The QS Best Student Cities 2025 rankings have identified Montreal as one of the best cities in the world for foreign students. The biggest city in Quebec, it ranked tenth out of 150 cities evaluated with a remarkable 92.1 out of 100 overall score.
The top ten cities in the QS Best Student Cities 2025 rankings are London, Tokyo, Seoul, Munich, Melbourne, Sydney, Paris, Zurich, Berlin, and Montreal.
The largest and most populous city in Canada, Toronto, came in at number eleven on the QS Best Student Cities 2025 list, while Vancouver came in at number nineteen. Six primary categories were used in the QS Top Universities study’s evaluation of cities. Every city had to have more than 250,000 inhabitants and at least two universities listed in the most recent QS World University Rankings.
Located in the heart of the downtown region, McGill University and Concordia University are two of Montreal’s universities, which are well-known for their thriving cultural scenes.
Student diversity
Apart from the QS university rankings, the poll evaluated cities based on five other criteria. For example, the “Student mix” category assessed the proportion of students, including international students, in the city’s population. It also took into account how inclusive the nation and the city are where universities are located.
Tourisme Montréal reports that 40,000 foreign students from 150 different countries study in the city each year. This part of the survey looked at how inclusive the school is of students’ identities, lifestyles, and cultural origins.
Appeal
“Desirability,” the second rating category, looked at things including safety, pollution, and the city’s general appeal as a study location. In this category, Toronto received a score of 92.8, while Montreal received an 85.1.
Surveys asking students to name their dream student city—the place they would most like to attend college if they could study anywhere in the world—accounted for a sizable amount of the desirability score.
Employer engagement
“Employer activity,” which examined cities as major hubs for companies looking to hire recent graduates, was another significant rating factor. This category took into account data on youth employment rates and highlighted local colleges that are highly regarded by employers in the country for turning out top graduates in a variety of fields.
Another important aspect that was given greater weight than domestic employer recognition was the choice of foreign employers. Toronto had the highest score of 84.3 in this area, placing it first among Canadian cities. Vancouver outperformed Montreal as well, earning 78.9 and 77, respectively, indicating their appeal to companies looking to hire fresh talent.
Cost-effectiveness
Montreal scored higher than Toronto and Vancouver (21.2 and 25.1, respectively) in the “Affordability” category (41.6). Toronto’s lower affordability score probably made it so that the city did not finish in the top ten overall.
To put things in perspective, Rentals.ca lists Montreal as the 22nd most expensive city in Canada for apartment rentals. As the most costly, Vancouver is at the top, closely followed by Toronto in third.
The affordability category used the “Big Mac Index,” a common way to compare retail pricing of common commodities, to calculate scores and also took tuition fees into account.
Student perspective
This category assesses students’ perceptions of their city in relation to a number of variables, including public transportation, diversity, friendliness, nightlife, culture, and sustainability.
It also takes into account the possibility that students will remain in the city for a minimum of a year following graduation, which QS suggests reflects their opinions on job prospects and their general impression of the place.
In this category, Toronto received a slightly better score of 94.3, while Montreal received a score of 93.6.