Buenos Aires is most expensive Latin American city for expats, survey shows

For the second consecutive year, Buenos Aires is the most expensive city in Latin America for expats. The Argentine capital ranks 41 among 209 cities in an international survey, according to the annual Cost of Living survey by consulting firm Mercer.

Buenos Aires

The report noted that Buenos Aires fell dramatically from its 2015 level of expense, when it ranked 19 among cities surveyed. Argentina is in a deep economic recession, with an annual inflation rate of 44%.

Following Buenos Aires in cost of living in Latin America, were Port of Spain, Trinidad, which ranked 60; San Juan, Puerto Rico, 67; Panama City, Panama, 81; San Jose, Costa Rica, 94; and Montevideo, Uruguay, 119.

Quito, the only city rated in Ecuador, ranked 127.

Worldwide, the top five most expensive cities were Hong Kong, Luanda, Angola, Zurich, Switzerland, Singapore, and Tokyo, Japan.

The five least expensive cities were Windhoek, Namibia, Cape Town, South Africa, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Blantyre, Malawi, and Johannesburg, South Africa.

The most expensive U.S. cities were New York, 11, San Francisco, 26, and Los Angeles, 27.

The Mercer survey considers the cost of 200 goods and services, including rent, food, medical care, and security, in its calculations. The rankings are used by businesses and governments who post employees overseas.