11 cities with an “impossibly affordable” cost of living

Every year, living in big cities around the world is becoming more expensive. But in at least 11 cities, the cost of living is becoming “impossibly affordable.” This is the conclusion of the Center for Population and Policy at Chapman University, California (USA) in the 20th edition of the Cost of Living Study in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore. United Kingdom and US The most expensive cities are in four countries: Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and the United States

The aim of the study is to assess the housing affordability of places by considering how stable a city’s housing cost is compared to the average salary of the population.

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The researchers created a score from 0 to 10, calculating median household expenses and dividing it by median household income. Cities with a score of 9 or higher are “impossibly affordable.” A score below 3 is necessary to be “accessible”, but no city achieves this rating, with the ranking starting at 3.1.

For Joel Godkin, director of Chapman University’s Center on Population and Politics, high housing prices relative to the population’s income have a “feudal” effect that limits access, especially for young people, minorities and immigrants, with serious implications for mobility prospects. of cities.

Policies such as green belts, urban growth limits and increased population density will be some of the problems as they will lead to scarcity of land for construction and increase housing costs.

“Land prices within these ranges are 8 to 20 times higher than outside,” the study says.

The most expensive cities and their scores

11 “Impossibly Inaccessible” Cities:

“Moderate” cities and their classifications