Delhi has been ranked as the world’s most affordable city for students in QS Best Studies Cities 2027. Mumbai has emerged as India’s highest-ranked student destination in the rankings.
Released by global higher education analysts QS Quacquarelli Symonds on Monday, the rankings assess 150 cities worldwide across six indicators: university quality, employer activity, affordability, desirability, student mix and student view.
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Mumbai has improved its position in the rankings this year, moving from 98th place in 2026 to 91st in 2027. Delhi has also climbed the list, improving from 104th to 99th. Chennai recorded a five-place jump, rising from 128th to 123rd. In contrast, Bengaluru is the only Indian city to register a decline, slipping six places from 108th to joint 114th. The drop is attributed partly to the highest international tuition fees among the four Indian cities, averaging around US$5,400 per year.
Both Delhi and Mumbai owe their positions to the same combination of strengths. Each ranks among the world’s top 35 for Employer Activity, the measure of graduate demand among recruiters, with Delhi 29th and Mumbai 34th, and both are strikingly cheap: Delhi is the single most affordable city in the entire ranking, first of 150, with international tuition averaging around US$2,700 a year, while Mumbai ranks 12th.
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How the ranking is compiled
Each ranked city is scored across six lenses, built from 23 indicators drawn from QS’ own surveys and a range of independent third-party sources. To be eligible, a city must have a population above 250,000 and be home to at least two universities in the QS World University Rankings.
In the overall rankings, In the overall rankings, Seoul has retained its position as the world’s best student city in the QS Best Student Cities 2027 rankings, followed by Tokyo and London, which held on to second and third places respectively. Melbourne climbed one spot to fourth, while Munich and Sydney shared fifth place. Paris remained seventh, with Berlin slipping to eighth. Vienna rose to ninth, pushing Zurich to 10th. Among Asian cities, Singapore retained 11th place, Beijing climbed to 12th, while Kuala Lumpur dropped three places to 15th. The rankings evaluate 150 cities worldwide on university quality, affordability, employer reputation, student diversity and overall student experience.
