World's Most Expensive City: Can You Spare A Yen?

Often vacationers wish they lived in the city that they are visiting. But it's no secret that it's one thing to visit a city and another to be a resident of one. One big difference is simply the cost of living.  Bloomberg Businessweek reports on the most expensive cities as ranked by ECM International, a global human resource firm. For comparison purposes the report shows the cost of a quick lunch, beer at a bar, kilogram of rice, a dozen eggs and movie theater ticket in each city. It should be noted that the report considers the price of food, basic goods and services but not housing, utilities or schooling.

No U.S. city even ranks in the top 30 mainly due a weakened U.S. currency. Outside of the top 30, the highest U.S. ranking belongs to New York City, New York at #44 (down from #28). The second most expensive city is Honolulu, Hawaii at #62 (down from #40).

The city ranked at the top? Here it is:

World's Most Expensive City 2011

No. 1: Tokyo

Quick lunch: $20.80
Beer at a bar: $10.56
Kilogram of rice: $9.80
Dozen eggs: $4.50
Movie theater ticket: $23.80

Although the consumer price index in the Tokyo area has been falling since 2009,according to data from Japan's statistics bureau, the city remains the world's most expensive. While housing costs are not included in this survey, ECA International estimates that the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Tokyo stood at $4,352 in September.

Japan in fact has four cities ranked in the top 10 alone. Besides Tokyo: #3 Nagoya, #5 Yokohama and #9 Kobe.

Visit businessweek.com for the full report.