Europe versus the US: The world’s best cities in 2026 ranked

The 2026 Oxford Economics Global Cities Index highlights that European and North American cities dominate the top 100 rankings. Europe claims 44 of these spots, while the United States accounts for 30, with Canada adding four. The index evaluates the balance between economic opportunity, quality of life, skilled workers, environmental resilience, and stable governance in the world's largest cities.

London secures the second position globally, followed by Paris in third, Dublin in sixth, and Zurich in tenth place. Among the US cities, five cities — New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, and San Jose — make the global top 10.

European cities with the highest rankings include Oslo, Stockholm, and Copenhagen. Liam Sides, director of City Services at Oxford Economics, notes that US cities achieve their high rankings due to strong performances in the Economics and Human Capital categories. Conversely, European cities excel in Quality of Life, Environmental, and Governance categories.

Paris stands out for quality of life, Dublin performs well in environmental and governance aspects, while Zurich and Oslo achieve the highest scores in governance, with Oslo taking the highest score among the European and US cities. Business-oriented cities, such as New York, benefit from the highest economic scores, while Seattle, San Francisco, and San Jose rank particularly high in terms of economic strength and access to talent.

Los Angeles stands out by combining a strong economic score with a relatively high quality-of-life ranking.

Despite these rankings, both regions face a shared challenge: housing affordability. London, Dublin, and New York continue to struggle with high housing costs, which negatively impact their quality-of-life scores despite high incomes. Cities with lower housing costs, such as Toulouse, can gain a competitive advantage by attracting workers seeking more affordable living environments. In Europe, Toulouse has attracted workers away from Paris due to its relative affordability.

The report also highlights notable changes in city rankings compared to the previous year. Dublin climbed seven places to sixth, with improvements in economics, quality of life, and environmental aspects. Warsaw, Istanbul, Madrid, and Budapest also experienced significant rises, reaching 61st, 64th, 30th, and 111th positions, respectively.

Helsinki and Brussels improved their positions to 26th and 25th, while Berlin and Lyon each climbed seven places. However, Frankfurt slipped one place to 63rd, and Rome fell eight places to 119th, while Lisbon recorded the sharpest decline among the listed cities, dropping 44 places to 148th.

Oxford Economics identifies five European cities to watch: Warsaw, Tallinn, Eindhoven, Manchester, and Toulouse. Warsaw, which jumped more than 100 places, is emerging as a major center for finance, technology, and business services in Central and Eastern Europe. Its economy is projected to grow by approximately 3% annually over the next five years.

Vilnius is predicted to follow Warsaw's growth trend within a decade. Tallinn in Estonia is expected to record the highest GDP growth among major EU cities over the next decade, driven by a strong technology sector and high AI adoption rates. Eindhoven in the Netherlands is a leading research and advanced-manufacturing hub, with its Brainport cluster encompassing more than 5,000 high-tech companies.

Manchester has outpaced all other UK cities in terms of GDP and productivity growth since 2010, which Oxford Economics anticipates to create thousands of new jobs over the next 25 years. Toulouse, a Western European city gaining attention, benefits from a strong aerospace cluster, lower living costs, a warmer climate, and high quality of life, attracting people from Paris and driving rapid population growth.