Still, the index suggests several major American cities offer a cheaper night out than metropolises in Europe and elsewhere. Out of 69 cities, ranked by most to least expensive, San Francisco (No. 13) sits behind Tel Aviv (No. 7), Amsterdam (No. 10), and Dublin (No. 12). A romantic gesture in Chicago (No. 26) and Los Angeles (No. 27) also doesn’t set lovers as far back as in Milan (No. 16), Paris (No. 18), or even Buenos Aires (No. 22).
Meanwhile, as a proxy for a casual outfit, the index uses a pair of Levi jeans and a summer dress. Both inclusions favor the U.S., especially when it comes to the cost of denim.
Many New Yorkers, however, might find it much harder to splurge than their peers in other major American cities. Unsurprisingly, the largest economy in the world is a magnet for high earners: San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, and New York all rank in the top seven for salary after taxes.
As the chart below shows, that means the average wallet in New York is much lighter than in other U.S. cities. Most American metropolises perform well in the report’s measure of disposable income, particularly San Francisco (No. 3), Boston (No. 7), and Chicago (No. 8). New York, however, comes in No. 41, sitting behind Vancouver (No. 33), Warsaw (No. 39), and Prague (No. 40).
A similar story plagues the likes of Paris (No. 27), Tokyo (No. 37), and London (No. 38), where rents are also high relative to average salaries. The report cautions, however, that high levels of income inequality—particularly in the Big Apple—mean averages don’t paint the full picture.
That’s also important to remember when evaluating the report’s annual quality of life index, a subjective measure that includes the cost of living but also factors like commute times, pollution, crime, and healthcare availability. Global financial hubs like New York and London, both tied for No. 50 out 69, struggle mightily, with most major cities in emerging markets performing even worse.
Regardless, much has changed since Deutsche Bank first published its report on worldwide prices 14 years ago. Coming off the Global Financial Crisis, American cities were a bargain compared to many peer cities in the developed world, noted Jim Reid, the bank’s global head of macro and thematic research, and research analyst Galina Pozdnyakova.
