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How Toronto ranks

Startup Genome ranks Toronto 8th among the world's top startup ecosystems

Toronto is ranked number 8 in the Startup Genome's Ecosystem Report 2012. The report lays the foundation for a new framework for assessing startups more effectively by measuring the thresholds and milestones of development that Internet startups move through.

2012 Cities of Opportunity: Toronto ranks third overall

The fifth annual Cities of Opportunity, a report from Price Waterhouse Coopers and the Partnership for New York City, is a quantitative and qualitative look at 2012's emerging picture of city life in 27 world capitals of finance, commerce and culture in 10 broad categories. Toronto is ranked third overall, showing great balance, after New York and London who tied for first place. Toronto was ranked second in the intellectual capital, innovation and Transportation and Infrastructure, health, safety and security, and sustainability and the natural environment categories.

Toronto ranked 5th in the world and 2nd in North America as the world's most competitive city

KPMG's 2012 Comparative Alternative study (pdf) found that Toronto offers one of the world's most cost effective business and investment climates. Toronto ranks fifth in the world and second in North America of cities with populations over two million people. The KPMG study compares business cost and other competitiveness factors in 44 cities with a population over two million.

Aon Hewitt ranks Toronto 2nd in the top five lowest risk cities in the world for employers

Aon Hewitt's study, the 2012 People Risk Index ranked Toronto as the world's second lowest risk cities. The Index measures the risks organizations face with recruitment, employment, and relocation in 131 cities worldwide by analyzing factors such as demographics, access to education, talent employment, employment practices, and government regulations. Aon Hewitt notes that Toronto is among the five lowest risk cities primarily because of Canada's strict enforcement of equal opportunity laws, clear government-mandated health and retirement benefits, low level of corruption, and the high quality and broad availability of training facility. The top five lowest risk cities for employers are New York, Toronto, Singapore, Montreal and London.

Toronto is 5th on the Toronto Board of Trade's 2012 scorecard on prosperity

Toronto is ranked fifth in the Toronto Board of Trade's 2012 Scorecard on Prosperity's (pdf) overall comparison of 24 global metropolitan areas, measuring liveability and economic performance. Toronto climbed three spots in the rankings compared to 2011 Scorecard and remains in the top five in the world on Labour Attractiveness. The Toronto Board Trade notes that Toronto's number one advantage continues to be its diversity; with 45 per cent of the population foreign born and it continues to lead all 24 metro areas.

One of the top 10 global leaders of financial centres

The March 2012 Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) finds that Toronto remains in 10th position (pdf), saying "Toronto offers a breadth of financial services activity that makes it the third largest financial services centre in all of North America." The GFCI evaluates the competitiveness of 75 financial centres worldwide using results of online surveys completed by financial services leaders. The survey is updated every six months.

Toronto second of the top 12 North American cities for IT jobs

Modis, a global provider of information technology staffing services, identified Toronto as second in the top 12 North American markets for IT jobs in 2012. Modis notes that Toronto is the fourth largest IT market in North America, home to many Fortune 500 companies and the third largest financial center in North America next to New York and Chicago.

Toronto remains the world's fourth most liveable city

Toronto is again ranked fourth after Melbourne, Vienna and Vancouver in the Economist Intelligence Unit's August 2012 Livability Ranking Report of 140 world cities. Cities are ranked on political and social stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

Toronto #4 of World's Top Tech Hubs

In a study released earlier this year Toronto was ranked fourth among 25 cities worldwide as a top tech hub by Startup Genome a project that aims to increase the success rate of start-ups and accelerate the pace of innovation globally.

Toronto 12th on Global City Competitiveness survey

Toronto was ranked 12th in The Economist's Economic Intelligence Unit's report, Benchmarking Global City Competitiveness (pdf). The survey ranked cities ranked in eight areas: economic strength, physical capital, financial maturity, institutional effectiveness, social and cultural character, environment and natural hazards and global appeal.

Toronto ranked #2 in Top 10 Smart Cities on the Planet

In its first global ranking of smart cities, Fast Company magazine ranks Toronto second only to Vienna as a top smart city and the highest ranked North American city. Says the magazine, "Smart cities use information and communication technologies to be more intelligent and efficient in the use of resources, resulting in cost and energy savings, improved service delivery and quality of life, and reduced environmental footprint - all supporting innovation and the low-carbon economy."

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2011

Toronto ranked 9th in the Knight Frank Global Cities Index

The 2011 Knight Frank Global Cities Survey (pdf) ranked Toronto ninth among 40 international cities. The survey assesses key markets in terms of their provision of investment opportunities and their influence on global business leaders and the political elite, ranking economic activity, political power, quality of life and knowledge and influence.

Top World Universities, 2011-2012

Toronto is home to one of the top North American universities according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2011-2012, which ranked University of Toronto as 19th out of 400 North American universities. The ranking is based on 13 separate performance indicators covering all of the core missions of the world-class university – teaching, research knowledge transfer and international outlook.

15th in Mercer worldwide Quality of Living survey

The 2011 Mercer Quality of Living survey ranked Toronto 15 out of 50 cities worldwide. In 2010 Toronto was ranked 16th. Canadian cities again dominated the 2011 rankings in the Americas. The annual survey evaluates 221 cities based on various measures relating to quality of living, such as political, social, economic and environmental factors, safety, public services and transportation, and recreation. In a related personal safety survey, Toronto is ranked 17th out of 50.

Toronto ranked #10 as an innovation destination

The Innovation Cities Top Cities ranks the top cities in the world as innovation destinations. Toronto is #10 in the Innovation Cities Top 100 Index of global innovation economy, conducted by Australian consulting innovation analysts, 2thinknow. Toronto was the only top 25 ranked city, and second to only Boston (#1), San Francisco (#7) and Washington DC (#23) of North American cities ranked in the study.

Toronto steady in 10th place in survey of 75 world finance centres

In the September Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) 10 (pdf), Toronto is ranked tenth in the world and fifth most likely to become more significant as a financial centre. The GFCI is updated every six months and provides profiles, ratings and rankings for 75 world financial centres.

Toronto #12 in Global Economic Power Index

The Global Economic Power Index ranks the 25 most economically powerful cities in the world. The index rated cities for economic output, global economic power score, financial centre score and innovation.

Toronto continues to be world's fourth most liveable city

Toronto is ranked fourth for the third time after Melbourne, Vienna and Vancouver in the Economist Intelligence Unit's August 2011 Livability Ranking Report of 140 world cities. Cities are ranked on political and social stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

Toronto 9th overall: USA and Canada Green City Index

The USA and Canada Green City Index (pdf) analyzes the environmental sustainability of 27 major metropolitan areas in both countries conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit for Siemens AG. The index scored 27 American and Canadian cities in nine categories: CO2, energy, land use, buildings. transport, water, waste, air and environmental governance.

Toronto is Canada's most sustainable large city

In the 2011 Corporate Knights Sustainable Cities survey. Toronto was ranked Canada's most sustainable large city. The survey studied 28 indicators of sustainability in five categories — ecological integrity, economic security, infrastructure and built environment, governance and empowerment and social well-being. Seventeen Canadian cities were surveyed.

#12 Innovation Cities™ Top 100 Index

Toronto ranked #12 in among the top cities to live, work and play for the innovation economy in the Innovation Cities™ Top 100 Index of global innovation economy, conducted by the Australian consulting innovation analysts, 2thinknow. Toronto was the only top 25 ranked city, and second to only Boston (#1), San Francisco (#7) and Washington DC (#23) of North American cities ranked in the study. The top 100 cities were ranked from 289 cities scored.

Cities of Opportunity: second overall

The fourth annual Cities of Opportunity, a report from Price Waterhouse Coopers and the Partnership for New York City, is a quantitative and qualitative look at 2011's emerging picture of city life in 26 world capitals of finance, commerce and culture in 10 broad categories. Toronto ranked second overall, and second after New York in both finance and intellectual capital and innovation, as well as health, safety and security.

Toronto in the top 10 American Cities of the Future

In its first American Cities of the Future 2011/12 report, fDiIntelligence (a division of the Financial Times) awarded Toronto seven top 10 rankings including city of the future (#4), economic potential (#3), infrastructure (#5) and quality of life. fDiIntelligence provides industry leading insight into globalization that allow organizations such as investment promotion agencies, companies, services providers and academic institutions to make informed decisions about foreign direct investment and associated activities.

One of the top 10 global leaders of financial centres

In the March 2011 Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 9), Toronto has risen from 12th place to equal 10th with Sydney, Australia and is considered the clear leader in Canada. Toronto remains among the top three global leaders in North America. The GFCI 9 report evaluated the competitiveness of 75 financial centres worldwide using results of online surveys completed by financial services leaders. The survey is updated every six months.

Second greenest Canadian city in leading the fight against climate change

The World Wildlife Fund Canada's Earth Hour List, compiled in partnership with Corporate Knights, highlights positive actions being taken by municipalities to fight climate change.The World Wildlife Fund. Toronto is ranked second with a score of 7.2 out of ten.

4th in world's liveability survey

The Economist Intelligence Unit again ranked Toronto fourth in the world in 2011 for liveability, following Vancouver, Vienna and Melbourne. This is the second time Toronto has received this ranking from the Economist Intelligent Unit. The annual survey rates 140 cities worldwide across five categories: stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

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2010

Lowest risk city in the world for employers

In a global study, Aon Consulting's People Risk Index found that Toronto has the lowest risk to recruit, employ and relocate employees. The Index measured the risks that organizations face with recruitment, employment and relocation in 90 cities worldwide by analyzing demographics, education, employment practices and government regulations. AON selected the 90 cities based on population size, rate of population growth, level of business investment and geographic spread in the world. The top five lowest risk cities for employers are Toronto, New York, Singapore, London and Montreal.

World's most liveable city

PriceWaterHouseCoopers' Cities of Opportunity study took a quantitative and qualitative look at the emerging picture of city life in 2010 in 21 capitals of business, finance and culture worldwide. Toronto led the study in city liveability, with high quality of life and health, and a diverse population with advanced education. Toronto worked well for business, too, offering strength, good value and, this year, building more skyscrapers than any city except Tokyo. Toronto was also one of the top four cities with the most economic clout in the same study, having a major stock exchange, and home to leading global companies' headquarters and continually attracting foreign investments as a means of creating jobs.

6th as the world's most business competitive global city

KPMG's 2010 Competitive Alternatives study found that Toronto offers one of the most cost effective business and investment climates in the world. The study measured 26 business cost components, including labour costs, facility costs, transportation costs, utility costs and income taxes in 10 countries and more than 100 cities. The study also compared data on non-cost competitiveness factors that could influence the attractiveness of locations to business, such as labour availability and skills, economic conditions and markets, innovation, infrastructure, the regulatory environment, cost of living and quality of life. The basis for comparison is the after tax cost of start-up and operations over a 10 year period.

16th in Worldwide Quality of Living survey

The 2010 Mercer Quality of Living survey ranked Toronto 16 out of 50 cities worldwide. Canadian cities dominated the rankings in the Americas. The survey evaluated 221 cities and selected 50 cities based on various measures relating to quality of living, such as political, social, economic and environmental factors, safety, public services and transportation, and recreation.

Canada's best sustainable city

Toronto ranked top among Canada's big cities in Corporate Knights' fourth annual Sustainable Cities report that measured the relative sustainability of 17 Canadian cities, considering the ability of individuals and communities to flourish without contributing to the progressive degradation of the human and natural systems, such as ecological integrity, economic security, governance and empowerment, infrastructure and built environment and social wellbeing.

4th on the Toronto Board of Trade's scorecard on prosperity

Toronto ranked as the fourth most prosperous city in the Toronto Board of Trade's April 2010 report (pdf) among the world's 23 urban regions across a total of 34 indicators, behind Boston, Dallas and Barcelona, but ahead of Calgary, San Francisco and Paris. Toronto excelled in the Labour Attractiveness category, benefiting from a highly diverse population base, strong and consistent population growth, a low homicide rate and an affordable cost of living.

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2009

4th in world's liveability survey

The Economist Intelligence Unit Toronto ranked fourth in the world in 2009 for liveability, following Vancouver, Vienna and Melbourne. The December 2009 study rated 140 cities worldwide across five categories: stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

One of the top 12 global leaders of financial centres

The 2009 Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 7), ranked Toronto 12th out of 75 financial centres (pdf) ahead of Frankfurt, Boston and Beijing. Toronto is also among the top three global leaders in North America. The latest GFCI 7 report evaluated the competitiveness of 75 financial centres worldwide using results of online surveys completed by financial services leaders. Toronto made three appearances in the top 10 out of five sub-indices of competitiveness. Toronto's regulatory and tax environment, as well as its people factors, infrastructure and quality of life, contributed to its rating.

One of Canada's chief economic powerhouses

A December 2009 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the economic competitiveness of the Toronto metropolitan region outlined the Toronto region's challenges with respect to its mixed economic performance. GDP per capita and GDP growth rates are below the Canadian average. It has had lower annual economic and labour productivity growth than the average of OECD metropolitan regions over 1995-2005.

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2008

10th as the world's most economically powerful cities

Toronto made Forbes Magazine 2008 list of the top 10 most economically powerful cities competing with Madrid, Mexico and Philadelphia for the number ten spot. Toronto's regional economic growth ranked amongst the highest, ahead of Philadelphia, Madrid and Mexico City. The rankings were based on a comparison of the cities' expected GDP growth from 2005 to 2020, their economic stability, liveability and ease of doing business, as well as estimated living expenses and earnings for the average worker.

18th highest number of patents globally

The World Intellectual Property Organization which tracks the number and types of patents issued worldwide reported that Toronto had the 18th highest number of patents globally. Patents are one of the most direct ways of measuring innovation.

One of the world's top ten global cities

In its November/December 2008 issue, Foreign Policy magazine ranked Toronto as one of the world's top ten global cities after New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Singapore, Chicago and Seoul. FP's inaugural 2008 Global Cities Index ranked 60 cities according to the following categories: business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience and political engagement. Toronto ranked fourth for culture (after London, Paris and New York), tenth for human capital, 18th for information exchange, twenty-fourth for political engagement and 26th for business activity.

13th on Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index

The 2008 Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index (pdf) ranked Toronto 13th in the world (after London, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Chicago, Hong Kong, Paris, Frankfurt, Seoul, Amsterdam, Madrid and Sydney) and third in North America (after New York and Chicago). Developed for MasterCard, the index evaluates 75 of the world's leading global cities and their role in driving the international economy based on seven categories: legal and political framework, economic stability, ease of doing business, financial flow, business centre, knowledge creation and information flow, and liveability. Toronto ranked sixth, alongside Montreal and Vancouver, for its legal and political framework, and fourth for ease of doing business, after Singapore, Hong Kong and London.

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