Turner & Townsend’s 2025 international construction market survey shows New York City is the most expensive place in which to build in the world. This is the third consecutive year the city has been No. 1.
San Francisco remained at No. 2 for the third consecutive year. Three other U.S. cities—Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia—made the list.
Following is the full list of the top 10 most expensive cities in which to build, according to the survey.
- New York City
- San Francisco
- Zurich
- Geneva
- London
- Los Angeles
- Chicago
- Tokyo
- Philadelphia
- Sapporo, Japan
The report found New York City had an average build cost of $5,744 per square meter, followed by San Francisco at $5,504 per square meter, Zurich at $5,386 per square meter, Geneva at $5,386 per square meter and London at $5,385 per square meter; these were the only five markets where the average cost to build exceeded $5,000 per square meter.
