2011 Quality of Living worldwide city rankings

[Gob]

Vienna has the best living standard in the world, according to the Mercer 2011 Quality of Living Survey. Zurich and Auckland follow in second and third position, respectively, and Munich is in fourth with Düsseldorf and Vancouver sharing fifth place. Frankfurt is in seventh, followed by Geneva in eighth, while Copenhagen and Bern share ninth place.

European cities represent over half the cities amongst the top 25 in the ranking . London (38) is the highest-ranking UK city and is followed by Birmingham (52), Aberdeen (54) and Glasgow (56). Belfast (63) is the lowest-ranking of the UK cities that Mercer surveys. Globally, the cities with the lowest quality of living are Khartoum, Sudan (217), Port-au-Prince, Haiti (218), N’Djamena, Chad (219), and Bangui, Central African Republic (220). Baghdad, Iraq (221) ranks last in Mercer’s table.

Mercer conducts the survey to help governments and multi-national companies compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments. Mercer’s Quality of Living reports provide valuable information and hardship premium recommendations for major cities throughout the world. Mercer’s Quality of Living index list covers 221 cities, ranked against New York as the base city.

This year, the survey separately identifies those cities with the highest personal safety ranking based on internal stability, crime levels, law enforcement effectiveness and the host country’s international relations. Luxembourg tops this personal safety ranking, followed by Bern, Helsinki and Zurich – all ranked at number two. Vienna ranks fifth, while Geneva and Stockholm both rank sixth. Baghdad (221) is the world’s least safe city, followed by N’Djamena, Chad (220), Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (219), Bangui, Central African Republic (218), and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (217).

Aberdeen and Glasgow both rank 44 and are the highest ranking UK cities on the personal safety list. Birmingham (53) and Belfast (63) both rank higher than London (68).


Mercer Quality of Living Survey - Worldwide Rankings, 2011
Rank City Country
1 Vienna Austria
2 Zurich Switzerland
3 Auckland New Zealand
4 Munich Germany
5 Düsseldorf Germany
5 Vancouver Canada
7 Frankfurt Germany
8 Geneva Switzerland
9 Bern Switzerland
9 Copenhagen Denmark
11 Sydney Australia
12 Amsterdam Netherlands
13 Wellington New Zealand
14 Ottawa Canada
15 Toronto Canada
16 Hamburg Germany
17 Berlin Germany
18 Melbourne Australia
19 Luxembourg Luxembourg
20 Stockholm Sweden
21 Perth Australia
22 Brussels Belgium
22 Montreal Canada
24 Nurnberg Germany
25 Singapore Singapore
26 Canberra Australia
26 Dublin Ireland
28 Stuttgart Germany
29 Honolulu, HI United States
30 Adelaide Australia
30 Paris France
30 San Francisco, CA United States
33 Calgary Canada
33 Oslo Norway
35 Helsinki Finland
36 Boston, MA United States
37 Brisbane Australia
38 London United Kingdom
39 Lyon France
40 Barcelona Spain
41 Lisbon Portugal
42 Milan Italy
43 Chicago, IL United States
43 Madrid Spain
43 Washington, DC United States
46 Tokyo Japan
47 New York City, NY United States
48 Seattle, WA United States
49 Kobe Japan
49 Pittsburgh, PA United States
49 Yokohama Japan

http://www.mercer.com/qualityoflivingpr#city-rankings

[dgs49]

I have to question the criteria.

Singapore is the safest city in the world, as any regular visitor will tell you. People routinely leave cars and bikes unattended and unlocked on the street without any fear of them being stolen. Ad hominem crime is extremely rare.

Seattle and Pittsburgh less safe than New York?

Ridiculous.

But it is an interesting concept.

[Scooter]

Personal safety is only one of the criteria that goes into the quality of life ranking. If you want to see the personal safety ranking you can find it here if you scroll down.

[Guinevere]

I'm glad to see Boston made the list well above NYC!

Of all the cities in the world to live, Vienna is certainly one of the most spectacular.

[The Hen]

Yay! 26! 26!

Watch out Singapore. I'm after your arse next year.

[Scooter]

I'm sorry, but any ranking of "quality of life" that puts Ottawa before Toronto or, well, pretty much anywhere except Calcutta, is questionable to me.

[Sue U]

Washington over New York??????????? Honolulu (and Ottawa) over Paris?????????????? These people are nuts.

[Liberty1]

These things are always just a bunch of BS. Quality of life is in the eye of the beholder.

San Francisco is #30, you couldn't pay me enough to live anywhere in California, or anywhere east of the Mississippi for that matter.

[Guinevere]

Washington over New York???????????

In a heartbeat. New York is a great place to visit, but I sure wouldn't want to live there.

Honolulu (and Ottawa) over Paris?????????????? These people are nuts.

Well that one is nutty

[dgs49]

Some analogous questions: Best city to visit on an expense account (i.e., money is no object).

Paris?

Best city to visit if your are impecunious (enjoyable things to do for free).

San Francisco?

Best city to call home on a middle-class income (under $100k household).

Somewhere in the Southeast?

Worst city to call home on a middle-class income.

New York, D.C., San Fran...a ton of them.

[BoSoxGal]

No Montana cities on the list? Preposterous!

Live where YOU are happy.

[loCAtek]

Oh, I'm happy in San ho; I'll just never be rich and/nor famous here ...ever.
Oh well The 1% of the 1% hold that Silicon Valley distinction. I just punch the clock form them ...and I like it