The world’s best cities for quality of life in 2026

Canberra has achieved a perfect score of 100 on the quality of life index, securing the top spot among the world's best cities for living.

The rankings place Norway’s Bergen in second place with a score of 94.3, followed closely by Singapore at 91.6.

Grenoble scored 90.8 to complete the top four, while Bern recorded 89.8. Oslo registered 89.3, Luxembourg City reached 89.0, and Dresden scored 88.5. Ghent followed with 88.4, while Paris earned 88.1.

Both Basel and Linz tied with a score of 88.0. San Jose secured 87.9, followed by Zurich and Berlin, which both scored 87.7.

Munich followed with 87.3, while Sydney achieved 87.2. Prague posted 86.9, Stuttgart reached 86.5, and Venice recorded 86.3. Freiburg im Breisgau scored 86.1, and Seattle stood at 85.9.

Antwerp recorded 85.7, while Hsinchu and Padua tied at 85.3. Taipei and Valletta both scored 85.2, followed by Genoa at 85.1. Rounding out the top 30 are Utrecht and Bratislava, each scoring 85.0 on the scale.

Overall, European cities dominate the rankings across the scale from 0 to 100.

Quality of Life category measures income equality, income per person, housing expenditure, life expectancy, crime, and access to recreation and cultural sites.