Beijing Is World's Least Affordable City to Rent

By Justine Lopez

Beijing ranks number one as the world’s least affordable city to rent, a recent survey by the Global Cities Business Alliance (a UK-based nonprofit) concluded, The Financial Times reports. The study found that the average rental price in Beijing is over 1.2 times the average salary.

The study compared the average rental prices and salaries in 15 major cities around the world. According to their findings, Beijing’s rent costs nearly twice as much as Abu Dhabi's, which was cited as the second most expensive city. Hong Kong, New York and Shanghai were ranked the third, fourth and fifth most expensive cities for renters, respectively.

This news doesn’t come as a shock considering Beijing now leads the world in terms of the number of billionaires per city. There are currently 100 billionaires living in the Chinese capital. Rental prices have also soared in the capital in recent years. One contributing factor is likely due to the fact that non-residents are unable to purchase houses unless they have paid tax in the city for at least five years, which makes renting the sole option for many.

The study also found that average-income employees – such as hospital nurses, primary school teachers and bus drivers – often paid rental rates of between 1.1 and 1.5 times their incomes.

[Image via Optofluidics]

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