The best cities to live in for quality of life, salary and rent

The best city to live in is difficult to determine, but using myriad measurements it looks like it is certainly not London or New York. We find out what it is.

A view of the Adolphe Bridge in Luxembourg
(Image credit: Gabriel Mello via Getty Images)

From crime rates to the cost of living, there’s a lot of factors at play when ranking the best places to live. While you may feel confident there’s nowhere quite like your home, new data has shed light on the top cities to live in.

When it comes to quality of life there is one clear winner, according to Deutsche Bank’s research institute, and it may not be what you think – hint: it isn’t New York, Los Angeles, or London.

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Meanwhile, cities in India remain cheap when compared to their international peers, despite the country being on track to become the world’s third-largest economy by the end of the decade.

The best city in the world for quality of life

The best city in the world for maximising your quality of life is Luxembourg.

The city ranks highly in terms of safety, healthcare, cost of living, property prices as a proportion of incomes, commute times, pollution and climate, and the purchasing power of your money.

Luxembourg is only home to around 680,000 people, making it quite small when compared to the huge metropolises of New York (8.5 million), London (9.8 million), and Tokyo (14.2 million).

Meanwhile, the second-best city in the world for quality of life is Copenhagen in Denmark, followed closely by Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

A list of the ten best cities in the world for quality of life can be found below.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Rank

City

Country

Purchasing Power Index

Cost of Living Index

Property Price to Income Ratio

Safety Index

1

Luxembourg

Luxembourg

6

57

21

21

2

Copenhagen

Denmark

11

61

16

16

3

Amsterdam

Netherlands

17

58

22

18

4

Vienna

Austria

21

43

34

20

5

Helsinki

Finland

16

45

24

13

6

Geneva

Switzerland

1

68

28

23

7

Frankfurt

Germany

4

50

14

39

8

Zurich

Switzerland

3

69

39

8

9

Melbourne

Australia

7

41

10

35

10

Edinburgh

United Kingdom

19

49

13

24

Source: Deutsche Bank Research Institute, 24 June. Some columns have been omitted for brevity.

Some notable cities that didn’t make it into the top ten include New York and London, which both fared badly in the quality of life index, both ranking 50th out of 69.

The best city in the world for monthly salaries

If holistic quality of life measurements don’t convince you, then ranking the best cities in the world in terms of monthly salary after tax may be able to persuade you more.

Perhaps unsurprisingly considering the size of its banking sector and its low taxes, the best city in the world for monthly salaries after tax is Geneva in Switzerland where the average worker nets $7,984 (currently £5,863) every month.

The second-best city is Zurich, also in Switzerland, where the average worker will take home the slightly lower figure of $7,788 (£5,719) a month.

San Francisco in the United States takes third place. Here, the average take home pay is $7,092 (£5,207), 138% higher than the average in New York City.

A full list of cities ranked by how much money average workers will take home at the end of the month in dollars is found below.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Rank

City

Country

Monthly salary after tax ($)

Relative to New York

1

Geneva

Switzerland

7,984

156%

2

Zurich

Switzerland

7,768

152%

3

San Francisco

United States

7,092

138%

4

Luxembourg

Luxembourg

6,156

120%

5

Boston

United States

5,940

116%

6

Chicago

United States

5,203

101%

7

New York

United States

5,128

100%

8

Amsterdam

Netherlands

4,755

93%

9

Copenhagen

Denmark

4,666

91%

10

Frankfurt

Germany

4,512

88%

Source: Deutsche Bank Research Institute, 24 June

The best cities in the world for disposable income

While high salaries after tax may look good on paper, they can quickly diminish in real terms when you consider that some of the cities where people earn the most have sky-high rents.

When looking at the amount of disposable income that a two-person household who live in a three-bedroom apartment will have after rent, Geneva, Zurich, San Francisco, and Luxembourg remain in the top four.

However, many of America’s cities fall down the list due to high costs of rent. New York City drops to 41st place as the average two-person household is left with just $1,868 (£1,371) after rent.

London doesn’t fare that well either. A two-person household living in the UK capital are, on average, left with just $2,389 (£1,754) a month after rent, ranking 37th overall.

A full list of the ten best cities for disposable income can be found below.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Rank

City

Country

Disposable income after tax and rent ($)

Relative to New York

1

Geneva

Switzerland

7,984

156%

2

Zurich

Switzerland

7,768

152%

3

San Francisco

United States

7,092

138%

4

Luxembourg

Luxembourg

6,156

120%

5

Frankfurt

Germany

5,940

116%

6

Copenhagen

Denmark

5,203

101%

7

Boston

United States

5,128

100%

8

Chicago

United States

4,755

93%

9

Oslo

Norway

4,666

91%

10

Amsterdam

Netherlands

4,512

88%

Source: Deutsche Bank Research Institute, 24 June

The cheapest cities to rent an apartment

The cost of rent varies widely across the world, and there are some cities where you can pay as little as 5% of what you would pay if you lived in New York.

The cheapest city to rent in is Cairo, Egypt, where it costs just $412 (£302) a month for a three-bedroom apartment in the city centre.

Meanwhile, the second and third cheapest cities to rent in the world are Delhi, India where a similar flat will cost $588 (£431) a month, and Bogota, Colombia where it costs $815 (£598) a month.

A list of the cheapest cities to rent in can be found below.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Rank

City

Country

Monthly rent for a 3 bedroom apartment in the city centre ($)

Relative to New York

1

Cairo

Egypt

412

5%

2

Delhi

India

588

7%

3

Bogota

Colombia

815

10%

4

Bangalore

India

837

10%

5

Rio de Janeiro

Brazil

852

10%

6

Johannesburg

South Africa

919

11%

7

Santiago

Chile

989

12%

8

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

1,090

13%

9

Buenos Aires

Argentina

1,166

14%

10

Jakarta

Indonesia

1,179

14%

Source: Deutsche Bank Research Institute, 24 June

The soaring cost of renting in New York is well-documented, with the city being the most expensive in the world to rent in by a sizable margin.

The monthly rent for a three-bedroom apartment in the city centre will set you back a staggering $8,388 (£6,159) – an increase of 70% over the last 13 years.

The second most expensive city to rent in the world is Singapore, where it costs $6,216 (£4,564) a month for a three-bedroom apartment in the city centre, while the third most expensive city is Boston at $6,091 (£4,472) a month.

Just below Boston is London, where the cost of renting a three-bedroom apartment in the centre costs $5,560 (£4,082), up by 41% in the last five years.

A list of the most expensive cities to rent in can be found below.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Rank

City

Country

Monthly rent for a 3 bedroom apartment in the city centre ($)

Relative to New York

69

New York

United States

8,388

100%

68

Singapore

Singapore

6,216

74%

67

Boston

United States

6,091

73%

66

London

United Kingdom

5,560

66%

65

San Francisco

United States

5,424

65%

64

Zurich

Switzerland

4,955

59%

63

Hong Kong

China

4,807

57%

62

Geneva

Switzerland

4,693

56%

61

Chicago

United States

4,683

56%

60

Dubai

UAE

4,589

55%

Source: Deutsche Bank Research Institute, 24 June

The cheapest cities to buy an apartment

Finding the money to buy a property can be difficult in certain cities, as some have a severe shortage in housing, meaning the price of a home is sky-high.

However, affording a place to live can be much easier in other cities.

For example, an apartment in the city centre of Cairo, Egypt only costs an average of $825 (£605) per square meter, making it the cheapest city to buy an apartment in the world.

Cairo is closely followed by Johannesburg, South Africa where an apartment in the city centre costs $1,013 (£743) per square meter, and Bogota, Colombia where it costs $1,781 (£1,307) per square meter.

A full list of the cheapest cities to buy an apartment can be found below.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Rank

City

Country

Price per square meter for an apartment in the city centre ($)

1

Cairo

Egypt

825

2

Johannesburg

South Africa

1,013

3

Bogota

Colombia

1,781

4

Jakarta

Indonesia

1,827

5

Cape Town

South Africa

1,849

6

Rio de Janeiro

Brazil

1,984

7

Bangalore

India

2,152

8

Delhi

India

2,185

9

Sao Paulo

Brazil

2,604

10

Santiago

Chile

2,633

Source: Deutsche Bank Research Institute, 24 June

On the other end of the scale, the most expensive city in the world to buy an apartment in the city centre is Hong Kong, China where you will have to spend an eye-watering $25,946 (£19,051) per square meter.

This is closely followed by Zurich, Switzerland ($23,938 or £17,576) and Singapore ($22,955 or £16,855).

London also fares quite badly for affordability in the city centre, where a flat costs around $20,953 (£15,387) per square meter. New York’s prices are similarly high, costing around $18,532 (£13,607) per square meter.

A list of the ten most expensive cities in the world can be found below.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Rank

City

Country

Price per square meter for an apartment in the city centre ($)

69

Hong Kong

China

25,946

68

Zurich

Switzerland

23,938

67

Singapore

Singapore

22,955

66

Seoul

South Korea

22,875

65

Geneva

Switzerland

21,491

64

London

United Kingdom

20,953

63

New York

United States

18,532

62

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel

18,468

61

Beijing

China

15,090

60

Shanghai

China

14,767

Source: Deutsche Bank Research Institute, 24 June

Daniel is a digital journalist at Moneyweek and enjoys writing about personal finance, economics, and politics. He previously worked at The Economist in their Audience team.

Daniel studied History at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and specialised in the history of political thought. In his free time, he likes reading, listening to music, and cooking overambitious meals.