Choosing a city to move to is easier with independent quality-of-life rankings in hand. Below is the current data from the Business Insider Polska “Best cities to live in” ranking (2025/2026 edition), which scores 16 voivodeship capitals on six criteria: unemployment, wages, secondary-market housing prices, healthcare accessibility, crime levels, and air quality.

Current Business Insider Polska ranking (2025/2026)

1. Rzeszów and Poznań (tied for 1st place); 2. Lublin and Katowice (3rd place); 3. Warsaw (5th place); 4. Łódź and Olsztyn (6th place); 5. Gdańsk and Szczecin (8th place); 6. Bydgoszcz (10th place); 7. Opole and Białystok (11th place); 8. Wrocław and Gorzów Wielkopolski (13th place); 9. Kraków (15th place); 10. Kielce (16th place, closing the list).

Rzeszów and Poznań: 2025/2026 leaders

A surprising but consistent result of recent years: Rzeszów, the capital of the Subcarpathian region, shares first place with Poznań. Both cities score high on low unemployment, affordable housing, and good healthcare accessibility: the factors that most strongly drive the final BI ranking.

Warsaw and Kraków: not leading, but for different reasons

The capital only sits mid-list (5th place): high wages in Warsaw are offset by high housing prices and a higher crime rate compared to smaller cities. Kraków, in turn, traditionally loses ground (15th place) due to air quality: the city’s terrain and air circulation patterns cause smog during the heating season, a problem already noted in the 2017 study and still relevant today.

Tricity (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot)

The Pomeranian cities continue to benefit from a convenient transport system (the SKM and PKM lines connecting Gdańsk, Sopot, and Gdynia) and their proximity to the sea. In the current ranking, Gdańsk ties with Szczecin for 8th place, a solid, though not top-tier, result.

Planning to open a business in Poland and choosing a city to register your JDG (sole proprietorship)? The local unemployment rate and wage level are important factors in that decision. More on registration and taxes for entrepreneurs is coming in our PIP 2026 and B2B/JDG series.