Best Cities to Live In, ranked by 87 players
Players rank New York City #1: it wins 72.0% of its matchups (n = 218) and took the title in 15 of 87 brackets. Tokyo and Paris follow. Disagree? Best Cities Ranked is one tap away.
Updated hourly · last refreshed November 15, 2026
Brackets finished87
Head-to-head picks2,377
Entrants ranked32of 32
New York City title share17.2%n = 87
Title odds
Share of 87 finished brackets won
- New York City17.2% (15 of 87)
- Tokyo10.3% (9 of 87)
- Paris6.9% (6 of 87)
- Los Angeles5.7% (5 of 87)
- Singapore5.7% (5 of 87)
- Rome4.6% (4 of 87)
Best Cities to Live In: the community tier list
Built from win rates across 2,377 picks. Tiers use the win rate steadied toward 50% for entrants with few matchups (S from 75%, A 60%, B 50%, C 40%, D 25%). Steadying pulls a small sample toward the middle, so a high raw rate can sit a tier lower and a low one a tier higher than the rate shown, which is the raw one. What does S tier mean?
Stier, win rate 75% or more
- Nobody yet
Atier, win rate 60% or more
- New York City72.0%
- Tokyo68.1%
- Paris63.2%
- Rome62.3%
- Los Angeles62.0%
Btier, win rate 50% or more
- London59.1%
- Prague57.0%
- Copenhagen56.6%
- Barcelona55.9%
- Chicago53.7%
- San Francisco52.5%
- Sydney52.4%
- Dubai52.0%
- Berlin51.4%
- Lisbon50.6%
- Amsterdam50.3%
Ctier, win rate 40% or more
- Singapore48.6%
- Seoul47.2%
- Melbourne45.9%
- Vienna43.7%
- Nashville43.0%
- Toronto42.9%
- Bangkok40.9%
- Hong Kong39.8%
- Buenos Aires39.2%
Dtier, win rate 25% or more
- Denver39.0%
- Austin34.2%
- Portland33.0%
- Istanbul31.6%
- Cape Town25.7%
- Mexico City24.3%
- Mumbai22.9%
Ftier, win rate 0% or more
- Nobody yet
Standings
Every entrant with its record. Ordered by win rate, steadied for small samples; a rate shows once an entrant has 30 matchups. n is the number of head-to-head matchups behind each rate.
| # | Entrant | W–L | Win rate | Against .500 | Titles | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 157–61 | 72.0% | 15 | 218 | ||
| 2 | 143–67 | 68.1% | 9 | 210 | ||
| 3 | ParisFrance | 129–75 | 63.2% | 6 | 204 | |
| 4 | RomeItaly | 119–72 | 62.3% | 4 | 191 | |
| 5 | Los AngelesUSA | 111–68 | 62.0% | 5 | 179 | |
| 6 | 101–70 | 59.1% | 3 | 171 | ||
| 7 | 90–68 | 57.0% | 4 | 158 | ||
| 8 | CopenhagenDenmark | 99–76 | 56.6% | 3 | 175 | |
| 9 | 99–78 | 55.9% | 3 | 177 | ||
| 10 | ChicagoUSA | 88–76 | 53.7% | 1 | 164 | |
| 11 | 84–76 | 52.5% | 1 | 160 | ||
| 12 | 87–79 | 52.4% | 1 | 166 | ||
| 13 | DubaiUAE | 78–72 | 52.0% | 4 | 150 | |
| 14 | 76–72 | 51.4% | 3 | 148 | ||
| 15 | LisbonPortugal | 79–77 | 50.6% | 0 | 156 | |
| 16 | AmsterdamNetherlands | 75–74 | 50.3% | 1 | 149 | |
| 17 | 72–76 | 48.6% | 5 | 148 | ||
| 18 | SeoulSouth Korea | 67–75 | 47.2% | 2 | 142 | |
| 19 | MelbourneAustralia | 67–79 | 45.9% | 2 | 146 | |
| 20 | 59–76 | 43.7% | 1 | 135 | ||
| 21 | NashvilleUSA | 52–69 | 43.0% | 4 | 121 | |
| 22 | 57–76 | 42.9% | 0 | 133 | ||
| 23 | BangkokThailand | 54–78 | 40.9% | 3 | 132 | |
| 24 | 53–80 | 39.8% | 1 | 133 | ||
| 25 | 47–73 | 39.2% | 2 | 120 | ||
| 26 | 46–72 | 39.0% | 2 | 118 | ||
| 27 | 41–79 | 34.2% | 0 | 120 | ||
| 28 | 37–75 | 33.0% | 0 | 112 | ||
| 29 | 36–78 | 31.6% | 0 | 114 | ||
| 30 | 26–75 | 25.7% | 0 | 101 | ||
| 31 | 26–81 | 24.3% | 0 | 107 | ||
| 32 | MumbaiIndia | 22–74 | 22.9% | 2 | 96 |
Closest rivalries
Pairs the crowd can barely split. Estimated from each entrant's overall record until the pair has met 20 times.
- San FranciscovsSydney50–50 · estimate from overall records
- RomevsLos Angeles50–50 · estimate from overall records
- PraguevsCopenhagen50–50 · estimate from overall records
Most lopsided
- New York CityvsMumbai88–12 · estimate from overall records
- TokyovsMumbai86–14 · estimate from overall records
- ParisvsMumbai83–17 · estimate from overall records
Upsets and oddities
Patterns in 87 finished brackets.
- UntouchableNew York City wins 72.0%The best record in the field (n = 218 matchups).
- ClutchMumbai: 2 titlesOnly #32 on win rate, but #19 for championships.
- Always the bridesmaidLondon: 59.1% win rate#6 on record, but only 3 titles in 87 brackets.
- Still waitingLisbon: no titles yetWins 50.6% of its matchups (n = 156) and has never been crowned.
Upsets need real meetings: a pair shows here once it has met 10 times and the weaker record leads.
Questions people ask
What is #1 in the Best Cities to Live In community ranking?
New York City. It wins 72.0% of its head-to-head matchups (n = 218) and took the title in 15 of 87 finished brackets.
How is the ranking worked out?
Every pick in a finished bracket is a win for one entrant and a loss for the other. Entrants are ordered by win rate, steadied toward 50% by ten imaginary matchups so that a newcomer with a 3–0 record can't top the table. The rate shown is the real one, with n, the number of matchups behind it.
Why win rate and not titles?
Draws are shuffled, so a title can come from an easy path. Win rate counts every matchup an entrant played, which is a fairer read of how people feel about it. Title odds are shown too, as the share of finished brackets each entrant won.
How many people have ranked Best Cities to Live In?
87 finished brackets so far, with 2,377 head-to-head picks between them. Only finished brackets count.
Can I rank all 32 myself?
Yes. Play the bracket at 8, 16, 32 entrants, free and with no sign-up. You get your own ranking and a link to share, and your picks join this page.
How often does this page update?
About every hour, as new brackets are finished.
More brackets
Your turn: is the crowd right?
Pick a winner in every matchup and see where you agree with 87 players, and where you don't.