How the city finders score a place
The city finders compare 1,668 cities and towns in 27 European countries, and 2,406 neighborhoods inside the larger ones. This page sets out where the figures come from, how a figure becomes a score, how your weights turn scores into a ranking, and what the result can and cannot tell you.
Where the figures come from
Every score starts from a published figure. The city finders use official and open sources only: national statistics offices, police crime statistics, health and education ministries, published public transport timetables, census population grids and OpenStreetMap. Each country page lists its sources, with the year of each figure, in the table under "How the scores work" and again at the foot of the page.
Each factor carries a label that says what kind of figure it is:
- Measured. A published official statistic or survey result, used as published.
- Derived. Calculated by us from published data, for example the share of residents who live within 400 m of frequent public transport, worked out from timetables and a population grid.
- Editorial. A short descriptive note written by us. Editorial notes never affect a score.
- Planned. A factor we intend to add. It is not in the score.
No figure is estimated or filled in. Where a place has no published figure for a factor, the page says so, and that factor is left out of the place's match so the other factors carry the weight. The figure behind every score is shown beside it, so you can judge any gap for yourself.
From a figure to a factor score
Each figure is turned into a score from 0 to 100. Three methods are used, depending on the kind of figure.
- Half comparison, half fixed scale. This is the usual method for figures where more is better, such as hospital beds within reach or restaurants near home. The comparison half ranks the places in a country against each other: the weakest twentieth score 0 and the strongest twentieth score 100. The fixed half measures each place from zero up to the level of the strongest. The fixed half is there so that a place is not marked zero merely for coming last on a list of good options.
- Comparison only. Used where a figure has no natural zero, such as rent or a journey time. The weakest twentieth score 0 and the strongest twentieth score 100.
- The figure as it stands. Used where the figure is already a share of residents, such as the percentage who live near frequent public transport.
Two factors have their own scales. Safety counts violent crime twice as heavily as burglary. Half of the score compares the places with each other across the full range, and half sits on a fixed scale set for each country, so that large cities are not pushed to zero simply for recording more crime than small towns. Bike friendliness is scored on a fixed scale, so a country with few protected cycle tracks does not see its best place score 100 by default.
Neighborhoods are compared only with the other neighborhoods of the same city, using only the factors that can be measured inside a city. A neighborhood score of 80 in one city and 80 in another are not the same thing.
Where a country departs from these rules, its page says so under "How the scores work".
From factor scores to a match
The match score is your own. Every factor starts at a weight of 3 on a scale from 0 to 5, and you have 5 extra points to raise the factors you care about. Lowering a factor below 3 frees points to spend elsewhere, and a weight of 0 switches a factor off. Presets such as Family or Car-free are starting points that set several weights at once.
The match is then worked out in four steps:
- Weighted average. Each factor score is multiplied by the square of its weight, so a factor at 5 counts nearly three times as much as one at 3.
- Spread. The average is stretched so that strong matches separate from middling ones: below 50 it is multiplied by 0.9, and each point above 50 counts for 1.4.
- Strong fit and weak fit. A place that scores 85 or more on a factor you weighted 4 or 5 gains half a point, and a further point and a half if you weighted the factor 5 and it scores 90 or more. A place that scores 40 or less on a factor you weighted 4 or 5 loses a point, and a further three if you weighted it 5 and it scores 30 or less.
- Rounding. The result is rounded and kept between 0 and 100.
City size works differently. It is ignored until you choose a size. A place inside your chosen band then scores 100, and the score falls by 60 points for each doubling or halving away from the band.
The ranking shown when a page first loads, and the "best places" list further down each country page, use every factor at the same weight with no size chosen. They are a starting point, not a verdict.
The factors
Most countries share the same set of factors. The exact measure, year and source differ from country to country, because each country publishes different statistics, and are set out on each country page.
| Factor | What it measures | Countries |
|---|---|---|
| Housing cost | Typical rent, or home prices where rents are not published by place. Lower costs score higher. | 24 of 27 |
| Safety | Recorded violent crime and burglary per resident, with violent crime counting twice as much. | 25 of 27 |
| Bike friendliness | The share of residents who live near a cycle track separated from motor traffic, and the length of such track for the size of the place. Painted lanes do not count. | 27 of 27 |
| Access to nature | The share of land near homes, and across the whole place, that is park, forest or open nature. | 27 of 27 |
| International community | The share of residents who are foreign nationals or, where that is all that is published, born abroad. A guide to how used a place is to newcomers, not to how widely English is spoken. | 27 of 27 |
| Healthcare | Hospital capacity within reach of the place. For neighborhoods, the distance from homes to the nearest hospital. | 27 of 27 |
| Long-distance trains | Long-distance departures a day, and journey times to the country's largest cities. | 24 of 27 |
| Airport access | The fastest public transport journey to a major hub airport and to the nearest airport of any size. | 27 of 27 |
| Public transit | The share of residents who live within walking distance of frequent service, and of a rail, tram or metro stop. | 27 of 27 |
| Restaurants and bars | Restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs within walking distance of the average resident. | 27 of 27 |
| Cultural scene | Museums, theatres, cinemas and galleries within a few kilometres of the average resident. | 27 of 27 |
| Walkability | How many everyday needs, such as a supermarket, a pharmacy, a doctor and a nursery or school, the average resident can reach on foot. | 27 of 27 |
| International schools | International and foreign-curriculum schools within reach. | 25 of 27 |
| Childcare | Childcare places or enrolment for the youngest children. | 18 of 27 |
| City size | How close a place is to the size you prefer. Used only once you choose a size. | 27 of 27 |
Factors found on one country page only: Private rental supply (the Netherlands) and Self-employed ecosystem (the Netherlands).
Countries and data dates
Each country is built separately from that country's own sources. The date is the day the country's data set was assembled; the year of each individual figure is given on the country page.
| Country | Places | Cities with neighborhoods | Neighborhoods | Factors | Data pulled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 34 | 5 | 93 | 12 | 27 October 2026 |
| Belgium | 82 | 5 | 79 | 13 | 2 November 2026 |
| Bulgaria | 45 | 3 | 35 | 13 | 12 November 2026 |
| Croatia | 45 | 1 | 17 | 14 | 10 November 2026 |
| Cyprus | 25 | None | None | 11 | 13 November 2026 |
| Czechia | 65 | 5 | 85 | 14 | 1 November 2026 |
| Denmark | 41 | 5 | 117 | 14 | 30 October 2026 |
| Estonia | 35 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 12 November 2026 |
| Finland | 55 | 1 | 33 | 14 | 10 November 2026 |
| France | 91 | 5 | 102 | 14 | 13 October 2026 |
| Germany | 96 | 17 | 764 | 14 | 9 October 2026 |
| Greece | 69 | 5 | 27 | 12 | 21 October 2026 |
| Hungary | 63 | 1 | 23 | 13 | 10 November 2026 |
| Ireland | 57 | 1 | 29 | 13 | 16 October 2026 |
| Italy | 151 | 7 | 61 | 14 | 16 October 2026 |
| Latvia | 42 | 1 | 46 | 14 | 13 November 2026 |
| Lithuania | 43 | 2 | 32 | 14 | 11 November 2026 |
| Luxembourg | 42 | 1 | 23 | 12 | 10 November 2026 |
| Malta | 29 | None | None | 12 | 29 October 2026 |
| Netherlands | 45 | 4 | 152 | 16 | 9 October 2026 |
| Poland | 94 | 5 | 157 | 14 | 20 October 2026 |
| Portugal | 70 | 5 | 68 | 13 | 14 October 2026 |
| Romania | 59 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 13 November 2026 |
| Slovakia | 37 | 2 | 37 | 14 | 11 November 2026 |
| Slovenia | 38 | 2 | 28 | 13 | 2 November 2026 |
| Spain | 163 | 5 | 73 | 13 | 14 October 2026 |
| Sweden | 52 | 5 | 311 | 14 | 1 November 2026 |
What the scores cannot tell you
- A score is a comparison, not a grade. It says how a place stands against the other places on the same country's list. Scores are not comparable between countries: a 70 in one country and a 70 in another were measured against different lists and often from different statistics.
- Recorded crime is not the same as risk. Crime is counted where it happens, so places that draw commuters, visitors and nightlife record more per resident than quieter ones. Countries also count offences differently. A low safety score means more recorded crime than other places on the list, not that a place is unsafe.
- Timetables are a snapshot. Train, airport and public transport figures come from the published timetables for ordinary weekdays named on each page. Engineering works and seasonal changes move them.
- Housing figures lag the market. Official rent and price statistics describe registered contracts or sales, which usually run below what a newcomer is asked for today.
- OpenStreetMap is only as complete as its mappers. Counts of restaurants, cycle tracks and green space depend on how thoroughly a place has been mapped.
- Some figures cover a wider area. Where a statistic is published only for a county or province, the page says so beside the figure.
- Numbers do not capture how a place feels. The city finders are for turning a long list into a shortlist worth visiting.
Updates and corrections
Each country page shows the date its data was pulled. Figures are refreshed as sources publish new releases, and new countries are added as they are completed. If a figure looks wrong, write to info@karteglobal.com with the place, the factor and the source you are comparing against.
Citing the city finders
You are welcome to quote rankings and figures with credit to Karte Global and a link to the page you used. Because a ranking depends on the weights chosen, say which weights you used: "with every factor weighted equally" for the starting ranking, or the name of the preset. A suggested form:
Karte Global, "Italy City Finder," data as of 16 October 2026, https://karteglobal.com/city-finder/it
The underlying figures belong to their publishers and carry their own licences, which are listed at the foot of each country page.
Informational research tools. The city finders compare places using general statistics. They do not assess eligibility for any visa, residence permit or citizenship, and nothing in them is legal, immigration, tax or financial advice. Karte Global LLC is not a law firm and its principal does not act as an attorney for clients.