When it comes to studying abroad, it's not only about the university that you're applying for. You'll also have to consider the city it's in – after all, you'll be stuck there for at least a year, so it better be a safe, affordable, inclusive, and even friendly place to live in.
Thankfully, educational consultant QS (best known for its university rankings) has compiled the QS Best Student Cities list. This year, it's ranked 150 cities globally based on six key categories: university rankings, student mix, desirability, employer activity, affordability, and student views. It considers indicators like university performance, the number of international students, safety and pollution levels, cost of living, and the proportion of students who stay in the city after graduation.
If you're eyeing universities in Tokyo, congratulations – it emerged as the second-best student city in the world after London! Japan's capital city scored 99.2 points overall, receiving 100 points each for the Employer Activity and Desirability categories. In other words, Tokyo is super safe, clean, and popular with international students, with good levels of youth employment. Students might struggle with the cost of living, though – Tokyo received only 39.5 points in the Affordability category.
Seoul is not far behind in third place, with a score of 97.8 points. This dynamic South Korean hub got full marks for University Rankings, indicating a good concentration of universities that have performed well in the latest QS World University Rankings. Besides having healthy Employer Activity (93.2 points), Seoul also scored well in the Student View (88.5 points) category. It's a good sign that students think well of Seoul and are willing to stay on after completing their course.
Three cities in Japan's Kansai region collectively entered the QS ranking in 12th place. Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe scored 90.6 points, shining in the Student View (87.3 points) and Employer Activity (87.2 points) categories. In the meantime, Singapore came in at No. 15, making it the highest-ranking Southeast Asian city in the QS Best Student Cities 2025 list.
See the complete ranked list of 150 student cities here.
The top 15 student cities in the world in 2025, according to QS:
- London, UK – 100 points
- Tokyo, Japan – 99.2 points
- Seoul, South Korea – 97.8 points
- Munich, Germany – 97.7 points
- Melbourne, Australia – 97.1 points
- Sydney, Australia – 95.4 points
- Paris, France – 94.6 points
- Zurich, Switzerland – 94.5 points
- Berlin, Germany – 94.4 points
- Montreal, Canada – 92.1 points
- Toronto, Canada – 91.9 points
- Kyoto-Osaka–Kobe – 90.6 points
- Edinburgh, UK – 90.5 points
- Vienna, Austria – 90.1 points
- Singapore – 89.6 points
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