Resonance Consultancy recently released its new ranking of the World’s Best Cities for 2024, and Los Angeles made it into the #15 spot out of 270+ global cities analyzed. Of the US cities named, only New York City and San Francisco ranked above LA in the United States.
Why #15 in the world?
While Los Angeles has slipped down in the ranks since its #12 spot in 2023, it remains solidly among some of the most highly-ranked cities thanks to several glowing factors.
Resonance credited LA’s wealth of iconic attractions and globally-renowned events as major reasons for its high ranking. 2023 and 2024 bring centennial milestones for quintessential landmarks including the Hollywood Sign, Warner Bros. Studios and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; and their respective celebrations have brought renewed attention to LA’s role in American culture.
The next few years will also bring major additions to the city’s thriving arts and culture scene, with the opening of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Natural History Museum’s NHM Commons, and Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
These factors, coupled with LA’s #4 spot on a list of global Google searches, cement the city’s role as an international cultural nexus. As Resonance writes, “the world is watching.”
How did they decide?
For nine consecutive years, Resonance has ranked the 100 best cities in the world based on a comprehensive methodology. They begin with a bigger list of 270+ global cities, which they define as “principal cities of metropolitan areas with populations of more than one million.”
This year Resonance investigated 24 subcategories grouped into 3 main pillars: Livability, Lovability, and Prosperity. The Livability category includes factors like walkability, airport connectivity, parks and recreation, and sights and landmarks. The Lovability category includes cultural experiences, restaurants, Tripadvisor reviews, and popularity on Google Trends. And finally, the Prosperity category includes educational attainment, the poverty rate, GDP per capita, and labor force participation. These subcategories, in addition to many others, helped to create a thorough report on every single city from the list.
For 2024 they added factors like Walk Score and Bikability, and removed some others such as Weather and Safety. This was done to “more accurately represent the latest verified drivers of talent, investment and tourism to a city.”
Who else made it into the top 100?
The World’s Best Cities for 2024 was topped by the following cities:
- London, England
- Paris, France
- New York City, USA
- Tokyo, Japan
- Singapore
- Dubai, UAE
- San Francisco, USA
- Barcelona, Spain
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Seoul, Korea
US cities made up nearly a quarter of the list. Following Los Angeles at #15 was Chicago, IL at #16; and Washington, DC at #17. California representation included San Jose at #38 and San Diego at #51.