City One of 10 Most Expensive to Live In : L.A. Wages Among Best, Survey Finds

A survey of prices and earnings in 49 cities around the world showed Americans draw the biggest paychecks, led by workers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston.

The Union Bank of Switzerland’s sixth annual survey, released today, found that the average worker in New York earns 42% more than a worker in Zurich or Tokyo, and more than twice as much as the average worker in Paris.

Workers in Los Angeles earn 36% more than their counterparts in Zurich and Tokyo, the bank said.

Wage earners in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston came out on top in the 49-city survey, followed by Montreal and Toronto in Canada, Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland, and Tokyo, the survey showed.

Paychecks were lowest in Bombay, Manila and Jakarta, the bank said.

The wage and salary data was based on weighted average hourly wages in 12 occupational categories: primary school teacher, bus driver, auto mechanic, construction worker, toolmaker-lathe operator, cook, department manager, electrical engineer, bank teller, secretary, saleswoman and textile worker.

The survey also found:

--Lagos, Nigeria, followed by Tokyo, New York and Abu Dhabi, proved to be the most expensive cities to live in, based on a market basket of 119 goods and services that excluded housing costs. Each of the four U.S. cities surveyed finished in the top 10, including New York (3); Chicago (6); Houston (7); and Los Angeles (10).

Living in Lagos is nearly four times as expensive as living in Bangkok, which was the least expensive of the 49 cities, the bank said.

--Average monthly apartment rents ranged from a high of $1,470 in Abu Dhabi to a low of $80 in Jakarta.

Of the four U.S. cities, apartments in New York proved the most expensive, with an average monthly rental of $1,050. Chicago, at $750, was second, followed by Los Angeles, $580, and Houston, $530.

--A steak dinner averaged $17 per person for the 49 cities surveyed, up from $13 in 1982.