The 20 global cities with the best quality of life

• Oxford Economics’ 2026 Global Cities Index ranked cities around the world on their quality of life.
• US cities ranked highly for economics, but fell short in the quality of life category.
• European cities dominated the quality of life list, while only one US city made the top 20.

Quality of life, which accounts for 25% of a city’s overall score, wasn’t a bright spot for the US, but plenty of other cities excelled in that category. See which cities ranked highest in quality of life, according to Oxford Economics.

20. Venice, Italy

Overall score: 51.2

Quality of life score: 86.3

1. Stuttgart, Germany
   

   

Overall score: 70.7

Quality of life score: 86.5

1. Prague
   

   

Overall score: 78.1

Quality of life score: 86.9

1. Sydney
   

   

Overall score: 88.3

Quality of life score: 87.2

1. Munich
   

   

Overall score: 85

Quality of life score: 87.3

1. Berlin
   

   

Overall score: 84.6

Quality of life score: 87.7

1. Zurich
   

   

Overall score: 89.1

Quality of life score: 87.7

1. San Jose, United States
   

   

Overall score: 89.6

Quality of life score: 87.9

1. Linz, Austria
   

   

Overall score: 70.6

Quality of life score: 88

1. Basel, Switzerland
   

   

Overall score: 79.6

Quality of life score: 88

1. Paris
   

   

Overall score: 93.4

Quality of life score: 88.1

1. Ghent, Belgium
   

   

Overall score: 74.9

Quality of life score: 88.4

1. Dresden, Germany
   

   

Overall score: 59.4

Quality of life score: 88.5

1. Luxembourg
   

   

Overall score: 82.5

Quality of life score: 89

1. Oslo, Norway
   

   

Overall score: 89.1

Quality of life score: 89.3

1. Bern, Switzerland
   

   

Overall score: 78.2

Quality of life score: 89.8

1. Grenoble, France
   

   

Overall score: 67.7

Quality of life score: 90.8

1. Singapore
   

   

Overall score: 82.1

Quality of life score: 91.6

1. Bergen, Norway
   

   

Overall score: 80

Quality of life score: 94.3

1. Canberra, Australia
   

   

Overall score: 79.4

Quality of life score: 100