QS Best Student Cities 2026 for International Students
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QS World University Rankings released their Best Student Cities 2026. This list ranks cities based on factors like university rankings, student mix, desirability, affordability and more. London topped the list followed by Tokyo and Seoul.
Seoul, the national capital of South Korea, is the best student city in the world. The QS released the ranking of the best student cities in the world 2026, and Seoul secured first rank. Tokyo (Japan), London (UK), Munich (Germany) and Melbourne (Australia) secured the second, third, fourth, and fifth ranks, respectively.
Here, we have mentioned the list of top 150 cities in the world according to QS Best Student Cities 2026. This is a list of the most popular cities for international students looking to study abroad. We have also mentioned the methodology in place for their ranks, which has also been mentioned in the article.
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Best Student Cities 2026 for International Students
This is the recently published list of Best Student Cities for 2026 for international students by QS.
| Rank | City | Country | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seoul | South Korea | 100.0 |
| 2 | Tokyo | Japan | 99.9 |
| 3 | London | United Kingdom | 97.1 |
| 4 | Munich | Germany | 96.3 |
| 5 | Melbourne | Australia | 95.7 |
| 6 | Sydney | Australia | 94.7 |
| =7 | Berlin | Germany | 93.3 |
| =7 | Paris | France | 93.3 |
| 9 | Zurich | Switzerland | 91.5 |
| 10 | Vienna | Austria | 90.8 |
| 11 | Singapore | Singapore | 90.6 |
| 12 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 90.3 |
| 13 | Beijing | China (Mainland) | 89.7 |
| 14 | Taipei | Taiwan | 89.1 |
| =15 | Boston | United States | 88.5 |
| =15 | Edinburgh | United Kingdom | 88.5 |
| 17 | Hong Kong SAR | Hong Kong SAR | 88.3 |
| =18 | Kyoto | Japan | 87.8 |
| =18 | Montreal | Canada | 87.8 |
| 20 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | 87.4 |
| 21 | Lausanne | Switzerland | 87.1 |
| 22 | Toronto | Canada | 87.0 |
| 23 | New York | United States | 86.1 |
| 24 | Stockholm | Sweden | 85.2 |
| 25 | Auckland | New Zealand | 84.7 |
| 26 | Brisbane | Australia | 84.3 |
| 27 | Shanghai | China (Mainland) | 84.0 |
| 28 | Madrid | Spain | 83.9 |
| =29 | Prague | Czech Republic | 83.4 |
| =29 | Vancouver | Canada | 83.4 |
| 31 | Adelaide | Australia | 82.9 |
| 32 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | 82.8 |
| 33 | Leuven | Belgium | 82.5 |
| 34 | Copenhagen | Denmark | 82.3 |
| =35 | Barcelona | Spain | 82.2 |
| =35 | Glasgow | United Kingdom | 82.2 |
| 37 | Perth | Australia | 81.4 |
| =38 | Canberra | Australia | 81.2 |
| =38 | Dublin | Ireland | 81.2 |
| 40 | Manchester | United Kingdom | 80.8 |
| =41 | Newcastle Upon Tyne | United Kingdom | 80.7 |
| =41 | San Francisco | United States | 80.7 |
| 43 | Los Angeles | United States | 79.5 |
| 44 | Milan | Italy | 78.3 |
| 45 | Coventry | United Kingdom | 76.2 |
| 46 | Rome | Italy | 75.9 |
| =47 | Bristol | United Kingdom | 75.4 |
| =47 | Chicago | United States | 75.4 |
| 49 | Nottingham | United Kingdom | 75.3 |
| 50 | Santiago | Chile | 75.2 |
| 51 | Leeds | United Kingdom | 75.0 |
| 52 | Gothenburg | Sweden | 74.9 |
| 53 | Brussels | Belgium | 74.7 |
| 54 | Lyon | France | 74.5 |
| 55 | Bangkok | Thailand | 74.4 |
| 56 | Warsaw | Poland | 74.1 |
| 57 | Brno | Czech Republic | 73.4 |
| 58 | Lisbon | Portugal | 73.2 |
| 59 | Birmingham | United Kingdom | 73.0 |
| 60 | Helsinki | Finland | 72.7 |
| 61 | Istanbul | Türkiye | 72.1 |
| =62 | Liverpool | United Kingdom | 70.9 |
| =62 | Osaka | Japan | 70.9 |
| 64 | Amman | Jordan | 70.8 |
| 65 | Belfast | United Kingdom | 70.6 |
| 66 | Turin | Italy | 70.2 |
| 67 | Sheffield | United Kingdom | 69.7 |
| 68 | Budapest | Hungary | 68.8 |
| 69 | Nanjing | China (Mainland) | 68.7 |
| 70 | Philadelphia | United States | 68.4 |
| =71 | Cairo | Egypt | 68.2 |
| =71 | Hsinchu | Taiwan | 68.2 |
| 73 | Mexico City | Mexico | 67.7 |
| 74 | Washington DC | United States | 67.6 |
| 75 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | 67.1 |
| 76 | Sharjah | United Arab Emirates | 66.8 |
| 77 | Cape Town | South Africa | 66.7 |
| 78 | Oslo | Norway | 65.7 |
| 79 | Ankara | Türkiye | 65.6 |
| =80 | Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates | 65.4 |
| =80 | Atlanta | United States | 65.4 |
| =80 | Ottawa | Canada | 65.4 |
| 83 | Valencia | Spain | 65.2 |
| 84 | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | 64.7 |
| 85 | Doha | Qatar | 64.4 |
| 86 | Aberdeen | United Kingdom | 64.1 |
| 87 | San Diego | United States | 64.0 |
| 88 | Manila | Philippines | 63.9 |
| 89 | Pittsburgh | United States | 63.7 |
| 90 | Wuhan | China (Mainland) | 63.6 |
| 91 | Almaty | Kazakhstan | 63.5 |
| =92 | Brighton | United Kingdom | 62.2 |
| =92 | Tainan | Taiwan | 62.2 |
| 94 | Christchurch | New Zealand | 62.1 |
| 95 | Gold Coast | Australia | 61.9 |
| 96 | Seattle | United States | 61.8 |
| 97 | Beirut | Lebanon | 61.7 |
| 98 | Mumbai | India | 61.6 |
| =99 | Bogota | Colombia | 61.4 |
| =99 | Johannesburg | South Africa | 61.4 |
| 101 | Sao Paulo | Brazil | 61.2 |
| 102 | Athens | Greece | 60.8 |
| 103 | Baltimore | United States | 60.6 |
| 104 | Delhi | India | 60.5 |
| 105 | Riga | Latvia | 60.4 |
| 106 | Toulouse | France | 60.3 |
| 107 | Al-Ain | United Arab Emirates | 60.0 |
| 108 | Bangalore | India | 59.6 |
| 109 | Graz | Austria | 59.4 |
| 110 | Krakow | Poland | 59.1 |
| =111 | Monterrey | Mexico | 58.0 |
| =111 | Nagoya | Japan | 58.0 |
| 113 | Taichung | Taiwan | 57.9 |
| =114 | Houston | United States | 57.8 |
| =114 | Vilnius | Lithuania | 57.8 |
| 116 | Jakarta | Indonesia | 56.9 |
| =117 | Baku | Azerbaijan | 56.8 |
| =117 | Busan | South Korea | 56.8 |
| =119 | Guangzhou | China (Mainland) | 56.7 |
| =119 | Stuttgart | Germany | 56.7 |
| 121 | Yogyakarta | Indonesia | 56.1 |
| 122 | Jeddah | Saudi Arabia | 55.6 |
| 123 | Bandung | Indonesia | 55.5 |
| 124 | Xi’an | China (Mainland) | 55.1 |
| 125 | Leicester | United Kingdom | 54.8 |
| 126 | Miami | United States | 54.5 |
| 127 | Astana | Kazakhstan | 54.3 |
| 128 | Chennai | India | 54.1 |
| 129 | Tallinn | Estonia | 53.9 |
| 130 | Taoyuan District | Taiwan | 53.6 |
| 131 | Daegu | South Korea | 53.4 |
| 132 | Tianjin | China (Mainland) | 52.8 |
| 133 | Pretoria | South Africa | 52.6 |
| 134 | Macau | Macau SAR | 52.0 |
| 135 | Lima | Peru | 51.3 |
| 136 | Dhaka | Bangladesh | 50.7 |
| =138 | Montpellier | France | 50.2 |
| =138 | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | 50.1 |
| 140 | Tel Aviv-Yafo | Israel | 50.1 |
| 141 | Wroclaw | Poland | 49.9 |
| 142 | Izmir | Türkiye | 49.8 |
| 143 | Kaunas | Lithuania | 49.5 |
| =144 | Surabaya | Indonesia | 49.2 |
| =144 | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | 49.1 |
| 146 | Shah Alam | Malaysia | 49.1 |
| 147 | Chengdu | China (Mainland) | 48.8 |
| =148 | Dallas | United States | 48.7 |
| =148 | Cluj-Napoca | Romania | 48.5 |
| 150 | Irbid | Jordan | 48.3 |
Read: Top 10 Safest Cities in the World for Students in 2025-26
QS Best Student Cities 2026 Ranking: Methodology
Every ranking would be based on a certain set of parameters, which would help decide the performance of one city over another. Similarly, in this section, we are going to be talking about the ranking methodology followed for the recently published QS Best Student Cities 2026 Ranking by QS.
To start, candidates should note that only cities that have a population of over 250,000 and are home to at least two universities featured in the most recent QS World University Rankings 2026 are eligible for this ranking. Hence, only 164 cities have qualified for this QS Best Student City survey.
Now coming to the ranking methodology:
- University rankings: The university ranking takes into account the number of universities that are featured in the recently published QS World University Rankings 2026.
- Student mix: Student mix would include, how many international students are enrolled in the city, what is the proportion of the city's population, and finally, how inclusive the city and the country it's located.
- Desirability: How safe is the city, what are the pollution levels like in the city, and how many respondents to the student survey wanted to study in the city?
- Employer activity: What is youth employment like in the city? What do employers think of the graduates produced by universities in the city?
- Affordability: How much does tuition cost at the city's universities, and what is the cost of living for students in the city?
- Student voice: What ratings did students give the city's friendliness, sustainability, diversity, and more? What proportion of students continue to live in the city after graduation?
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McMaster University acceptance rate is around 59%, whereas, that of Wilfrid Laurier University is 89%. A comparison of these 3 universities for reference is given below:
Particulars | UNF | McMaster University | Wilfrid Laurier University |
|---|---|---|---|
No. of Courses offered | Around 5 | 280+ | 75+ |
Annual tuition fees | Between INR 12.08 L – INR 19.3 L | Between INR 2 L - 58 L | Between INR 9 L - 32 L |
Location | Niagara Falls, Ontario | Hamilton, Canada | Waterloo, Canada |
Shiksha Popularity Ranking | - | #6 | #30 |
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Yes, the Gallagher International Center guides students through the process to secure off-campus housing. It is highly encouraged for students to work closely with the team at the Gallagher International Center to avoid signing leases that may not be suitable for international students. There is plenty of affordable housing within walking of campus but it is best to consult with the GIC first. Students should not sign any lease before their visa is secured. Students enjoy the outdoor pursuits available around Vermillion as well as nearby cities of Sioux Falls and Omaha.