Every year, Best Cities releases an ambitious report ranking the world’s best cities, and 2025’s list is officially here. The list includes a diverse list of cities, including major hubs for the economy, culture, innovation, and more. Cities like Paris, New York, and London are unsurprisingly at the top of the rankings.
Despite the recent bad press, San Francisco also made the list and even sits comfortably in the top 15. Out of major cities in the world, San Francisco was placed at #12.
Why #12?
Placed at #12, San Francisco is in good company, flanked by Amsterdam and Dubai. The report acknowledges SF’s recent struggles “…deeply wounded by the addiction crisis, a lack of affordable housing and violence unimaginable a few years ago—is getting up off the mat.”
SF is undeniably known as a startup hub, which is reflected in its top “business ecosystem” ranking. The report calls out SF’s highly educated population, ranking it second in “educational attainment,” which is defined as the proportion of the population with, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree. The above-average amount of millionaires and the booming AI industry are also emphasized in the report.
Resonance doesn’t shy away from some of San Francisco’s recent bad press, including the large amount of empty office spaces in their analysis and the fact that more than half of Americans perceive the city as unsafe. San Francisco fell in ranking compared to 2024, where it was placed at #7.
How was the ranking decided?
The massive report is the work of Resonance Consultancy, a Vancouver-based firm that specializes in “empowering destinations.”The report’s methodology is divided into three key sections: livability, lovability, and prosperity, which create a score called the Place Power Score. Resonance then analyzed factors within each section. For example, nightlife, museums, social media trends, and more all contribute to “lovability.” The two measures that SF ranked #1 and #2 in are both in the prosperity category.
Resonance chose factors that were correlated with attracting what is considered the “prime age population” of 25-44-year-olds. These key factors can change over time, so year to year, the methodology of the report can change slightly.
What other cities are included?
The study included cities with a metro population of 1 million or more to create the ranking. Both Los Angeles and Seattle represent the West Coast in the top 20 with San Francisco. Check out the top 15 cities in the world below: