Ipsos Top Cities 2017 Summary
Core Content
The Ipsos Top Cities 2017 report ranks cities globally based on three criteria: living in, visiting, and doing business in. The report is based on data collected from 18,557 adults aged 16-64 across 26 countries using the Ipsos Online panel system. Interviews were conducted between April 21 and May 5, 2017, and results were weighted to reflect the population distribution in each country.
Methodology
- Sample Size: 18,557 adults across 26 countries.
- Data Collection: Online interviews conducted between April 21 and May 5, 2017.
- Weighting: Results are weighted to match the known population of each country.
- Index Calculation: The Ipsos Cities Index is calculated by summing the three individual scores for each city (live, visit, work).
- City List: A list of 60 cities was provided for each category.
- Note: The 2017 Index score is not directly comparable to the 2013 Index due to the addition of 12 more cities.
Top Cities in 2017
Overall Top Cities
| Rank |
City |
Index Score |
2017 Rank |
2013 Rank |
| 1 |
New York |
50 |
1 |
1 |
| 2 |
Abu Dhabi |
46 |
2 |
4 |
| 3 |
London |
41 |
3 |
2 |
| 4 |
Paris |
39 |
4 |
3 |
| 5 |
Tokyo |
36 |
5 |
7 |
| 5 |
Sydney |
36 |
5 |
5 |
| 5 |
Zurich |
36 |
5 |
6 |
Top Cities for Living
- Top 2 cities unchanged from 2013: Zurich and Sydney.
- New entrant: Vancouver, which is joint third.
- Rising cities: Abu Dhabi, Stockholm.
- Declining cities: New York and Paris, which are now joint tenth.
- Joint sixth: London, Amsterdam, Toronto, and Oslo.
| City |
% Score |
2017 Rank |
2013 Rank |
| Zurich |
18% |
1 |
1 |
| Sydney |
16% |
2 |
2 |
| Abu Dhabi |
13% |
3 |
7 |
| Vancouver |
13% |
3 |
N/A |
| Stockholm |
13% |
3 |
8 |
| London |
12% |
6 |
3 |
| Amsterdam |
12% |
6 |
10 |
| Toronto |
12% |
6 |
6 |
| Oslo |
12% |
6 |
10 |
| New York |
11% |
10 |
5 |
| Paris |
11% |
10 |
3 |
Top Cities for Doing Business
- Top 2 cities remain: New York and Abu Dhabi.
- Joint third: London and Hong Kong.
- Tokyo has slipped slightly.
- New entrants: Zurich, Beijing, Los Angeles, and Shanghai.
- One city dropped: Paris, which ranked 12th in this category.
| City |
% Score |
2017 Rank |
2013 Rank |
| New York |
23% |
1 |
1 |
| Abu Dhabi |
21% |
2 |
2 |
| London |
16% |
3 |
5 |
| Hong Kong |
16% |
3 |
3 |
| Tokyo |
15% |
5 |
4 |
| Zurich |
11% |
6 |
7 |
| Beijing |
11% |
6 |
6 |
| Los Angeles |
11% |
6 |
10 |
| Berlin |
10% |
9 |
9 |
| Shanghai |
10% |
9 |
9 |
Top Cities for Visiting
- Top city remains: Paris.
- Rome overtakes New York as the second favorite.
- London remains fourth.
- Amsterdam, Abu Dhabi, and Tokyo have all risen in this year's ranking.
- One city dropped: Rio de Janeiro.
- New entrants: Vienna and Vancouver, which are joint eleventh.
| City |
% Score |
2017 Rank |
2013 Rank |
| Paris |
21% |
1 |
1 |
| Rome |
20% |
2 |
3 |
| New York |
16% |
3 |
2 |
| London |
13% |
4 |
4 |
| Sydney |
13% |
4 |
5 |
| Abu Dhabi |
12% |
6 |
6 |
| Tokyo |
12% |
6 |
6 |
| Amsterdam |
10% |
8 |
10 |
| Los Angeles |
9% |
9 |
7 |
| Madrid/Zurich |
8% |
10 |
10 |
Key Points by Generation
- Baby Boomers (1945-65): Zurich is the top city for living, New York for visiting, and New York for business.
- Gen X (1966-79): Zurich is the top city for living, Sydney for visiting, and Abu Dhabi for business.
- Millennials (1980-95): New York is the top city for living, Paris for visiting, and Abu Dhabi for business.
- Gen Z (1996-): New York is the top city for living, Tokyo for visiting, and Abu Dhabi for business.
EU Focus
- New York is the top city for the EU.
- London leads among EU/EFTA cities.
- Other top EU cities include Zurich, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, and Stockholm.
About Ipsos
- Ipsos is a global research company with a presence in 88 countries.
- It employs over 16,000 people and can conduct research in more than 100 countries.
- The company is listed on Eurolist - NYSE-Euronext and is part of the SBF 120 and Mid-60 index.
- Ipsos is known for its focus on people, markets, brands, and society, delivering insights that help clients make smarter decisions.
