Delhi has been ranked the most affordable student city in the world, according to QS Best Student Cities 2026 rankings released by QS Quacquarelli Symonds. A total of four Indian cities—Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai—are featured, all showing an upward trend from their previous year’s rankings.
Rankings of Indian Cities in 2026 (with previous year comparison)
| City | 2026 Rank | 2025 Rank | Movement | Overall Score |
| Mumbai | 98 | 113 | ▲ 15 | 86.3 |
| Delhi | 104 | 111 | ▲ 7 | 60.5 |
| Bengaluru | 108 | 130 | ▲ 22 | 59.6 |
| Chennai | 128 | 140 | ▲ 12 | 54.1 |
Top 5 Student Cities Globally (2026):
- Seoul, South Korea
- Tokyo, Japan
- London, United Kingdom (fell from rank 1 due to affordability issues)
- Munich, Germany
- Melbourne, Australia
Affordability Highlights
- Delhi: Ranked 1st globally for affordability (score: 96.5). Delhi named world’s most affordable student city; Indian cities climb global ranks.
- Bengaluru: Affordability score – 84.3
- Chennai: Affordability score – 80.1
Affordability rankings are based on average tuition fees and cost of living, where Indian cities continue to outperform major global cities.
Employer Activity Indicator (Graduate Employability)
- Mumbai & Delhi: Both placed in the Global Top 50.
- Bangalore: Improved dramatically, climbing 41 places to rank 59.
- Chennai: Rose by 29 places.
This reflects growing employer trust in graduates from Indian institutions and increased industry-academia alignment.
Institutional Contribution to Rankings
- Mumbai: University of Mumbai, IIT Bombay
- Delhi: University of Delhi, IIT Delhi
- Bengaluru: IISc, IIM Bengaluru, private tech universities
- Chennai: Anna University, IIT Madras
Indian Universities in Global Rankings (2025)
- Nearly 50% of Indian universities improved their positions.
- IIT Delhi was the top-ranked Indian institution.
- MIT (USA) remained World No. 1 university for the 14th consecutive year.
Significance of Ranking
- Highlights India’s growing presence in global higher education landscape.
- Reinforces Delhi’s strategic advantage as a low-cost but high-opportunity education destination.
- Indicates success of NEP 2020 in enhancing education quality and global competitiveness.
- Rising employability scores of Indian cities reflect better industry integration with academia.
Policy Backdrop: NEP 2020
- The achievement coincides with 5 years of the National Education Policy (NEP).
- NEP’s focus on internationalisation, digital learning, skill alignment, and quality benchmarks is reflected in city- and university-level global rankings.