Izmir ranked world’s most affordable city for students

Izmir has been recognized as the most affordable city for education in the global rankings of the best places for students, according to QS Best Student Cities 2025.

In the latest rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), an international ranking organization, three cities from Türkiye – Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara – were featured among the best student cities in the world.

London maintained its title as the “world’s best student city” for the 6th consecutive time.

QS Best Student Cities 2025

The “QS Best Student Cities 2025” ranking, which includes 150 cities, placed Istanbul at 62nd, Ankara at 82nd, and Izmir at 129th. The rankings consider various criteria such as student opinions, cost of living, tuition fees, living conditions, employment opportunities and diversity.

While London held onto its title, Tokyo and Seoul were ranked second and third, respectively.

Performance of Turkish cities

The analysis of Turkish cities highlighted their performance as follows:

“Three Turkish cities have risen in the rankings. Istanbul climbed 13 places from last year to secure the 62nd spot, making it the highest-ranked city in Türkiye. Ankara entered the top 100, and Izmir is recognized among the world’s most developed cities.”

Izmir: A leader in affordability

Istanbul leads nationally in all indicators except for “affordability,” where Izmir stands out as the global leader. Izmir showed improvement in all 6 QS indicators, including the “Student Voice,” which considers nearly 100,000 responses from current, former and prospective students.

Izmir, now the second most developed city in the world, climbed 24 places to rank 129th.

Ben Sowter, QS Vice President, praised Türkiye’s exceptional performance in this year’s rankings, stating, “Istanbul’s consistent success as Türkiye’s best student city rightfully acknowledges its significance in education, innovation and culture. Izmir is the most affordable city, and Indonesia is the most affordable country.”