Two Australian cities rank among top 10 best cities in the world
Oxford Economics has released its 2025 list of the best cities in the world to live in, with two Australian cities making their way into the top 10.
The Global Cities Index scores cities in five categories: Economics, Human Capital, Quality of Life, Environment, and Governance.
Eight of the top ten cities have stayed the same as last year, with two new entries, including a bustling Australian city.
Click through to see which cities worldwide made the top 10 list.
10. San Francisco, USA
San Francisco is the tenth best city in the world, according to the Global Cities Index.
Its bustling economy and thriving tech sector put it high up on the list.
The city also ranks well in the environment and human categories.
"Leveraging our best-in-class urban economic forecasts, and supplemented by other publicly available datasets, we have created a globally consistent dataset of characteristics for the 1,000 largest cities in the world," Anthony Bernard-Sasges, senior economist for city services at Oxford Economics, and lead author of the report, said.
9. Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo, Japan, came in at number nine, and was the highest-ranked city in all of Asia.
Tokyo "excels" in the Human Capital category of the Index, the index says.
"While worries about Japan's ageing population have grabbed headlines, the population of Tokyo is one of the largest in the world and among the youngest in Japan, in part due to internal migration of individuals relocating to the city, where the universities and job opportunities are concentrated," the report reads.
8. Boston, USA
Boston made the top ten in eighth position due to its strengths in the Economic and Human Capital categories.
Boston is a new city to make the top ten this year.
"Due to its role as a global hub for education, Boston ranks 11th globally in Human Capital," the index reads.
"The city is home to some of the best universities in the world, including Harvard and MIT, attracting talented students, academics, and researchers from around the globe."
7. Sydney, Australia
Sydney has come in at number seven, marking a new entry for the city in the index's top 10.
"Sydney takes the seventh spot due to an improvement in its Quality of Life and Environment scores," the index reads.
Sydney also scored well in the Human Capital category and the Economics category.
"Sydney has the highest foreign-born population share among Australian cities and the 14th-highest globally, bolstering its Human Capital score."
The index noted a major weakness for the city is the high cost of housing and increasing rents.
6. Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne beat out Sydney on the index, coming in at sixth.
Melbourne's high score comes from a few different aspects.
The city's economy is one of them, which has been bolstered by major sporting events like the Australian Open and the Australian Grand Prix.
Education was another big one that contributed to its score.
"Where Melbourne truly shines is in the Human Capital category, achieving its highest ranking of 12th worldwide," the index reads.
"This ranking is attributable to its many high-quality universities.
"Sydney has lost some ground to its main competitor, Melbourne, in recent years."
5. Seattle, USA
Seattle in the US state of Washington came in at fifth on the index.
"The city's major tech sector — home to both Microsoft and Amazon — rivals those of any other city in the world," the index says.
"The city scores favourably in the Quality of Life category as the large numbers of workers employed in the tech, aerospace, and corporate sectors means its residents have a very high income per person.
"However, this can be a double-edged sword, as it has likely contributed to high income inequality in the city."
4. San Jose, USA
San Jose in California came in fourth on the index, largely due to its renowned Silicon Valley.
"With technology firms generating significantly higher GDP than most industries, San Jose's GDP per person is the highest of all 1,000 cities," the index says.
One of the city's downfalls is its population growth problems, as the city continues to lose some of its middle-aged residents who can't keep up with the high cost of living.
3. Paris, France
Paris ranked third in the world thanks to a combination of reasons.
The city has a booming economy and a strong tourism industry influenced by its preserved cultural heritage and historical sites.
"Although large cities tend to rank relatively poorly in the Quality of Life category, Paris is the exception to the rule, scoring within the top 10 globally thanks to a high life expectancy, a good average income per person, and easy access to culture," the index reads.
2. London, UK
London has come in as the second-best city in the world.
While its economy is strong, its score in the human capital category is what propelled it to second place, coming in first in the world in that category.
"This is, in part, due to the number of higher education institutions in the city, which helps it achieve one of the highest rates of educational attainment in the world," the index reads.
A major issue facing the city, however, is wealth inequality, with a majority of the city's wealth confined to one area - also impacting the quality of life score.
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