QS Best Student Cities 2023: Which cities are new to our ranking?

This year's QS Best Student Cities ranking is our biggest ever, with several cities featuring for the first time ever. 

Let's take a closer look at some of this year's entrants and their areas of strength according to our ranking which measures a range of indicators (which you can read about in our methodology).

Durham*

Location: United States
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 76th
Top-ranked university: Duke University (=50th)
Highest-performing indicator: Rankings (46th)

Durham did feature in the previous edition of the QS Best Student Cities rankings but was initially mislabelled as being Durham, United Kingdom rather than Durham, United States.

Astana (Nur-Sultan 2019 - 2022)

Location: Kazakhstan
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 92nd
Top-ranked university: Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (150th)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (=10th)

Amman

Location: Jordan
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 113th
Top-ranked university: University of Jordan (591-600)
Highest-performing indicator: Employer activity (52nd)

Tainan

Location: Taiwan
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 115th
Top-ranked university: National Cheng Kung University (=224th)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (19th)

Busan

Location: South Korea
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 118th
Top-ranked university: Pusan National University (601-650)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (21st)

Montpellier

Location: France
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 119th
Top-ranked university: Université de Montpellier (501-510)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (35th)

Bandung

Location: Indonesia
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 120th
Top-ranked university: Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) (=235th)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (8th)

Cluj-Napoca

Location: Romania
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 122nd
Top-ranked university: Babes-Bolyai University (1001-1200)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (12th)

Gwangju

Location: South Korea
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 123rd
Top-ranked university: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (=288th)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (17th)

Baku

Location: Azerbaijan
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: =126th
Top-ranked university: Baku State University (1001-1200)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (1st)

Surabaya

Location: Indonesia
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: =126th
Top-ranked university: Airlangga University (=369th)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (6th)

Kaunas

Location: Lithuania
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 128th
Top-ranked university: Kaunas University of Technology (801-1000)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (=72nd)

Quito

Location: Ecuador
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 130th
Top-ranked university: Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) (701-750)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (=33rd)

Timisoara

Location: Romania
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 131st
Top-ranked university: West University of Timisoara (1201-1400)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (7th)

Bucharest

Location: Romania
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 132nd
Top-ranked university: University of Bucharest (1001-1200)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (=13th)

Taichung

Location: Taiwan
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 133rd
Top-ranked university: National Chung Hsing University (651-700)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (27th)

Albany

Location: United States
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 134th
Top-ranked university: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (=461st)
Highest-performing indicator: Student mix (85th)

Montevideo

Location: Uruguay
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 135th
Top-ranked university: Universidad de Montevideo (UM) (=449th)
Highest-performing indicator: Desirability (97th)

Denver

Location: United States
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 136th
Top-ranked university: University of Colorado, Denver (=428th)
Highest-performing indicator: Desirability (70th)

Iasi

Location: Romania
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 137th
Top-ranked university: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (1201-1400)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (5th)

Xi'an

Location: Mainland China
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 138th
Top-ranked university: Xi’an Jiaotong University (302nd)
Highest-performing indicator: Student voice / Employer activity (both 110th)

Irbid

Location: Jordan
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 139th
Top-ranked university: Jordan University of Science and Technology (801-1000)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (56th)

Łódź

Location: Poland
Best Student Cities 2023 rank: 140th
Top-ranked university: University of Lodz (801-1000)
Highest-performing indicator: Affordability (18th)