Why is Vienna the best place to live? Because Vienna continuously occupies the top ranks of several world cities rankings it is often rated the best city in the world. This is mainly due to its high safety record, its modern and seamless public transport system, and environmental factors such as low pollution and lots of green space. Other than that, Vienna's public healthcare and housing are one of the best in Europe. In terms of social equality, Wien generally welcomes different cultures and religions, and has a vibrant LGBT community. As many travellers will know Austria's capital overwhelms with its cultural offer.

Best Place to Live: Official Rankings

For the past 15 years, Vienna has been ranking among the most livable cities in the top 8 places of these five respected annual city rankings, with some consistent no.1 rankings throughout.

• Quality of Living Survey (Mercer Consulting): no.1 - 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010; no 2: 2024
• Global Liveability Ranking and Report (Economist Intelligence Unit): no.1 - 2024, 2019, 2018; no.2 - 2017 - 2011; no.3 - 2010
• Quality of Life Survey (Monocle Magazine): no.1 - 2023; no.2 - 2024; no. 3 -2018; no. 4 - 2012; no. 5 - 2013, 2020, 2019;  6 - 2021, 2014, 2011; no. 7 - 2022; no.8 - 2010
• Smart City Strategy Index (Roland Berger): no. 1 (2019, 2017)
• World's 10 Greenest Cities (Resonance Consultancy): no.1 (2022, 2020)
• Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index: no. 2 in ranking 'people' (2024)

While the first three rankings consider a number of factors such as political and economic environment, healthcare, housing, public transport, environment, education, and cultural offer, the other rankings focus on certain factors such as environment and social equality.

To understand exactly why Vienna is the best city in the world and the best place to live, explore its 7 key success factors in detail. If you visit Vienna why not do your own research? Just copy my practical test tips for each factor.

1. Quality Environment

Since 2010, the Viennese Social Democrats govern in coalition with the Green Party. As a consequence, Vienna has relentlessly focussed on clean green space, water and air, little noise, environmentally-friendly energy and no messing with waste. Vienna dedicates nearly half of its total area to green spaces, including the famous Prater park, numerous smaller parks woven throughout neighborhoods such as Türkenschanzpark, and green belts that encircle the city. As soon as  the sun comes out, we love to hang out in parks and gardens. For the records, the biggest green space in the city is Lainzer Tiergarten (Lainz Nature Reserve, see picture) where Hermesvilla is based.

Not only does this extensive green network provide residents with easy access to nature, it helps regulate urban temperatures.

Early on, Vienna pioneered large-scale district heating systems that efficiently warm buildings across the city while reducing emissions. The city has also invested heavily in renewable energy sources and energy-efficient building standards.

The city takes a systematic approach to environmental challenges, with comprehensive climate action plans, strict building codes, and policies that prioritize sustainability over short-term economic gains. This consistency over decades has compounded positive effects.

Test tips: go on a Prater biking tour or borrow a City Bike. Third, take an hour to hike through the Vienna Woods and vineyards of Neustift and Grinzing. make sure you picnic on a permitted area - not all park lawns can be used for picnics.

Best Quality Tap Water From The Mountains

Another much appreciated factor is the quality of Vienna's tap water. In fact, residents get fresh mountain spring water, arriving from Hochschwab mountains in the Vienna Alps through Vienna's Mountain Spring Pipeline directly to their bathrooms and kitchens. Whether locals or visitors, everyone moving around in Vienna has access to 1,000 public drinking water fountains. Between April and September, the number increases by another 50 mobile drinking water fountains across the city. Should the temperatures rise above 30 degrees Celsius, Vienna's 100 spray mist showers in town cool passers by with the click of a button.
Test tips: First, choose a truly green Hotel such as Hotel Gilbert behind Museumsquartier. With lush rooftop gardens and vegetated facades, the hotel sets a benchmark for climate adaptation in Vienna’s densely built 7th district. On hot summer days, the Living Wall alone—planted with grasses, ferns, and climbing species—can deliver a cooling effect of 250 to 337 kWh daily through natural evaporation. This is comparable to the output of five air conditioning units over the same period. The vegetation also improves air quality, filters fine dust, and reduces solar heat reflection. Overall, this cooling mechanism can lower street-level temperatures by up to 3°C. Additionally, the Living Wall cuts ambient noise levels by approximately 7 to 10 decibels, making the surrounding area more pleasant for pedestrians and residents alike.

2. Public Transport

Vienna operates one of the world's most efficient public transit systems, with metros, trams, and buses that reduce car dependency dramatically. About 40% of trips are made by public transport, significantly lowering air pollution and noise levels compared to car-dependent cities. Having one of the densest, most reliable and modern public transport systems in the world makes a city like Vienna the best place to live: You can whizz through Vienna on 143 lines, getting on and at more than 5,000 public transport stops (not bad for an area totalling just 415 square kilometres) with five metro lines, 29 tramway lines, and 90 bus lines. Wherever in town, you are almost never further than 5 minutes from a tramway, train, metro or bus station. Many of them indicate imminent arrivals and work seamlessly. Most tramways run with good frequency between 5am and midnight. On top, ticket fares are comparably cheap. For example, a 24-hour ticket including use of all public transport costs EUR 8 (as per July 2020). Free apps such as Wien Mobil (photo) help residents move around town by public transport, bike or car.
On a strategic level, Vienna runs its own Smart City Agency, which develops and implements an ambitious e-Mobility concept, connecting state-of-the-art mobility and environmental solutions. Even Vienna's city bike scheme is now part of the local transport authority.

Test tips: First, get a Vienna Card or buy a 1 to 3 day transport pass. Second, take CAT airport train from and to Vienna International Airport or hire a green taxi.

3. Safety

In many respects, Austria has been safer than other European metropolises: It is a fairly safe haven, far from political, social and economic turmoils. In Austria and Vienna, we earn good salaries, keep a relatively low crime rate, and we hate strikes. If we demonstrate, it's mostly peaceful. As for crime statistics, Vienna ranks 114th among 146 European cities with high crime rates (May 2025, source: numbeo.com). In the past years, however, Vienna's crime rate has increased. Compared to 2023, the number of overall crimes in Vienna has risen 4.6% to approximately 195,000 crimincalcases (source: Bundeskriminalamt, Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik 2024).

Test tips: Feel free to explore Vienna by night, especially in its safest districts Josefstadt (8th), Währing (18th), Hietzing (13th), Wieden (4th), Hernals (17th) and Neubau (7th) and keep an eye on your hand bag and valuables as you would usually do.

4. Modern and Sufficient Housing

At the start of the 20th century Vienna was built to house two million inhabitants. Many inner city buildings were elegant town houses with spacious rooms and high ceilings. The number of inhabitants was reduced massively through two consecutive world wars. Today, we have around 1,8 million inhabitants. Over the next years, Vienna will create 45,000 new apartments. This is expected to keep a tab on real estate prices. The property price-to-income ratio in Vienna has been 14, ranking it in 27th place of the Cities with the Highest Price To Income Ratio the European Property Prices Index out of 134 cities, on a par with Warsay and Skopje (2025, source: numbeo).

Test tips: To feel the traditional 'grand space', book a hotel or apartment located in a historic townhouse. Go for a B&B or private apartment in a residential neighbourhood to get a feel for local housing and living.

5. Great Public Healthcare

In a ranking of the Best Healthcare Systems Around The World (Legatum Institute, Prosperity.com, 2024), Austria ranks in proud 22nd place out of 104. My local family and I have stayed at a few Vienna hospitals and they were all professionally run, clean and accessible. Statistically, Vienna's General Hospital AKH ranks among the top hospitals in the world. Since I moved away, I have found I'm not the only traveller/expat who does regular health checks when in Vienna. Our public health system is excellent, according to WHO and OECD, robust and doctors top class. Accessing great medical care in Vienna is still easier than in many European cities. Most specialists have their own practices outside the hospitals and take direct (private) appointments, or appointments by referrals through local GP's.

Test tips: Search for a Vienna doctor to arrange a health check while you are in town.

6. Best Place To Live For Culture

Going out to have fun and join top cultural events makes a difference to your life. On average, Vienna stages seven large events per day. It's fairly normal for a Vienna middle class family to have an annual concert, opera or theatre subscription, dressing up for several of our 450 annual balls, or go to a bar, nightclub or open air event. (I'm not even speaking of tourist magnets Vienna Boys Choir, Spanish Riding School, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.) An opera premiere review is covered with almost the same importance in the prime evening news as a natural disaster.

Test tips: Check a classical concerts calendar for Vienna, and venues such as Musikverein, Konzerthaus and the Vienna State Opera.

7. Social Inclusion

Because the best place to live would not qualify without social inclusion, a city like Vienna has to score in this area, too. In 2025, Vienna won the European Union's Access City Award. Today, all of Vienna’s underground stations and more than 95% of its bus and tram stops are fully accessible, thanks to features such as tactile guidance systems, low-floor vehicles, and multisensory emergency equipment.

Accessibility has also been enhanced through inclusive public facilities like adapted swimming pools and sensor-controlled traffic lights that detect when pedestrians need to cross. These efforts played a key role in Vienna being awarded the 2025 Access City Award. The European Commission also praised the city’s newly adopted “Inclusive Vienna 2030” strategy, highlighting its commitment to accessibility and inclusion.

As a matter of fact, Vienna pursues its own Charter - the Wiener Charta - to promote 'good neighbourly relations' between all citizens. This includes respect and tolerance towards different religions, world views, and same-sex relationships. You can generally kiss and hold hands with your partner in public - whether you are hetero, gay or lesbian - without fear of being hassled.

Test tips: Get to know local Viennese and hear their world views during a taxi ride, in a coffeehouse or bar.

Where Vienna Needs To Improve

For years, many media and public administration experts have stated that Vienna needs to improve in two major areas to maintain its top positions as the best place to live.

a) University Rankings

Vienna is home to several respected universities, such as the University of Vienna, the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), and the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU). However, these institutions typically do not rank as high in global university rankings (like QS, THE, or ARWU) compared to elite universities in the U.S., U.K., or Switzerland. Compared to top-ranked institutions like Oxford, Harvard, or ETH Zurich, Viennese universities have more limited budgets and smaller endowments. This can affect their ability to fund large-scale research projects, attract star faculty, or invest in cutting-edge infrastructure.

What's more, public universities in Austria, including in Vienna, are open-access or low-cost, meaning they often have very high student populations. This leads to less favorable student-to-faculty ratios, which negatively affects rankings. Overall, the Austrian academic system is more decentralized and conservative, which can slow responsiveness to global academic trends like interdisciplinary programs, innovation hubs, or tech transfer.

b) Retail Hours

Ever tried to shop for groceries, fashion, computers or books on a Sunday in Vienna? In general, it is illegal for shops to open on a Sunday. According to the Retail Opening Hours Act from 2008, however, you should be able to grab souvenirs and sweets, and buy fresh flowers from a stand, or go shopping at the airport or train station. As Monocle Magazine never tires to point out, Vienna won't cut it as best place to live in the long term if it doesn't liberalise its retail shopping hours. As an execption, in high-tourism areas like the Vienna city centre, special rules allow some shops to stay open longer or on Sundays.

What is behind this fact: Austria has some of the strongest labor protections in Europe, emphasizing work-life balance and fair working conditions. Attempts to liberalize retail hours have often stalled due to strong resistance from unions and parts of the political spectrum, especially social democrats and Christian democrats.

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