If you could choose any city in the world to call home, where would you go? Now in its seventh year, AIRINC’s Global 150 Index reveals the cities that offer the best balance of high salaries, low taxes, manageable costs, and quality of life.
Updated annually by AIRINC, the index provides a comprehensive view of where employees can achieve the best balance of financial opportunity and quality of life. The 2025 results reflect significant movement in the rankings, with shifts driven by currency changes, tax adjustments, cost-of-living fluctuations, and evolving lifestyle conditions.
Headline Results
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Houston enters the global top five, climbing six places with the lowest taxes and costs of any U.S. city included in the index.
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Chicago rejoins the top ten, also up six places.
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Munich and Luxembourg switch positions within the top four, both slipping slightly on financial scores.
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Tokyo records the largest decline, dropping twenty-three places due to weaker cost and lifestyle scores.
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Guatemala City climbs eighteen places, propelled by favorable cost and tax scores.
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Vienna (-6) and Calgary (-10) fall out of the top ten, driven by weaker lifestyle and salary results.
These movements underscore the importance of looking beyond static rankings and understanding the forces driving change.
Why Locations Moved
United States
Most U.S. cities moved up in 2025. Salary scores decreased slightly compared to other locations, but this was offset by gains in tax and cost scores. These improvements can be attributed in part to the weakening U.S. dollar. Houston was the standout, combining the lowest taxes and costs of all U.S. cities with solid lifestyle scores. While hardship levels in the U.S. remained stable, the relative rankings improved because the top and bottom hardship scores globally both increased, raising the U.S. in comparison.
Canada
All Canadian cities declined. Financial scores stayed relatively stable but slipped slightly as costs and taxes rose. The main driver of the downward movement was worsening lifestyle scores. Three of the four Canadian cities in the index, excluding Montreal, were impacted by these changes.
Europe
Munich fell just below Luxembourg after experiencing higher taxes and rising costs. Both saw financial scores worsen, though they remain close to one another in rank. Vienna fell six spots, driven by lower salary, cost, and lifestyle scores. Tel Aviv, Bratislava, and Rome also recorded notable drops, with higher taxes and increased hardship scores weighing on their results.
Latin America
Guatemala City gained eighteen places this year, supported by low costs and taxes. Its lifestyle scores remain weak, and its rise was due as much to other cities declining as to its own improvement. George Town and Buenos Aires also recorded upward movement, while Santo Domingo, Kingston, Managua, and Bogota trended downward.
Asia
Japanese cities experienced sharp declines. A stronger Yen reduced cost competitiveness, tax rates increased slightly, and Tokyo suffered a lifestyle downgrade due to a higher hardship score. Overall, Tokyo’s twenty-three-place drop was the steepest in the 2025 index. Singapore slipped two places, while Macau and Agana improved.
Middle East & Africa
Many cities in this region climbed the rankings. With currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar, they benefited from relative cost improvements as the dollar weakened. Combined with low tax rates, these cities saw strong financial scores. Riyadh and Manama both jumped seventeen places, reflecting these favorable conditions.
What This Means for Mobility
The 2025 Global 150 Index highlights how quickly cities can gain or lose competitiveness. Exchange rate shifts, inflation, tax policy changes, and lifestyle scores all influence rankings, and this year showed that even well-established cities can move sharply up or down.
For mobility professionals, the lesson is clear: location planning cannot rely on historical assumptions. Organizations must track these changes closely to ensure their policies align with current realities. Houston’s climb into the top five illustrates the opportunities in re-evaluating locations, while Tokyo’s decline demonstrates the risks of depending on outdated perceptions.
Tracking Global City Rankings: Seven Years of Insights and Shifts
AIRINC's Global 150 Index has been offering valuable insights into the world’s leading cities for seven years. Over this time, the rankings have reflected shifts in salary levels, tax rates, living costs, and lifestyle conditions. The 2025 edition underscores how quickly conditions can change: U.S. cities gained ground on the back of cost and tax improvements, Canadian cities slipped due to lifestyle declines, and Tokyo recorded the largest drop in the 2025 Index. From established leaders like Zurich and Geneva to fast movers such as Houston, Chicago, and Guatemala City, the rankings continue to highlight the dynamic balance between financial strength and quality of life. Subscribe to our blog for more updates including more on each region!
