by Balancing your career and personal life can be difficult, but certainly not impossible, especially depending on where you live.
To determine the best and worst places for work-life balance, MoneyNerd analyzed 25 cities around the world and measured factors such as salary, cost of living, job opportunities and job satisfaction. Copenhagen was the #1 city for work-life balance in 2023, with Amsterdam ranking second. And despite the ubiquitous rush culture, New York ranked third.
As for the cities with the worst work-life balance, Beijing came first, followed by Lisbon and Budapest. See the full list here.
Top 5 cities for work-life balance
1. Copenhagen
Average salary: $44,474
Average number of available jobs in six industries: 306
Cost of living index: 65.5
Work-life balance rating: 8.6
Satisfaction rating: 7.6
Overall rating: 6.2
2. Amsterdam
Average salary: $44,367
Average number of jobs available in six industries: 724
Cost of Living Index: 59.5
Work-life balance rating: 8.3
Satisfaction rating: 7.4
Overall rating: 6.1
3. New York
Average salary: $71,401
Average number of jobs available in six industries: 7,646
Maintenance cost index: 100
Assessment of work-life balance: 5.2
Satisfaction rating: 7.0
Overall rating: 6.1
4. Oslo
Average salary: $46,196
Average number of jobs available in six industries: 92
Cost of Living Index: 62.3
Work-life balance rating: 8.5
Satisfaction rating: 7.4
Overall rating: 6.0
5. Zurich
Average salary: $82,191
Average number of available jobs in six industries: 338
Cost of Living Index: 94.8
Work-life balance rating: 7.7
Satisfaction rating: 7.5
Overall rating: 6.0
Top 5 worst cities for work-life balance
1. Beijing
Average salary: $18,366
Average number of available jobs in six industries: 1,530
Cost of Living Index: 41.6
Work-life balance assessment: not applicable
Satisfaction rating: 5.6
Overall rating: 2.1
2. Lisbon
Average salary: $13,887
Average number of jobs available in six industries: 194
Cost of Living Index: 43.7
Work-life balance rating: 6.7
Satisfaction rating: 6.0
Overall rating: 2.3
3. Budapest
Average salary: $12,664
Average number of available jobs in six industries: 209
Cost of living index: 32.9
Work-life balance rating: 7.6
Satisfaction rating: 6.1
Overall rating: 2.3
4. Dubai
Average salary: $50,853
Average number of available jobs in six industries: 415
Cost of living index: 57.2
Work-life balance assessment: not applicable
Satisfaction rating: 6.6
Overall rating: 2.9
5. Hong Kong
Average salary: $34,271
Average number of jobs available in six industries: 1,100
Cost of Living Index: 70.6
Work-life balance assessment: not applicable
Satisfaction rating: 5.4
Overall rating: 3.0
Still, work-life balance is not a universal measure when it comes to different industries. The study found that some cities are better than others for certain careers. For professionals, Amsterdam is the best city for work-life balance, followed by Copenhagen and Vienna. Among sales specialists, Copenhagen ranks first, followed by Stockholm and Oslo. For marketers, the best city is Amsterdam, followed by New York and Copenhagen. For lawyers, the best places to work are London, Oslo and Berlin respectively. Technical professionals do best in Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Berlin. Finally, for accountants, the best places to strike a work-life balance are Copenhagen, followed by Amsterdam and Zurich.
