Zurich climbed to second place, edging out London, while Monaco entered the top three for the first time since the survey began in 2020

Singapore is the world’s most expensive city for luxury spending for a fourth consecutive year, as prices on items such as watches and jewelry surge around the globe.  

Zurich climbed to second place, edging out London, while Monaco entered the top three for the first time since the survey began in 2020, according to an annual report by Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Group Ltd. Hong Kong and London rounded out the top five.  

Zurich’s three-place rise was propelled by the strengthening of the Swiss franc, supported by the country’s reputation for stability and the currency’s role as “store of value” in unpredictable times, the wealth manager said. Singapore’s long-held top rank is driven by high prices of residential property and cars — the two categories with the heaviest weightings in the index — along with the strong Singapore dollar, it added. The index compares prices on a US dollar basis. 

“What is clear in 2026 is that the world continues to be a complicated place, and uncertainty remains at a very high level,” Christian Gattiker, head of research at Julius Baer, said in the report. “In this environment, stable cities and countries become even more attractive.”

The bank’s Lifestyle Index ranks 25 cities by analyzing the price inflation of 20 luxury items and services such as residential property, cars, business class flights, school fees and degustation dinners. The survey interviewed 360 high-net-worth individuals with bankable household assets of $1 million or more from February to March 2026.  

 For high-net-worth individuals, the cost of maintaining a premium standard of living has risen “significantly” over the past 12 months, with this year’s index up 10.2 per cent on average in US dollar terms, the report said. The surge in gold prices is reflected in the index, with jewelry up 16.4 per cent and watches up 15.5 per cent.  

Dubai dropped to 14th place in the ranking, although Julius Baer said the decline reflects risings costs in other cities rather than the financial hub becoming more affordable. The Swiss bank also noted that “much has changed” in the Middle East in the months since the index data was collected, which was before the Iran conflict. As a result, the outlook for residents and internationally mobile individuals and families “is now less clear,” it said. 

Sydney recorded the biggest jump in this year’s ranking, climbing six places to eighth. Julius Baer attributed this partly due to the strong Australian dollar, and the country’s “geographical isolation” — with the price of importing premium goods elevating Sydney significantly in the list, the bank said. 

For the first time in three years, no cities from the Americas featured in the top 10 list. This is largely due to the depreciation of the US dollar against other major currencies, despite strong local price increases. Even so, North America recorded strong wealth accumulation over the past year, with a “staggering” 47 per cent of high-net-worth-individuals reporting a significant increase in asset value.