QS Best Student Cities 2026: Singapore ranks 11th globally among best cities for students

SINGAPORE: Singapore has been ranked 11th among the best cities for students, based on the latest QS Best Student Cities 2026 list released by international education market consulting firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) on Tuesday (Jul 15).

Among Asian countries, the city-state ranked third overall and topped the list in Southeast Asia. Last year, the city-state ranked 15th globally.

The QS ranking used six indicators, each accounting for 16.67% of a city’s total score, to rank 150 cities globally: university rankings, student mix, desirability, employer activity, affordability, and student view. According to QS, the indicators were chosen to best represent what matters to a student when they choose a city to study in.

Singapore scored 90.6 overall, with the highest score in student view at 93.8, followed by desirability (89.8), student mix (83.5), employer activity (81.3), rankings (68.2), and the lowest in affordability (28.7).

In fact, Singapore ranked as the least affordable in Asia, with a lower score than Hong Kong and Macau, which scored 38.8 and 42.7 in affordability, respectively.

For the first time, South Korea’s capital, Seoul, topped the rankings. London, which held the top spot for six consecutive years, dropped to third place, while Tokyo remained in second place.

Other Asian cities in the global top 20 include Kuala Lumpur (12), Beijing (13), Taipei (14), Hong Kong (17), and Kyoto (18). /TISG

Read also: QS World Rankings 2026: SMU rises, NUS and NTU hold strong, SUTD slides