New York may feel like a squeeze for all but the city’s top earners, but compared to other major world metropolises, the five boroughs are still a relative bargain. According to the Wall Street Journal, a list created by the Economist Intelligence Unit ranking world cities’ relatively affordability on a cost-of-living basis places New York way down at No. 27 — tied with Los Angeles. The survey, which uses New York as a baseline for comparison, is designed to help expat workers, business travelers and companies weighing relocation decisions for its personnel to determine the costs associated with moving to a new city.

But the expenses associated with being a New Yorker are growing fast. Just two years ago, New York ranked No. 48 out of the same 131 cities studied. Still, both of those positions are down from a decade ago when New York ranked tenth most expensive city in the world, survey editor Jon Copestake, told the Journal.

The growing cost of living has “made a city that’s never cheap, that much more out of reach” for middle- and low-income earners, Jonathan Bowles, director of the New York-based Center for an Urban Future, said.

This year Tokyo took the No. 1, while in North America, Vancouver topped the list. On the other end of the spectrum, Cleveland and Atlanta offered the best value in the U.S., both 30 percent cheaper than New York. [WSJ] —Christopher Cameron