Innovative Cities

The World's Most Visionary Cities

The world needs innovation. Without it, we wouldn’t have the technology for the latest smartphones, smart cars, or even modern medicine. Innovation makes space for creativity and encourages progress.

But where in the world is the best place to be for innovative and creative minds? We decided to take a look at the world cities that have the best markers for innovation, looking at their creativity, connectivity, education, wellbeing, and even employment opportunities.

Data Table Key

Rank City Country Area Square Miles Population
EMPLOYMENT Jobs in Tech Jobs in Media Coworking Spaces
Wellbeing Quality of Life Score Peace Score
Connectivity Wifi Mbps Cost of Internet Connection Percentage of Online Mentions of World Cities
Creativity Number of Art Galleries Number of Notable Architectural Buildings
Education Number of Science Museums Number of Universities
Score Per 10,000 Residents Per Square Mile
Employment Wellbeing Connectivity Creativity Education

Methodology

We looked at a number of cities which we then reduced down to 50 of the top cities based on the data available.

Jobs in Tech and Media

These numbers were taken from each country’s Indeed site as we searched for jobs in ‘tech’ and jobs in ‘media’ for each city. These results were taken on 16/09/2020 but numbers are subject to change.

Coworking Spaces

These numbers were taken directly from Google Maps with the search term ‘coworking spaces in Paris’ etc.

Quality of Life Score

This score comes from the Numbeo Quality of Life Index which takes into account purchasing power, pollution, house prices, income, cost of living, safety, health care, traffic, and climate. A higher score indicates a better quality of life.

Peace Score

With a lower score indicating a more peaceful place, this score comes from the Institution of Economics & Peace’s Global Peace Index 2019.

WiFi Mbps

This comes from the Speedtest Global Index for fixed broadband, with a higher number indicating faster internet access.

Cost of Internet Connection

These costs are taken from Cable’s Worldwide Price Comparison.

Talked About Cities Score

These numbers come from ING’s study into digital visibility, ranking the world’s most talked-about cities. The numbers in our rankings indicate the share of total online mentions as a percentage.

Number of Art Galleries, Notable Architecture, and Science Museums

The number of these attractions were taken from Tripadvisor.

Number of Universities

These numbers are taken from a variety of sources, including Wikipedia and UniPage.