at 11.
Melbourne (9.5), Los Angeles (9), Toronto and Auckland (8.6), San Jose in California (8.5), San Francisco (8.4), and Greater London (8.2) make up the top 10 least affordable cities to live in.
Looking at entire nations, the most affordable places to live were in the US, with the average house being just shy of four times’ the average household income. Rochester in New York was found to be the most affordable city, with a median multiple of 2.5, followed by Oklahoma City and Cleveland (2.7); Buffalo, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and St. Louis (2.8); Indianapolis and Hartford (2.9); and Tulsa (3).
Canada came second, with a median multiple of 4.4, followed by Singapore and the UK (4.6) and Ireland at 4.7.
Most unaffordable cities in the world
1. Hong Kong (20.8)
2. Vancouver (11.9)
3. Sydney (11)
4. Melbourne (9.5)
5. Los Angeles (9)
6. Toronto (8.6)
6. Auckland (8.6)
8. San Jose (8.5)
9. San Francisco (8.4)
10. London (8.2)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments