QS Reveals the World’s Best Cities for Students
QS Quacquarelli Symonds, global higher education experts, released the QS Best Student Cities, 11th edition, which compares 160 premier educational destinations, including 26 new entries.
London reigns as the world’s best student city for the fifth consecutive time.
Tokyo soars to second place, followed by Seoul in third. Melbourne ascends to fourth, while Munich slips to fifth.
Methodology: QS ranks cities with a population of min. 250,000 and at least two universities in the QS World University Ranking. The ranking includes students’ feedback and opinions, with 100,000 survey responses contributing to the Desirability and Student Voice indicators.
Top 10 Cities
| 2024 | 2023 | City |
| 1 | 1 | London |
| 2 | 7 | Tokyo |
| 3 | 2 | Seoul |
| 4 | 5 | Melbourne |
| 5 | 2 | Munich |
| 6 | 8 | Paris |
| 7 | 9 | Sydney |
| =8 | 6 | Berlin |
| =8 | 4 | Zurich |
| 10 | 11 | Boston |
London leads globally thanks to:
- A high concentration of world-class universities, achieving the second-best score in the Rankings indicator,
after Seoul. - Excellent feedback from current and former students: it scores 98.4/100 for Student Voice, bettered only by Berlin.
- A diverse student population, boasting the world’s sixth-best score (94.7/100) for Student Mix.
- Outstanding career opportunities for graduates, placing eighth in the Employer Activity metric, scoring 91.7/100.
Jessica Turner, QS CEO, stated: “London is a global magnet for talents, fostering a diverse, progressive, and inclusive learning environment. It offers students a unique blend of academic excellence, multicultural vibrancy, and a thriving economy. I applaud London’s success while celebrating all 2024 QS Best Student Cities.”
- Germany and Australia are each home to two of the world’s ten best student cities
- Boston breaks back into the world’s top-10. San Francisco climbs into the top-20
- Canada and the US each boast three top-20 student cities
- Miami (78th) and Rome (56th) made the most significant year-on-year leaps
- Seoul dominates the World University Rankings indicator with a record 23 ranked universities
- Coventry and Edinburgh top the Student Mix indicator
- Copenhagen tops the Desirability indicator, followed by Zurich and Sydney
- Tokyo leads globally in Employer Activity, followed by Seoul and Boston
- 70% of the 160 ranked cities decline for Affordability
- Yogyakarta (Indonesia) is the most affordable ranked city
- Madrid, Auckland and Canberra break into the top-30
- China (Mainland)’s top entry is Beijing (37th)
- Mumbai (118th) is India’s highest ranked
- Latin America’s number-one student destination is Buenos Aires (34th)
- Africa’s top city for students is Cape Town (86th)
- Dubai (54th) is the top-ranked city in the Middle East
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