City quality of life indices arelists of cities that are ranked according to a defined measure ofliving 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]

This section is an excerpt fromGlobal Liveability Index § 2025.[edit]

Global Liveability Index 2025: Top 10^[3]

Rank	City	Country	Index	Stability	Healthcare	Culture and environment	Education	Infrastructure
1	Copenhagen	Denmark	98.0	100.0	95.8	95.5	100.0	100.0
2	Vienna	Austria	97.1	95.0	100.0	93.5	100.0	100.0
2	Zurich	Switzerland	97.1	95.0	100.0	96.3	100.0	96.4
4	Melbourne	Australia	97.0	95.0	100.0	95.8	100.0	96.4
5	Geneva	Switzerland	96.8	95.0	100.0	94.9	100.0	96.4
6	Sydney	Australia	96.6	95.0	100.0	94.4	100.0	96.4
7	Osaka	Japan	96.0	100.0	100.0	86.8	100.0	96.4
7	Auckland	New Zealand	96.0	95.0	95.8	97.9	100.0	92.9
9	Adelaide	Australia	95.9	95.0	100.0	91.4	100.0	96.4
10	Vancouver	Canada	95.8	95.0	95.8	97.2	100.0	92.9

Since 2006, the lifestyle magazineMonocle has published an annual list of top locations forquality 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.

Monocle's Quality of Life Survey 2025^[4]

Rank	City	Country/Region
1	Paris	France
2	Madrid	Spain
3	Athens	Greece
4	Barcelona	Spain
5	Vienna	Austria
6	Zurich	Switzerland
7	Mexico City	Mexico
8	Lisbon	Portugal
9	Tokyo	Japan
10	Tallinn	Estonia

American globalhuman resources and relatedfinancial services consulting firmMercer annually releases its Quality of Living City Ranking, comparing 241 cities based on 39 criteria (includingsafety,education,hygiene,health care,culture,environment,recreation, political-economic stability,public transport and access to goods and services). New York City is given a baseline score of 100 and other cities are rated in comparison. The list is intended to helpmultinational companies decide where to open offices or plants and how much to pay employees.

Mercer's Quality of Living Ranking 2024^[5]

Rank	City	Country/Region
1	Zürich	Switzerland
2	Vienna	Austria
3	Geneva	Switzerland
4	Copenhagen	Denmark
5	Auckland	New Zealand
6	Amsterdam	Netherlands
7	Frankfurt	Germany
7	Vancouver	Canada
9	Bern	Switzerland
10	Basel	Switzerland
11	Munich	Germany
12	Sydney	Australia
13	Toronto	Canada
14	The Hague	Netherlands
14	Wellington	New Zealand
16	Düsseldorf	Germany
17	Luxembourg	Luxembourg
18	Stockholm	Sweden
19	Berlin	Germany
20	Montreal	Canada
21	Melbourne	Australia
22	Oslo	Norway
23	Ottawa	Canada
24	Perth	Australia
25	Calgary	Canada

Numbeo is acrowd-sourced global database of reportedconsumer prices, perceivedcrime rates, quality ofhealth care, among other statistics. The rankings are updated twice per year.^[6]

Numbeo's Quality of Life Index 2025^[6]

Rank	City	Country/Region
1	The Hague	Netherlands
2	Groningen	Netherlands
3	Luxembourg	Luxembourg
4	Eindhoven	Netherlands
5	Basel	Switzerland
6	Bern	Switzerland
7	Utrecht	Netherlands
8	Rotterdam	Netherlands
9	Lausanne	Switzerland
10	Copenhagen	Denmark
11	Geneva	Switzerland
12	Amsterdam	Netherlands
13	Boise	United States
14	Brisbane	Australia
15	Madison	United States
16	Helsinki	Finland
17	Adelaide	Australia
18	Bergen	Norway
19	Valencia	Spain
20	Raleigh	United States
21	Gothenburg	Sweden
22	Zurich	Switzerland
23	Christchurch	New Zealand
24	Seattle	United States
25	Perth	Australia

The full ranking includes 242 cities.

The Happy City Index produced by the Institute 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.^[7]

Happy City Index 2025^[8]

Rank	City	Country/Region
1	Copenhagen	Denmark
2	Zurich	Switzerland
3	Singapore	Singapore
4	Aarhus	Denmark
5	Antwerp	Belgium
6	Seoul	South Korea
7	Stockholm	Sweden
8	Taipei	Taiwan
9	Munich	Germany
10	Rotterdam	Netherlands
11	Vancouver	Canada
12	Vienna	Austria
13	Paris	France
14	Helsinki	Finland
15	Aalborg	Denmark
16	Berlin	Germany
17	New York City	United States
18	Dresden	Germany
19	Brussels	Belgium
20	Geneva	Switzerland
21	Porto	Portugal
22	Barcelona	Spain
23	Oslo	Norway
24	Dublin	Ireland
25	Milan	Italy

Swiss-basedInternational Institute for Management Development (IMD) publishes the Smart City Index, ranking what makes a city the most livable. Zurich, Oslo, Geneva, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi form the top 5 in 2025.^[9]

• 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

• Cities-related lists of superlatives
• International quality of life rankings
• Lists of cities
• Market research
• Quality of life
• The Economist

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