Poznan is Poland’s best city to live in, according to a new ranking. Katowice and Opole are the next best locations, while Bialystok, Kielce and the capital Warsaw are the worst.
The ranking – which includes one city from each of Poland’s 16 provinces – was compiled by the Business Insider Polska website based on how well each place scored in a combination of six categories: unemployment, average wages, crime rate, access to housing and medical care, and air quality.
How well each city did in each category was determined based on official data from May and June 2023. In the ranking, the fewer points a city accumulated, the higher it placed.
Poznan, the capital of the Wielkopolska province in western Poland and home to over 534,000 people, came out on top with 28 points after placing in the top 10 in all six categories.
Poznan was ranked as having the lowest unemployment rate out of all 16 cities, while ranking 4th for wages and 5th for access to housing. Business Insider noted that the city’s “residents earn high wages compared to housing prices.” It ranked third for air quality, behind Opole and Gorzów Wielkopolski.
Earlier this year, Pozna? was also named as an emerging culinary destination by the Michelin food guide, with inspectors praising its “vibrant and fast developing restaurant scene”.
The second best city to live in Poland was awarded to Katowice, the capital of the Silesia province in the south of the country, scoring 39 points. Katowice was ranked the best in access to housing and second best for unemployment. However, it was bottom of the list for its crime rate in comparison to the other cities.
Opole, the capital of the province of the same name also located in the south of the country, was named the third best city to live in Poland, with 42 points. Opole was ranked best for air quality and 4th best for its crime rate.
The last city in the overall ranking was Bia?ystok, capital of the Podlaskie province in northeastern Poland, with 74 points. The city was ranked last for both unemployment and average wages, and second last for access to both housing and to doctors. It only did well in terms of its crime rate, in which it came 5th, and its air quality, where it was ranked 7th.
Kielce, capital of ?wi?tokrzyskie province in southern Poland, took the penultimate place in the ranking, with 64 points. It scored second to last for unemployment and average wage, 10th for crime and 12th for air quality. Kielce, however, performed well in terms of access to medical care, where it ranked third.
Warsaw, the nation’s capital, took the third lowest spot in the ranking, with 60 points. While it performed well economically, with high wages and low unemployment (ranking 3rd for both categories), it scored last for both access to housing and air quality.
