100 Best Cities in the World

This list combines quality of life rankings (from Mercer) with GDP/Population.  The result is a city that has a very nice atmosphere and also provides a nice standard of living.  So bigger is better (more opportunity), but with too big a city you get smog and traffic and pay higher rent.  This attempts to show the optimum balance.  A lower score is better here.  These are in caps because one of my sources was in caps and it is too much work to modify.

To show an example of how this works, Vienna is ranked #1 for quality of life, but #81 in power, for a point score of 82. Tokyo is ranked #66 for quality of life, but #1 in power, for a total of 67.

There is a bias in favor of European cities (especially Germany) and against China, but that is what the survey results show. US cities are in bold.

1	DÜSSELDORF (Rhine-Ruhr)	GERMANY	33
2	SYDNEY	AUSTRALIA	36
3	PARIS	FRANCE	38
4	TORONTO	CANADA	39
5	SINGAPORE	SINGAPORE	42
6	AMSTERDAM/ROTTERDAM (Randstad)	NETHERLANDS	53
7	MELBOURNE	AUSTRALIA	54
8	LONDON	UK	55
9	SAN FRANCISCO/ OAKLAND/SAN JOSE, CA	US	58
10	NEW YORK CITY, NY	US	60
11	CHICAGO, IL	US	63
12	FRANKFURT	GERMANY	67
13	TOKYO/YOKOHAMA	JAPAN	67
14	BOSTON, MA	US	68
15	WASHINGTON, DC	US	73
16	OSAKA/KOBE/KYOTO	JAPAN	76
17	BERLIN	GERMANY	77
18	MONTREAL	CANADA	79
19	VIENNA	AUSTRIA	82
20	MILAN	ITALY	95
21	LOS ANGELES, CA	US	95
22	HAMBURG	GERMANY	104
23	BARCELONA	SPAIN	105
24	MADRID	SPAIN	109
25	PHILADELPHIA, PA	US	109
26	BRUSSELS	BELGIUM	110
27	VANCOUVER	CANADA	112
28	DALLAS, TX	US	112
29	HOUSTON, TX	US	113
30	STOCKHOLM	SWEDEN	118
31	SEATTLE, WA	US	124
32	NAGOYA	JAPAN	125
33	COPENHAGEN	DENMARK	126
34	HONG KONG	HONG KONG	127
35	MIAMI, FL	US	131
36	SEOUL/INCHEON	SOUTH KOREA	133
37	LISBON	PORTUGAL	136
38	ATLANTA, GA	US	136
39	MUNICH	GERMANY	137
40	SAN DIEGO, CA	US	142
41	ROME	ITALY	142
42	MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL, MN	US	154
43	BRISBANE	AUSTRALIA	155
44	DENVER, CO	US	155
45	FUKUOKA	JAPAN	155
46	BIRMINGHAM	UK	161
47	BUENOS AIRES	ARGENTINA	162
48	NAPLES	ITALY	164
49	PERTH	AUSTRALIA	169
50	PORTLAND, OR	US	185
51	DUBAI/SHARJAH	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	186
52	SHANGHAI	CHINA	186
53	TAIPEI	TAIWAN	187
54	PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE, AZ	US	188
55	DUBLIN	IRELAND	190
56	MANCHESTER	UK	196
57	KUALA LUMPUR	MALAYSIA	198
58	DETROIT, MI	US	202
59	BEIJING	CHINA	209
60	ZURICH	SWITZERLAND	211
61	PITTSBURGH, PA	US	213
62	BUSAN	SOUTH KOREA	213
63	OSLO	NORWAY	215
64	SAO PAULO	BRAZIL	216
65	BALTIMORE, MD	US	219
66	SANTIAGO	CHILE	221
67	ST. LOUIS, MO	US	222
68	TAMPA, FL	US	222
69	LEEDS/BRADFORD (WEST YORKSHIRE)	UK	223
70	ATHENS	GREECE	223
71	HANGZHOU	CHINA	225
72	GUANGZHOU/FOSHAN	CHINA	226
73	AUCKLAND	NEW ZEALAND	228
74	SAPPORO	JAPAN	228
75	MEXICO CITY	MEXICO	232
76	ISTANBUL	TURKEY	233
77	BANGKOK	THAILAND	235
78	KANSAS CITY, MO	US	238
79	RIO DE JANEIRO	BRAZIL	239
80	TEL AVIV	ISRAEL	245
81	STUTTGART	GERMANY	246
82	AUSTIN, TX	US	247
83	JOHANNESBURG	SOUTH AFRICA	249
84	BUDAPEST	HUNGARY	258
85	CALGARY	CANADA	259
86	CINCINNATI, OH	US	260
87	LYON	FRANCE	261
88	LAS VEGAS, NV	US	262
89	SHENZHEN	CHINA	264
90	MONTERREY	MEXICO	265
91	KUWAIT CITY	KUWAIT	265
92	ABU DHABI	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	266
93	WARSAW	POLAND	266
94	CLEVELAND, OH	US	267
95	BELO HORIZONTE	BRAZIL	268
96	SAN ANTONIO, TX	US	269
97	CAPE TOWN	SOUTH AFRICA	269
98	TIANJIN	CHINA	272
99	ORLANDO, FL	US	273
100	HELSINKI	FINLAND	276