Rankings
Whether the issue is standard of living, infrastructure, educational and research environment, or the economy, Munich is often found at or near the top of national and international rankings.
Munich in national rankings
1st place bitkom Smart City Index
The industry association bitkom ranks German cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in relation to smart city developments. In 2024, Munich came first for the second year in a row, ahead of Hamburg and Cologne. Munich scored particularly well in the categories IT & communication and administration.
1st place IW Consult / WirtschaftsWoche City Ranking
The WirtschaftsWoche and IW Consult City Ranking examine life and work in 71 German cities with a population of at least 100,000. Munich was ranked first for the 19th time.
3rd place PROGNOS Zukunftsatlas
PROGNOS examines all of Germany’s 400 administrative districts with respect to demographics, the labor market, standard of living, social environment, competitiveness and innovation. Munich is the strongest economic region in Germany: the city and surrounding region was considered to have the strongest prospects for the future in Germany. The City of Munich is currently in third place behind Erlangen.
3rd place Talent City Index Germany
For the Talent City Index, Future Place Leadership and terratalent asked around 6,000 professionals in Germany where they prefer to work and live. With its economic strength and large employers, Munich offers enormous advantages and is ranked third overall. Munich even leads the index in the categories of family friendliness, quality of life and security.
Munich in international rankings
4th place QS Best Student Cities 2025
The QS Best Student Cities Ranking compares 140 cities worldwide based on student ratings. According to the ranking, Munich is the fourth best city in the world to study in, after London, Tokyo and Seoul.
4th place A.T. Kearney Global Cities Outlook 2022
The Global Cities Outlook assesses the future outlook for 156 international cities based on quality of life, the economy, innovation, and governance. Munich is ranked fourth and scores particularly highly with respect to innovation.
9th place Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2022
The Global Talent Competitiveness Index ranks 113 countries and 175 cities from 79 economies. Munich is the clear number one in Germany and in the global top ten.
2nd place The World's Greenest Cities 2020
In this study the Canadian consultancy company Resonance compares the world’s 50 most-visited cities based on criteria such as percentage of total energy needs met by renewable energy, percentage of public green spaces, and percentage of population who use public transportation to go to work. Munich is ranked the second greenest city in the world, behind only Vienna.
7th place Mercer Quality of Living Survey 2023
The international consultancy Mercer regularly examines the quality of living in major cities around the world. As in 2019, Munich is again among the top 10 in 2023, making it one of the cities with the highest quality of living worldwide. Munich scores points for economic prosperity, efficient public transport, and a wide range of cultural offerings.
