Best places to live in 2026
How to choose where to live — and the cities that score highest on cost, climate and safety.
Top all-round cities
- Punta del Este, Uruguay — livability 75/100
- Maldonado, Uruguay — livability 73/100
- Melo, Uruguay — livability 73/100
- Dundalk, Ireland — livability 73/100
- Porto, Portugal — livability 72/100
- Hobart, Australia — livability 72/100
- Bendigo, Australia — livability 72/100
- City of Port Phillip, Australia — livability 72/100
- Ballarat, Australia — livability 72/100
- Mercedes, Uruguay — livability 72/100
- Galway, Ireland — livability 72/100
- Swords, Ireland — livability 72/100
- Limerick, Ireland — livability 72/100
- Bhisho, South Africa — livability 72/100
- Herceg Novi, Montenegro — livability 72/100
- Cetinje, Montenegro — livability 72/100
- Tivat, Montenegro — livability 72/100
- Albufeira, Portugal — livability 71/100
How CityLivably scores this
Every ranking on this page is computed the same way across 1,103 cities in 68 countries, so the comparison is genuinely like-for-like rather than a hand-picked list. Cost comes from the World Bank price level (US=100, derived from PPP ÷ exchange rate); climate from WorldClim v2.1 monthly temperature normals, penalising extreme summer heat, harsh winters and too-cool summers; and safety blends real USGS earthquake history with modelled flood, storm, wildfire, heat, drought and tsunami exposure plus World Bank homicide rates. The headline livability score weights these 35% cost, 30% climate and 35% safety. Figures refresh as the underlying open data updates.
How to use this guide
Treat the list as a shortlist, not a verdict. Set your own non-negotiables first — a monthly budget ceiling, the climate band you can actually live in, and the level of natural-disaster risk you'll accept — then open the city sorter to filter all 1,103 cities by those priorities, and read each finalist's full city page before deciding. The most common mistake relocators make is optimising for a single number (usually cost) and discovering the climate or disaster exposure makes daily life worse; scoring all three pillars together is the whole point. Always verify the things our data deliberately excludes — visa eligibility, healthcare access and current local rents — for your own situation before committing to a move.
FAQ
What is the best place to live?
It depends on priorities, but small, affordable cities with mild climates and low disaster risk score highest.
How do you measure 'best place to live'?
A 0-100 livability score from cost (World Bank), climate (WorldClim) and natural-disaster safety.