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Map Shows Most Liveable Cities In US 2025
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None of the 21 U.S. metros analyzed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for its well-regarded yearly list of the most liveable cities in the world made it into the top 20 in 2025, as growing instability across the U.S. undermined their standing.
Fourteen U.S. cities, however, improved their rankings compared to last year, with Miami, Florida, Portland, Oregon, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Charlotte, North Carolina, reporting the biggest upward moves.
But there is little reason to rejoice, experts warned; These cities were "promoted" only because other cities fell in the rankings and not because of any significant improvement in livelihood.
What Does It Mean For A City To Be Liveable?
The EIU's ranking considers a city more or less liveable based on 30 indicators divided into five categories: stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. The idea is to determine how comfortable these cities are to live in.
This year, Copenhagen was crowned as the most liveable city in the world, getting a perfect score of 100 for three of these five categories: stability, education and infrastructure. It was followed by Vienna (Austria) and Zurich (Switzerland), which shared second place, Melbourne (Australia), Geneva (Switzerland), Sydney (Australia), Osaka (Japan), Auckland (New Zealand), Adelaide (Australia) and Vancouver (Canada).
While EIU researchers found that the average score for liveability across the 173 cities in the index was unchanged from 2024, at 76.1 out of 100, scores in the stability category had fallen across the world due to growing geopolitical tensions, civil unrest and widespread housing crises.
Which Cities Are The Most Liveable In The U.S.?
The most liveable city in the U.S., according to the EIU's 2025 Liveability Index, is Honolulu, Hawaii. The city ranks 23rd overall, followed by Atlanta, Georgia, at 29th, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at joint 30th, Seattle, Washington, at 34th and Washington, D.C., at 38th.
What all these cities have in common is that they are much smaller in size and population than giant metropolises, such as New York, which ranked 69th overall, and Los Angeles, which ranked 57th. While these cities ranked higher in terms of cultural offerings to their residents, they fared much worse for stability and infrastructure.
In general, U.S. cities have the highest score for education—with an average of 84.4 out of 100—, but are rated lowest for stability. According to EIU researchers, the main reason behind American cities' growing instability is the "greater incidence of social unrest, which is often rooted in the country's racial inequalities, as well as weak gun-control laws that mean crime is often violent and fatal."
Four U.S. cities were among the biggest movers in the rankings this year compared to 2024. Miami, Florida, moved by three positions and is ranked 44th most liveable this year, with a score of 90.4 out of 100. The same ranking—and score—is shared with Portland, Oregon, which also moved up by three positions.
Indianapolis, Indiana, and Charlotte, North Carolina, also moved up by three positions to share the ranking of 50th most liveable city in the world, with a score of 89.4 out of 100.
Experts Are Pessimistic About The U.S.
Overall, North America—which includes Canada as well as the U.S.—was among the regions that saw their liveability scores this year compared to 2024, with a 0.1 percent dip. In Western Europe, overall liveability fell by 0.2 percent year-over-year, and in the Asia-Pacific, it slid by 0.1 percent. In all other regions, liveability scores increased.
The researchers behind the study warned that the liveability of U.S. cities might continue to drop in the coming months and years.
"With the Trump administration in the US proposing to cut public spending on education and healthcare, the region remains susceptible to further downgrades in future editions of this report," researchers wrote in the report.
