London Named Top City in World for 2026; Toronto Leads Canadian Cities + New York Leads the USA

London, New York City and Paris made the podium in the newest list of the world’s top cities. 

Resonance Consultancy, which has been analyzing world cities for 11 years, looked at everything from livability to education, parks and public transit to come up with its list, which I think is always one of the strongest in the biz.

London came out on top (it has won the award 11 years in a row), followed by New York City and Paris. Toronto was the top winner in Canada, coming in at number 17, while Los Angeles was the top US city at number twelve overall.

Five Canadian cities made the top 100: Toronto at 17, Vancouver at 41, Montreal at 46, Ottawa at 73 and Calgary at 85.

London, England. Eva Dang/Unsplash Photo

Nineteen cities in the US are entered in the top 100 for 2026, including four cities from my home state of California. Los Angeles was 12^th, San Francisco 28^th, San Jose, 60^th and San Diego in the 81st position. Miami finished in the 26^th spot.

Four Australia cities made the top 100: Sydney was 11^th, Melbourne 21^st, Perth 68^th (I love that city) and Brisbane (host of the 2032 Summer Olympics) 79^th.

Seven Chinese cities were in the top 100. Beijing was 15^th, Shanghai 16^th, Hong Kong 19^th, Shenzhen 45^th, Guangzhou 57^th, Hangzhou 80^th and Chengdu 83^rd.

Eight cities in Germany made the list, which is quite impressive as well.

Here’s what the Resonance folks said about Toronto.

“Toronto’s magnetism starts with its brainpower: the University of Toronto, York and Toronto Metropolitan (all combing for a #11 global University ranking) anchor one of North America’s most educated metros. In fact, Toronto boasts the fourth most educated population on the planet. They feed centuries-old companies and a humming start-up scene – momentum that keeps the city among the planet’s most coveted for immigrants, resulting in a populace where the majority of residents were born outside of Canada.”

The Ontario College of Art & Design in downtown Toronto. JIM BYERS PHOTO

Toronto was ranked 15^th for 2025, so it’s actually  a small slip from last year. Vancouver dropped from 22 to 41, Montreal from 35 to 46, Ottawa from 52 to 73, and Calgary from 54 to 85. Edmonton dropped out of the 100 entirely.

Here’s the top 26 world cities for 2026:

1. London
2. New York City
3. Paris
4. Tokyo
5. Madrid
6. Singapore
7. Rome
8. Dubai
9. Berlin
10. Barcelona
11. Sydney
12. Los Angeles
13. Seoul
14. Amsterdam
15. Beijing
16. Shanghai
17. Toronto
18. Sao Paulo
19. Hong Kong
20. Istanbul
21. Melbourne
22. Bangkok
23. Osaka
24. Oslo
25. Stockholm
26. Miami

Sydney Harbour and the Sydney Opera House, Australia. JIM BYERS PHOTO

I personally don’t see Dubai in the top 50. The old city is nice, but the new part does nothing for me. It’s like Las Vegas without the gambling. But it does have a decent beach, which Vegas can’t offer. It’s hard to find fault with the rest of their findings, although I would Stockholm up based sheerly on its beauty.

Then again, this is a scientific list that’s based on fact, not which city has the dreamiest waterfront or finest food. That’s why I like to give it some attention when it comes out each year.