List of the Top 10 places to live on earth does not include any U.S. cities, but Vienna returns to top

Here’s the bad news… the U.S. doesn’t rank in the Top 10 best places to live in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index. Here’s the good news… It’s not one of the worst, either.

The rankings, which factor culture, health care, education, infrastructure, and entertainment into their equation put Vienna, Austria, at the top of the list, after the city fell to 12^th place last year. (Vienna topped the list in 2018 and 2019 as well.)

Canada, though, might have the most to brag about. The northern neighbor to the U.S. had three cities in the Top 10.

Here’s how the 2022 rankings sorted out:

1. Vienna, Austria
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Zurich, Switzerland
4. Calgary, Canada
5. Vancouver, Canada
6. Geneva, Switzerland
7. Frankfurt, Germany
8. Toronto, Canada
9. Amsterdam, Netherlands
10. Osaka, Japan and Melbourne, Australia (tied)

A summary of the report notes that two U.S. cities showed big shifts in the past year. Los Angeles was one of the cities with the biggest gains on the list, jumping from 55th place to 37th. Houston, however, dropped from 31st to 55th.

As for the worst places to live? Those tend to have serious safety or social issues. (Kiev, which has formerly been ranked, was excluded from the 2022 report due to the ongoing Russian invasion.)

Here’s where the Economist Intelligence Unit suggests you avoid living:

1. Tehran, Iran
2. Douala, Cameroon
3. Harare, Zimbabwe
4. Dhaka, Bangladesh
5. Port Moresby, PNG
6. Karachi, Pakistan
7. Algiers, Algeria
8. Tripoli, Libya
9. Lagos, Nigeria
10. Damascus, Syria