The best university cities of 2018
Where are the top student cities in the world? Analysis of THE data reveals where the world’s best colleges can be found
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Have you ever wondered which city contains the highest number of institutions appearing in theÌýTimes Higher Education World 51¹ú²úÊÓƵÌýRankings 2018? Well, you’re in luck because we’ve analysed our top 200 and top 500 universities to see which cities have the highest concentrations of elite universities.Ìý
When looking at the top 200 list, you will probably not be surprised to see London in joint first place, with six universities. London is renowned as a destination for British and international students looking to benefit from a high-quality university education. The closeÌýclustering of its institutions, and the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London system, means that students attending these universities are able to utilise facilities across the city.
London is matched by Boston-Cambridge (the two are grouped because of proximity), home to some of the most prestigious institutions in the world, including Harvard 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ. Other cities that boast several top 200 universities are Paris, Hong Kong, Berlin, and New York.
Cities with theÌýhighest concentration ofÌýtop 200 universitiesÌý
| Rank | Ìý°ä¾±³Ù¾±±ð²õ | Number of universities | Universities |
| =1 | Boston-Cambridge | 6 | 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Massachusetts |
| =1 | London | 6 | Royal Holloway, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London, UCL |
| =2 | Paris | 5 | Pierre and Marie Curie 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ |
| =2 | Hong Kong | 5 | Chinese 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Hong Kong |
| =3 | Berlin | 4 | Technical 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Berlin |
| =3 | Los Angeles | 4 | 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Southern California |
| =4 | Stockholm | 3 | Stockholm 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ |
| =4 | New York | 3 | Rutgers, the State 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of New Jersey |
| =5 | Shanghai | 2 | Shanghai Jiao Tong 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ |
| =5 | Beijing | 2 | Tsinghua 51¹ú²úÊÓƵÌý |
| =5 | San Francisco Bay Area | 2 | 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of California, Berkeley |
| =5 | Seoul | 2 | Sungkyunkwan 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ (SKKU) |
| =5 | Chicago | 2 | Northwestern 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Chicago |
| =5 | Singapore | 2 | National 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Singapore |
| =5 | Montreal | 2 | 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Montreal |
| =5 | Sydney | 2 | 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of New South Wales. 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Sydney |
| =5 | Barcelona | 2 | Pompeu Fabra 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ |
| =5 | Atlanta | 2 | Emory 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ |
| =5 | Melbourne | 2 | 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of MelbourneÌý |
Something to keep in mind is that some cities are significantly larger than others, which could be one of the reasons why they have more top-ranking universities. This could explain why there are so many high-ranking universities in London and Paris, compared with other major global cities.Ìý
Bearing this in mind, when analysing the data, we also looked at cities that are geographically closeÌýsuch as Copenhagen, Malmo and Lund; Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp; and Amsterdam and Utrecht and found that many of these clusters also have high numbers of top-ranking universities, but to maintain consistency we omitted these from our final tables. The only one that still features is Boston-Cambridge as they are simply too close to each other to leave out.Ìý
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If we widen the pool to look at the number of top 500 universities in a city, London once again takes the top spot with an impressive 15 institutions. This is hardly surprising, considering that London has one of the highest concentrations of higher education institutions in the world, with nearly 40 universities in total.
Paris comes second, with 10 universities, and Boston-Cambridge, again, scores well with eight top 500 universities, while Seoul and Melbourne are joint fourth with seven each.Ìý
However, some slightly surprising cities also appear on the list, including Frankfurt, Moscow and Tokyo. If you’re looking for a university city off the beaten track, it may be worth checking out some of these cities before making your final decision.Ìý
Cities with theÌýhighest concentration ofÌýtop 500 universitiesÌý
| Rank | CityÌý | Number of top 500 universities |
| 1 | London | 15 |
| 2 | Paris | 10 |
| 3 | Boston-Cambridge | 8 |
| 4 | Seoul, Melbourne | 7 |
| 5 | Hong Kong | 6 |
| 6 | Dublin, New York, Sydney | 5 |
| 7 | Barcelona, Berlin, Frankfurt, Chicago, Moscow, Tokyo, Los Angeles, MilanÌý | 4 |
| 8 | Atlanta, Shanghai, Stockholm | 3 |
| 9 | San Francisco Bay Area, Singapore, Beijing, Montreal | 2 |
Best universities in the top university cities
Best universities in London
Best universities in ParisÌý
Best universities in South Korea
Best universities in Melbourne
Best universities in Hong Kong
Best universities in New York
Best universities in Los Angeles
Best universities in Singapore
If you want to see more of some of these top university cities, we will be sharing one a day on our Ìýfor the next week. If you want to share images of your university city and tell us why you think it is the best, use #BestUniCity2018 so that we can see and share them, too.Ìý
Read more:ÌýBest universities in the worldÌý
