London ranks #1 for the 11th consecutive year; New York and Paris round out the Top 3 as the world's cities define the future amid today's massive global transformation. The United States leads the world with the most cities in the Top 100 with 19, followed by Germany with eight and China with seven.
LONDON, Nov. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid profound geopolitical shifts and a transformative era for global urbanization, Resonance Consultancy, a leading advisor in place branding, placemaking and place marketing, today released its 11th annual World's Best Cities ranking for 2026, spotlighting the top 100 cities shaping the planet's future.
London, bolstered by its top rankings across all three pillars of Livability (#3), Lovability (#2) and Prosperity (#1), retained its #1 overall ranking for an incredible 11th consecutive year. New York secured the #2 spot with its ongoing investment in its cultural economy, massive urban infrastructure projects, and global infatuation despite current politics. Paris rounded out the Top 3, thriving as a future-focused urban lab amidst its ancient canvas.
Resonance's World's Best Cities 2026 report combines global user-generated data, core statistical performance, and new proprietary research, including a landmark Ipsos survey of more than 21,000 respondents across 30 countries to create the world's most comprehensive city ranking.
"For leaders shaping tomorrow's urban landscape – whether through capital allocation, location strategy, infrastructure development, or destination marketing – this report offers more than rankings," said Chris Fair, President & CEO of Resonance Consultancy. "It provides strategic intelligence, risk assessment, and a roadmap to the cities and opportunities defining the next decade of global growth."
The Top 10 World's Best Cities for 2026 are:
Full profiles of all Top 100 cities are available here.
The 2026 World's Best Cities report and ranking arrive at a pivotal moment:
- American cities are navigating converging headwinds – accelerating climate impacts, AI's rapid adoption, infrastructure strain, and a "globalism fractures" era – that are reshaping capital, talent flows, and brand perception.
- Urban wildfires, extreme heat, water scarcity, and energy-transition demands are no longer outliers but core criteria for development, risk management, and site selection.
- International travel is rebounding unevenly. The Asia-Pacific region is surging while desire to visit U.S. destinations has softened, with inbound visits from markets like China, Japan, and the U.K. still trailing 2019 benchmarks in many gateway cities.
- Despite challenges, leading cities are hardening climate resilience, reshoring advanced manufacturing, deepening university–industry R&D (especially in AI and clean tech), investing in multimodal connectivity, and programming magnetic cultural districts – while tracking ecosystem dynamism, digital engagement, and climate risk more rigorously.
"With perceptions polarized – immigration anxieties rising, nostalgia growing, and backlash against 'Brand America' – U.S. cities must close the perception–performance gap," said Jason McGrath, EVP and Head of U.S. Corporate Reputation at Ipsos, the Best Cities research partner. "The planet's top cities will win by proving safety, livability, and opportunity on the ground – and communicating that proof clearly to residents and visitors."
How the ranking was built:
The Place Power™ Score, Resonance's proprietary methodology, evaluated each city's performance and perception across three core pillars:
- Livability (walkability, nature and parks, public transit, air quality, etc.)
- Lovability (culture, nightlife, dining, attractions, social media engagement, etc.)
- Prosperity (economic strength, labor force participation, educational attainment, airport connectivity, etc.)
This year's index reflects fresh realities, including climate resilience, reshoring of critical industries, new mobility patterns, and global perception that drives travel and investment behaviors across the planet.
The full 2026 World's Best Cities report is available here.
About Resonance Consultancy
Resonance creates transformative strategies, brands and campaigns that empower destinations, cities and communities to realize their full potential. As leading advisors in real estate, tourism and economic development, Resonance combines expertise in research, strategy, branding and communications to make destinations, cities and developments more valuable and more vibrant. ResonanceCo.com
About Ipsos
Ipsos is one of the largest market research and polling companies globally, operating in 90 markets and employing nearly 20,000 people. Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. Our 75 business solutions are based on primary data from our surveys, social media monitoring, and qualitative or observational techniques. "Game Changers"—our tagline—summarizes our ambition to help our 5,000 clients navigate with confidence our rapidly changing world. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has been listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and Mid-60 indices and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD). ISIN code FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP www.ipsos.com
About World's Best Cities
Best Cities is the global authority in forward-looking city intelligence. Our insight is used by leading news outlets and trusted by city leaders to unlock the power in urban data to identify opportunities for regions, cities, and companies. The Best Cities rankings span global, U.S., European and Asia-Pacific indexes and reports, and are widely considered to be the world's most comprehensive. Bloomberg calls it, "The most comprehensive study of its kind; it identifies cities that are most desirable for locals, visitors, and businesspeople alike, rather than simply looking at livability or tourism appeal." WorldsBestCities.com | #BestCities
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Resonance Consultancy Reveals the World's Best Cities for 2026
Resonance Consultancy Reveals the World's Best Cities for 2026
