City quality of life indices

City Quality of Life Indices are lists of cities that are ranked according to a defined measure of living conditions. In addition to considering the provision of clean water, clean air, adequate food and shelter, many indexes also measure more subjective elements including a city's capacity to generate a sense of community and offer hospitable settings for all, especially young people, to develop social skills, a sense of autonomy and identity.^[1]

The reason some cities appear in one ranking but not another is often related to the different criteria used between rankings, but more commonly it is related the difference in weighting given to similar factors.^[2]

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) publishes an annual Global Liveability Ranking, which ranks 140 cities for their urban quality of life based on assessments of their stability, health care, culture, environment, education and infrastructure.^[3]

Melbourne, Australia, had been ranked by the EIU as the world's most livable city for seven years in a row, from 2011 to 2017.^[4] Between 2004 and 2010, Vancouver, Canada, was ranked the EIU's most livable city, with Melbourne sharing first place in the inaugural 2002 report. Vancouver has ranked third since 2015, while Vienna, Austria, ranked second until 2018 when it climbed to the top spot.

The Syrian capital, Damascus, was ranked the least livable city of the 173 assessed in 2024.^[5][6]

The EIU also publishes a Worldwide Cost of Living Survey that compares the cost of living in a range of global cities.^[7]

EIU's Global Liveability Ranking 2024[8]
Rank	City	Country/Region
1	Vienna	Austria
2	Copenhagen	Denmark
3	Zürich	Switzerland
4	Melbourne	Australia
5	Calgary	Canada
-	Geneva	Switzerland
7	Sydney	Australia
-	Vancouver	Canada
9	Osaka	Japan
-	Auckland	New Zealand
11	Adelaide	Australia
12	Toronto	Canada
13	Helsinki	Finland
14	Tokyo	Japan
15	Perth	Australia
16	Brisbane	Australia
17	Frankfurt	Germany
18	Luxembourg	Luxembourg
19	Amsterdam	Netherlands
20	Wellington	New Zealand

Since 2006, the lifestyle magazine Monocle has published an annual list of livable cities. The list in 2008 was named "The Most Livable Cities Index" and presented 20 top locations for quality of life.

Important criteria in this survey are safety/crime, international connectivity, climate/sunshine, quality of architecture, public transport, tolerance, environmental issues and access to nature, urban design, business conditions, proactive policy developments and medical care.

The 2024 Monocle Survey determined the world's most livable city was Munich, followed by Vienna and Zürich.^[9]

Monocle's Quality of Life Survey 2024[9]
Rank	City	Country/Region
1	Munich	Germany
2	Vienna	Austria
3	Zürich	Switzerland
4	Copenhagen	Denmark
5	Madrid	Spain
6	Lisbon	Portugal
7	Tokyo	Japan
8	Melbourne	Australia
9	Stockholm	Sweden
10	Paris	France
11	Helsinki	Finland
12	Kyoto	Japan
13	Oslo	Norway
14	Amsterdam	Netherlands
15	Sydney	Australia
16	Barcelona	Spain
17	Berlin	Germany
18	Singapore	Singapore
19	Milan	Italy
20	Athens	Greece

American global human resources and related financial services consulting firm Mercer annually releases its Mercer Quality of Living Survey, comparing 221 cities based on 39 criteria. New York City is given a baseline score of 100 and other cities are rated in comparison. Important criteria are safety, education, hygiene, health care, culture, environment, recreation, political-economic stability, public transport and access to goods and services. The list is intended to help multinational companies decide where to open offices or plants, and how much to pay employees. Mercer has ranked Austria's capital Vienna first in its annual "Quality of Living" survey since 2009.

Mercer's Quality of Living Ranking 2023[10]
Rank	City	Country/Region
1	Vienna	Austria
2	Zürich	Switzerland
3	Auckland	New Zealand
4	Copenhagen	Denmark
5	Geneva	Switzerland
6	Frankfurt	Germany
7	Munich	Germany
8	Vancouver	Canada
9	Sydney	Australia
10	Düsseldorf	Germany
11	The Hague	Netherlands
12	Wellington	New Zealand
13	Bern	Switzerland
14	Basel	Switzerland
14	Amsterdam	Netherlands
16	Luxembourg	Luxembourg
17	Toronto	Canada
18	Berlin	Germany
18	Ottawa	Canada
20	Montreal	Canada
20	Melbourne	Australia
22	Perth	Australia
23	Calgary	Canada
24	Oslo	Norway
25	Hamburg	Germany

The full ranking includes 241 cities.

This index uses data to score stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. The results are combined into a final livability index. ^[11]

Movingto Global Liveability Index 2024 [12]
Rank	City	Country/Region
1	Vienna	Austria
2	Melbourne	Australia
3	Vancouver	Canada
4	Toronto	Canada
5	Calgary	Canada
6	Zurich	Switzerland
7	Geneva	Switzerland
8	Frankfurt	Germany
9	Copenhagen	Denmark
10	Amsterdam	Netherlands
11	Osaka	Japan
12	Paris	France
13	Sydney	Australia
14	Stockholm	Sweden
15	London	United Kingdom
16	Tokyo	Japan
17	Singapore	Singapore
18	Helsinki	Finland
19	Brisbane	Australia
20	Hamburg	Germany
21	Wellington	New Zealand
22	Hong Kong	China
23	Berlin	Germany
24	Munich	Germany
25	Lyons	France

Numbeo is a crowd-sourced global database of reported consumer prices, perceived crime rates, quality of health care, among other statistics. The rankings are updated twice per year. ^[13]

Numbeo's Quality of Life Index 2024 Mid-Year [14]
Rank	City	Country/Region
1	The Hague	Netherlands
2	Luxembourg	Luxembourg
3	Eindhoven	Netherlands
4	Rotterdam	Netherlands
5	Zürich	Switzerland
6	Copenhagen	Denmark
7	Vienna	Austria
8	Helsinki	Finland
9	Geneva	Switzerland
10	Frankfurt	Germany
11	Stuttgart	Germany
12	Amsterdam	Netherlands
13	Perth	Australia
14	Reykjavík	Iceland
15	Brisbane	Australia
16	Austin, TX	United States
17	Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates
18	Melbourne	Australia
19	Valencia	Spain
20	Seattle, WA	United States

The full ranking includes 242 cities.

The Happy City Index produced by the Institue for Quality of Life uses 23 different areas of activity, divided into five key categories to determine the overall sense of happiness among residents directly relating to their quality of life. The ranking includes all cities whose activities can be measured based on objective, transparent, and verifiable data. It also highlights cities that demonstrate exceptional achievements in terms of quality of life. ^[15]

Happy City Index 2024 [16]
Rank	City	Country/Region
1	Aarhus	Denmark
2	Zurich	Switzerland
3	Berlin	Germany
4	Gothenburg	Sweden
5	Amsterdam	Netherlands
6	Helsinki	Finland
7	Bristol	United Kingdom
8	Copenhagen	Denmark
9	Geneva	Switzerland
10	Munich	Germany
11	Stockholm	Sweden
12	Rotterdam	Netherlands
13	Oulu	Finland
14	Vienna	Austria
15	Edinburgh	United Kingdom
16	Reykjavik	Iceland
17	Aalborg	Denmark
18	Minneapolis	United States
19	Basel	Switzerland
20	Alesund	Norway
21	Brisbane	Australia
22	Bruges	Belgium
23	Luxembourg	Luxembourg
24	Bordeaux	France
25	Cork	Ireland

• European Green Capital Award – Award for a European city based on its environmental record
• Global city – City important to the world economy
• Healthy city – Concept in urban design for health
• List of most expensive cities for expatriate employees
• List of largest cities
• Urban vitality – Intensity of use of an urban area