The results are in, and The Economist Intelligence Unit has dropped its annual Global Livability Index for 2025. For lack of a better list, this is the definitive ranking of where on this planet you can enjoy the most stability, healthcare, culture, and all that other grown-up stuff.
In a stunning upset that has rocked the world of competitive livability (which is apparently a thing), Vienna, Austria, has been knocked off its throne! The new champion, the most livable city in the entire world, is now Copenhagen, Denmark. So, pack your bags and brush up on your Danish, I guess.
The top of the list is a who’s who of places that are probably very clean and efficient, like Zurich, Vancouver, Calgary, and Geneva. It’s a sea of European cities, with a splash of Japan...but shout out to our friends from down under - Australia and their neighbor New Zealand have disproportionate representation in the top 10!
These cities are judged on things like infrastructure and education, which is great, but you have to wonder if the judges have ever experienced the pure, unadulterated joy of a Pub Sub, the agonizing emotional bonding between Jags fans, or the thrill of seeing a gator just chilling on Atlantic Blvd during rush hour. I’m guessing not.
Where does the good ol’ USA land in all this? Well, spoiler alert: Forget the top 10, we didn’t even make the top 22! The highest-ranking American city is Honolulu, all the way down at number 23. And as for our beloved Sunshine State? Crickets. Not a single Florida city, not Miami, not Orlando, not even our sprawling metropolis of Jacksonville, managed to crack the top 50. Maybe they factored in the humidity, the summer thunderstorms that pop up out of nowhere, or the sheer chaos of a Saturday afternoon at the Town Center. Their loss.
Congratulations to the winners, but we’ll stick with our slice of paradise right here, thank you very much. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go enjoy some of our “unlivable” sunshine.