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The 10 most expensive cities for international schools

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When relocating employees and their families on an expat package, be sure to consider the price of international schools - especially if they have more than one child and are relocating to big cities - since tuition fees can be quite costly.

According to latest research by the International Schools Database, Shanghai remained the most expensive city with monthly tuition fees pegged at US$2,744 per child.

Interestingly, though Singapore fell by one position to 7th place, the average tuition fees for international schools actually went up - from US$1,637/month in 2017 to US$1,856/month.

A similar situation can be seen in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Despite falling to 12th place on this year's ranking, expats in Hong Kong can expect to spend more per month on tuition fees - US$1,282 in 2018 compared to US$1,226 last year. While Kuala Lumpur dropped to 36th place, fees went up from US$492 per month in 2017 to US$583 per month in 2018.

In the same vein, expats in Manila (Philippines) are seeing fees go up despite a drop in rank. This year, Manila (Philippines) dropped to 26th place, from 14th in 2017. However, fees went up from US$783 in 2017 to US$863 in 2018.

The 10 cities with the most expensive international school fees in 2018 are:

#1 Shanghai (China)
  • Tuition fees per month: US$2,744
  • Average price of rent: US$2,363
  • Tuition fees as percentage of rent price: 116%
#2 Beijing (China)
  • Tuition fees per month: US$2,519
  • Average price of rent: US$2,091
  • Tuition fees as percentage of rent price: 120%
#3 Lausanne - Vaud (Switzerland)
  • Tuition fees per month: US$2,227
  • Average price of rent: US$2,443
  • Tuition fees as percentage of rent price: 91%
#4 Zurich (Switzerland)
  • Tuition fees per month: US$2,075
  • Average price of rent: US$3,067
  • Tuition fees as percentage of rent price: 68%
#5 Toronto (Canada)
  • Tuition fees per month: US$1,977
  • Average price of rent: US$1,841
  • Tuition fees as percentage of rent price: 107%
#6 Geneva (Switzerland)
  • Tuition fees per month: US$1,910
  • Average price of rent: US$3,551
  • Tuition fees as percentage of rent price: 54%
#7 Singapore (Singapore)
  • Tuition fees per month: US$1,856
  • Average price of rent: US$2,661
  • Tuition fees as percentage of rent price: 70%
#8 Seoul (South Korea)
  • Tuition fees per month: US$1,799
  • Average price of rent: US$1,512
  • Tuition fees as percentage of rent price: 119%
#9 Brussels (Belgium)
  • Tuition fees per month: US$1,777
  • Average price of rent: US$1,335
  • Tuition fees as percentage of rent price: 133%
#10 Vienna (Austria)
  • Tuition fees per month: US$1,597
  • Average price of rent: US$1,638
  • Tuition fees as percentage of rent price: 98%
Check out the full result

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Photo / 123RF

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