Toronto #15, Dublin #41 in 2025 World’s Best Cities Report
Resonance, a leading global advisory firm specializing in destination, economic, and urban development, has unveiled its World’s Best Cities Report for 2025. The rankings consider the principal cities of global metropolitan areas with a population greater than one million, using a combination of core statistics that capture the performance of these regions in attracting “prime age population (age 25-44), visitor expenditure, and/or business formation.” These core statistics are grouped into three broad categories: livability, lovability, and prosperity, each of which contributes to the city’s overall score.
The quality of the urban environment is quantified through the livability category, using inputs such as the price-to-income ratio, average rent, and tree coverage, among others. Lovability assesses the dynamism in a city relative to its peers, using data on restaurants, shopping destinations, and local attractions. Finally, prosperity focuses on human capital and wealth in regions, with educational attainment and GDP per capita being some of the eleven indicators considered. All categories are supported by an international perception survey, in which over 22,000 respondents assess the top three cities and towns “they would most like to visit in the next 12 to 24 months.”
All Canadian cities that met the population criteria were ranked, with Toronto leading the way at #15. Toronto’s ranking was driven by its strong multiculturalism, position as a global financial center, and major infrastructure initiatives, such as the $1.3 billion Port Lands Flood Protection Project. Vancouver followed at #22, with “North America’s most European” city, Montreal, at #35. Both were elevated by strong scores in educational attainment and greenery, with Vancouver’s ranking aided by a unique blend of natural life throughout its urban landscape but burdened by its ongoing affordability crisis. Montreal, enhanced by its position as a cultural hub, was also bolstered by investments in upgrading its downtown business ecosystem and its biking and pedestrian infrastructure.
Rounding out the Canadian contingent, Ottawa (#52), Calgary (#54), and Edmonton (#65), similarly excelled in areas such as educational attainment and low poverty rates. Ottawa’s standout Google Trends score was boosted by the “spike in global interest in the city’s impressive efforts to share Canada’s Indigenous reconciliation.” In the West, Calgary’s importance in the energy sector, alongside its economic diversification efforts, strengthened its rank. Alberta’s capital, Edmonton, scored particularly well in affordability and was supported by their ever-expanding entertainment hub, ICE District.
Dublin—the only Irish city to meet the population criteria—secured a rank of #41, wedged between Houston and Osaka. It performed especially well on Fortune 500 presence and delivered a notably high score on nightlife, which was measured using the “number of local nightlife experiences rated above 4 stars, as listed on Tripadvisor.” The report also highlighted the safety of Ireland’s capital and, to the detriment of the ranking, changing affordability in recent years.
Resonance also releases a Europe’s Best Cities Report, where the population threshold decreases to 500,000. Dublin’s rank climbs to #14 on said list, while Belfast secured the #84 position. The Big Smoke, with a metro population just shy of 800,000, thrived thanks to its ample green space, growing tourism, and vibrant technology scene. It’s important to note that, given population parameters, other Irish metropolitan areas such as Cork or Galway were not considered for both reports.