London crowned as the world’s best city brand in a new ranking

• With a score of 84.6/100, London tops the inaugural Brand Finance City Index, based on a global survey of 15,000
• New York and Paris are close behind in 2^nd and 3^rd among 100 cities in the ranking
• Dubai proves its reputation as the top city brand in the Middle East, claiming a place in the global top 10
• Zurich leads rankings as the best city in the world to work locally, work remotely, invest, and retire, but low familiarity undermines its potential

London has been named the best city brand in the world, followed by New York and Paris. The ranking is based on a global survey of close to 15,000 members of the public conducted in April 2023 in 20 countries on all continents to measure perceptions of the world’s top 100 cities. With a score of 84.6 out of 100, driven by its high familiarity among respondents worldwide, London has recorded stronger brand perceptions than any other city in the study. Familiarity is understood as knowledge about the city gained through repeated exposure or direct experience, and it allows to form a deeper affinity for its brand.

David Haigh, Chairman & CEO of Brand Finance, commented:

“London’s exceptional performance in the Index can be attributed to its global familiarity. Coming first on this particular measure, London has a huge advantage over its peers, leading to its success in the ranking overall as the world’s best city. Knowing a city allows the public to form positive perceptions about it – to recognise its reputation and to consider it as the preferred place to live, work, study, retire, visit, or invest. High familiarity means a deeper understanding of its qualities and a broader reach of its appeal, allowing the city to draw significant economic benefits from inbound migration, investment, and tourism.”

To arrive at a comprehensive assessment of the city brands in the ranking, alongside measuring familiarity, the survey asked the respondents about the general reputation and their personal consideration of each city as a place to live, work locally, work remotely, study, retire, visit, or invest in. The evaluation of preferences across these seven dimensions was complemented by perceptions of 45 underlying city brand attributes, grouped under seven pillars, such as Business & Investment or Sustainability & Transport.

Crowned as the overall winner, London ranks 1^st in two of the seven key dimensions – study and visit – as well as in the top 4 in all other ones

Renowned as a hub for academic excellence, London is ranked as the best city globally to study. The British capital hosts top universities – such as University College London, King’s College London, Imperial College London, and the London School of Economics, while prestigious schools in and near London that prepare for university – like Eton and Harrow –attract students from around the world. It is no surprise that the city comes 1^st globally for great universities and great private schools.

Thanks to iconic landmarks like the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London, and renowned cultural institutions like the British Museum, National Gallery, and the West End theatre district, London is a prime tourist destination. London’s top global ranking as the best city to visit, is supported by its 3^rd place for great museums and art galleries and great theatres and music venues. The appeal of London can also be attributed to its strong identity and character, where London ranks 3^rd globally.

Everyone wants a bite of the Big Apple, coming 2^nd behind only London

New York City has secured 2^nd spot, behind London, with a Brand Finance City Index score of 83.0 out of 100. NYC also ranks 3^rd globally in familiarity and boasts 2^nd spot in three out of the seven key dimensions: invest, study, and visit.

Widely regarded as the global capital of finance, NYC ranks 2^nd behind only Zurich as the best city to invest in. It comes 1^st for the city of global significance, easy to do business in, and strong and stable economy attributes, which explains its appeal to investors.

Home to several of the world's most esteemed universities - including Columbia, NYU, and the City University of New York – the Big Apple has also been recognised as the 2^nd best city in the world to study in behind only London. It is 2^nd for the great universities and leader in science and technology attributes, comes 4^th for great private schools, but falls much behind London on great publicly funded schools, ranking 41^st overall. In general, NYC is perceived as the least affordable city in the ranking, coming 100^th.

Ranking 1^st for great shopping, restaurants and nightlife and 2^nd for great theatres and music venues, home to Fifth Avenue shops and Broadway theatres, NYC lives up to its name as the ‘city that never sleeps’. As a result, NYC ranks as the 2^nd best city in the world to visit.

Paris is in vogue, ranked 3^rd in the world

Paris rounds off the podium, coming 3^rd in the ranking with a Brand Finance City Index score of 79.7 out of 100. Paris is also ranked as the world’s 2^nd most familiar city.

Complementing its strong familiarity score, the ‘City of Love’ is also ranked as the 3^rd best city in the world to visit. Boasting an abundance of renowned attractions, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, and the Moulin Rouge, Paris unsurprisingly scores better than any other city in the Culture & Heritage pillar, ranking 1^st globally for beautiful architecture, great museums and galleries, and great theatres and music venues. The French capital also performs strongly in People & Values, ranking 2^nd globally for being open and welcoming, fun, and having a strong identity and character, but falling behind on being friendly where it ranks 25^th – perhaps in line with stereotypes.

Dubai proves its reputation as the top city brand in the Middle East

Ranking 1^st across the Middle East & Africa and 9^th overall, Dubai comfortably makes the top 10 of the world's best-perceived cities, with a Brand Finance City Index score of 75.8/100. Dubai has gained a reputation as the ‘City of Gold’ for being a major shopping destination for jewellery, but this title has grown to describe the city’s role in finance and trade more broadly. Dubai has performed well across multiple Business & Investment attributes, ranking 1^st for future growth potential, 2^nd in strong and stable economy, and 3^rd behind only New York and London as a city of global significance.

More cities from outside Europe and North America have performed well in the Brand Finance City Ranking too. From Australia, Sydney ranks 5^th overall, standing out as the best city to live in, 2^nd best to work and retire in, 3^rd best to study and invest in, and 5^th best to visit. Singapore, 6^th in the ranking, and Tokyo, 7^th, are the best perceived cities from Asia. Singapore boasts strongest perceptions globally as great for startups and innovations as well as clean and sustainable. It is also 2^nd for easy to do business in, and 3^rd for both strong and stable economy and future growth potential. At the same time, Tokyo ranks 1^st as the global leader in science and technology.

Zurich leads rankings as the best city in the world to work locally, work remotely, invest, and retire, but low familiarity undermines its reach

Zurich is a highly desirable destination to work locally, work remotely, invest, and retire, claiming the top spot for each dimension. The city scores exceptionally well on reputation (4^th) and consideration (1^st) when considering all seven dimensions combined too, but a low score on familiarity (53^rd) prevents it from taking a higher spot in the overall Brand Finance City Index ranking (17^th).

David Haigh, Chairman & CEO of Brand Finance, commented:

“Zurich is a great example of a city brand successful in converting familiarity and perceptions into reputation and ultimately consideration. More so than for other cities, those that get to know Zurich, feel persuaded by its appeal as a destination, especially for work, investment, and retirement. Much like Swiss watch brands, Zurich is a “luxury city brand” – with a lower familiarity among the public, but a high regard among those that know it well. The trade-off of this positioning is a more modest reach than that of more popular city brands, such as London, New York, or Paris.”