[supplied_demand]

At the same time, the most densely populated large cities are also among the most expensive.

[sorcerer-mar]

That's because the community benefits so much from density. People want to live there because the density has created fantastic amenities and jobs, ergo prices go up.

[dymk]

Depends what you count as an expense and where collected taxes flow. Rural living is artificially cheap by being subsidized by its more “expensive” dense living counterpart.