Dutch construction engineer Arcadis has named the Swiss city of Geneva as the world’s most expensive city to build in in its annual index comparing construction costs in 100 major cities.
The top 10 most expensive cities to build are:
1. Geneva
2. London
3. Zürich
4. Munich
5. Copenhagen
6. New York City
7. San Francisco
8. Dublin
9. Bristol
10. Philadelphia
Hong Kong fell out of the top 10 this year but, aside from that, not much has changed at the top. In 2024, London took the crown.
Arcadis notes that market sentiment has shifted away from inflation uncertainty. Demand is there, but investment is selective.
Investors are spending on complex, high-performing assets offering long-term growth, such as healthcare facilities, laboratories, data centres, advanced manufacturing facilities and modern workplaces.
Arcadis said it’s not necessarily easier to build in cheaper markets. Clients should test market readiness, grid capacity, permitting, supply-chains and the availability of skills and specialist contractors.
Edel Christie, Arcadis’ global president of places, said: “Construction cost is no longer just a measure of price, and Arcadis’ International Construction Cost Index is no longer simply a guide to where construction is most or least expensive. It shows where cost, capacity, delivery risk and investment confidence are converging.
“That matters because cost is not the same as deliverability: projects should be designed, procured and planned around real-world conditions and the local realities that shape delivery.
“The need to build has not gone away. Cities still need homes, infrastructure, resilient energy systems, modern workplaces and digital infrastructure to support the next generation of economic growth. The opportunity is clear, but investment will flow to places and programmes where delivery is credible, viable and achievable — not just cheap to build.”
- The full International Construction Costs 2026 report is available here.
