Delhi world’s most affordable city for students: QS ranking

Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai have improved their positions in the “Best Student Cities” ranking for 2026, compiled by global higher education consultancy QS — Quacquarelli Symonds, after assessing 150 cities worldwide. Seoul, Tokyo and London are the top three cities in the ranking.

Delhi emerged as the world’s most affordable student city, ranking first globally in this indicator. The QS considered various factors such as safety, pollution, cost of living, desirability and employer activity while preparing the index.

Mumbai re-entered the global top 100, rising 15 places to secure 98^th position in this ranking compared to the ranking for 2025. Delhi climbed seven spots to 104^th, while Bengaluru bagged 108^th rank, improving from last year’s position of 130. “Chennai also advances significantly, gaining 12 positions to rank 128^th,” the QS said in a release.

While Delhi emerged as the world’s most affordable student city, Mumbai and Bengaluru are within the top 15 in this criteria. “In the Employer Activity category, Delhi and Mumbai both break into the global top 50, highlighting strong graduate employment prospects. Bangalore makes the sharpest leap in this dimension, jumping 41 places to rank 59^th, while Chennai climbs an impressive 29 spots, underscoring a growing recognition of its graduates in the job market,” the QS said.

Jessica Turner, CEO of QS, said India’s rising presence in the 2026 QS Best Student Cities Rankings reflects a structural shift in the country’s higher education landscape. “As we approach the fifth anniversary of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, its focus on global engagement, quality enhancement, and student-centric learning is starting to bear fruit on the international stage. The progress of cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai is particularly telling,” she said adding that in just ten years, India has seen a 390% increase in the number of universities featured in the QS World University Rankings. “That kind of trajectory is rare — and now we’re seeing it reflected at the city level too. If this momentum continues, backed by reform and rising global visibility, — we’re likely to witness an even sharper upward trajectory before the decade is out,” she added.

Several Asian cities climbed in the global standings. “This year, 39 cities from the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Australia and New Zealand) are featured, including three newcomers. Notably, Kyoto and Osaka make their debut as individually ranked cities, having previously been grouped under the Kyoto–Osaka–Kobe metropolitan label. Among the 34 Asian cities ranked last year, 26 have improved their positions, one remains unchanged, and only seven have declined — with just four falling by more than three places,” the QS said.

Seoul is the world’s best student city and ended London’s six-year run at the top. “London, while maintaining strong results in Employer Activity and Student Mix, drops to third, largely due to a steep decline in affordability, where it now ranks just 137th globally,” the QS said.