Best cities to live in Europe

Our global livability score, limited to cities in Europe.

103 cities ranked

Overview

Zurich tops our ranking of best cities to live in europe at 8.0/10, just ahead of Vienna and Valencia. Choosing where to live is easier with numbers in front of you than with a gut feeling. Best cities to live in Europe is exactly that: a data-driven answer, not a listicle opinion. Our global livability score, limited to cities in Europe. Every city we track in Europe is scored on the same seven criteria as the rest of the 303-city database, then averaged into a single livability figure so the cities below can be compared apples-to-apples. Average safety across this list sits at 7.5/10 and average climate at 5.7/10 — both well above a random sample of world cities, which says as much about the filtering as it does about any individual entry. Zurich posts the strongest individual safety score in this group at 10/10, a detail the blended ranking above can obscure if safety happens to matter more to you than to the average reader. Because every criterion is weighted equally here, this ranking suits someone without one dominant priority — if you do have a specific must-have, the single-criterion regional rankings linked below will serve you better. The full ranking, full scorecards and links to each city's dedicated page are below.

Top pick

Zurich

8.0/10 overall

Most affordable here

Sofia

9/10 cost score

Average safety score

7.5/10

across 103 cities

Full ranking

Curious how the top two stack up criterion by criterion? Compare Zurich vs Vienna directly →

Methodology

Cities are scored equally across all seven criteria — no single factor dominates — then limited to Europe so you're comparing regional options directly rather than against cities you may have already ruled out geographically. Want different priorities? Set your own weights in the recommender.

Understanding the criteria

All seven criteria — cost of living, safety, environment, transport, climate, healthcare and internet — count equally here, so a city needs to be solid across the board rather than exceptional at any one thing to rank near the top.

Tips for using this ranking

→If one criterion clearly matters more to you than the others, the single-criterion regional rankings (linked below) will serve you better than this blended list.
→Cities in the middle of this ranking are often better value than the top 2-3 once cost of living is factored back in — worth a look before assuming higher is always better.

Who this ranking is for

This ranking is most useful for Budget-conscious movers — movers for whom affordability outweighs every other factor, Safety-first movers — people relocating somewhere unfamiliar who weigh personal safety above all and Balanced movers — people without a single dominant priority, weighing all criteria evenly. If none of those match your situation, the recommender tool lets you set your own weights instead of relying on any preset list.

Best for budget-conscious movers

Valencia

Best for safety-first movers

Zurich

Best for balanced movers

Zurich

Strengths & limitations of this ranking

What this method gets right

+Equal weighting across all seven criteria means no single strong or weak score can dominate the outcome.
+Limiting to one continent keeps the comparison geographically realistic for someone who's already chosen a region.

What it doesn't capture

−A well-rounded city can outrank one with a genuine standout strength that happens to matter most to you personally.
−It doesn't capture anything outside our seven criteria, like specific visa pathways or family/social ties to a place.

How are these scores calculated?

Every city on CityMatch is scored 1-10 on seven criteria — cost of living, safety, environment, transport, climate, healthcare and internet — and those seven numbers are combined into the overall score shown throughout the site using a consistent, automated formula (an equal-weighted average by default, or your own weighting via the recommender tool). The same method is applied identically to every city, so scores are comparable across the full database.

Sources & data provenance

The current dataset is an internally curated starter dataset built for this version of the site, reflecting each city's general reputation on each criterion rather than a live feed from a single external provider. It is not yet sourced from a specific third-party API. If that changes, this section will be updated to name the exact sources in use.

Last updated: 17 July 2026

Frequently asked questions

Which city ranks #1 for "best cities to live in europe"?

Zurich tops this list with a score of 8.0/10. The next best are Zurich, Vienna, Valencia.

What's the most affordable city on this list?

Sofia is the most affordable, scoring 9/10 on cost of living (10 = cheapest).

What's the safest city on this list?

Zurich posts the strongest safety score here at 10/10, ahead of the 102 other cities on this list.

How is this ranking calculated?

Every city gets a 1-10 score on cost of living, safety, environment, transport, climate, healthcare and internet. This list's average safety score is 7.5/10 and average cost-of-living score is 5.9/10 across 103 cities.

Is this ranking kept up to date?

Yes — every score on this page is recalculated automatically from the same underlying dataset each time the site is rebuilt, so the ranking always reflects the current numbers rather than a static, one-off list. See the "How are these scores calculated?" section for the full methodology.

Related rankings

Safest cities in Europe Cheapest cities in Europe Cleanest cities in Europe Best climate cities in Europe Best transport cities in Europe

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