It may seem like the ‘value’ of a city is an immeasurable, vibes-based thing. According to a group of leading economists, however, it’s quantifiable by ‘a robust array of datasets’.
Each year, Oxford Economics (OE) – an advisory firm not to be confused with Oxford University's school of economics – creates a ‘Global Cities Index’. The index ranks more than 1000 cities across the world on a variety of criteria to determine which is the most ‘attractive’ to businessmen and working professionals. It’s worth noting that this is a scale created by and for economists and businesspeople, so stuff like ‘abundance of cute indie cafés’ isn’t really the sort of thing that they look for.
Instead, the categories that OE measure include: governance, economics, human capital (how skilled the workforce is), quality of life, and environment. Each city is measured up against these five pillars, given a total number out of 100, and ranked in order. We’ve already reported on the world’s best cities as determined by OE, but where in the UK made its way to the top?
The UK makes an appearance almost immediately, with London coming in second place with a score of 98.5, narrowly missing out on New York’s 100. It excelled in ‘human capital’, where it is the world leader, but fell to 144th for quality of life, largely because of high housing costs.
OE described the Big Smoke as ‘a perpetually relevant locale for business, science and technology, education, and the arts’, adding ‘London has weathered the UK’s past stumbles related to Brexit and the turmoil of the Prime Minister’s office quite well… The city is set to remain a top Global City for years to come, potentially fighting New York for the top spot’.
Then, the UK doesn’t see another entry until Edinburgh in 57th. It came fifth in the world for environmental friendliness, and was dubbed one of the world’s ‘cultural capitals’ due to its ‘amenities and educational opportunities’.
Bristol was next, landing in 68th with high scores in the environmental and governance categories. Surprisingly, Edinburgh still beat Bristol, known for its commitment to all things green and leafy, in the environment category.
Following Bristol was Leeds at 83. Leeds environmental score was also very high (are you seeing a pattern?), but it was let down slightly by a lower quality of life, perhaps owing to its lack of useful public transport. Cambridge, Glasgow, and Manchester were our final entries into the top 100 at 86th, 90th, and 93rd place respectively.
The lowest ranking British city that was measured was Middlesbrough, which came 243rd out of 1000, with especially low scores in economic output and human capital. Regardless, all of our cities were within the top 25 percent of the world, which is not too shabby at all.
Where every UK city ranks in the Oxford Economics 2025 Global Cities Index
Oxford Economics ranked 26 total cities in Britain, and, as noted, all of them appear before the 250 mark. Here is where every UK city ranked by the OE ended up in its charts.
- London: 2nd
- Edinburgh: 57th
- Bristol: 68th
- Leeds: 83rd
- Cambridge: 86th
- Glasgow: 90th
- Manchester: 93rd
- Birmingham: 110th
- Oxford: 114th
- Leicester: 130th
- Southampton: 135th
- Newcastle Upon Tyne: 142nd
- Belfast: 148th
- Cardiff: 156th
- Nottingham: 158th
- Sheffield: 167th
- Coventry: 171st
- Liverpool: 177th
- Brighton and Hove: 179th
- Northampton: 184th
- Aberdeen: 185th
- Portsmouth: 191st
- Bournemouth: 204th
- Derby: 220th
- Kingston Upon Hull: 238th
- Middlesbrough: 243rd
You can read more about the top cities in this year’s index here have a look at the full report here.
To move, or not to move
There’s a lot of cities in the UK, each with its own pros and cons. If you’re currently planning where to go to plant your roots, maybe avoid the most boring towns in the UK, as named by the Telegraph, and also Britain’s most miserable place to live. Instead, try out one of our happiest places to live, or if you’ve got some cash to splash, head to one of the most expensive postcodes in the country.
Did you see that this is the UK city break destination that is the most expensive in western Europe.
Plus: Two legendary Scottish cities are among the 100 most walkable in the world right now.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country