Copenhagen ranks as the most attractive of the Nordic capitals – safety is the top priority

The Urban Attraction & Retention 2025 study of Nordic cities assessed the attractiveness and retention power of Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, and Oslo. Copenhagen is perceived as the best capital city in the comparison by both current and potential residents.

In a comparison of the capital cities of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway, Copenhagen emerged as by far the most attractive to potential residents. Copenhagen is viewed more positively than its neighboring capitals in nearly every aspect of attractiveness.

“Copenhagen ranks highest in the survey across five different dimensions: economic vitality, transportation links, housing costs, quality of life, and, above all, a safe living environment. Compared to other cities, the difference in perceptions of safety is significant—other cities score low in this aspect of attractiveness,” says Harri Leinikka, CEO of Reputation and Trust Analytics, which conducted the survey.

Stockholm’s strengths turned out to be its public services. Stockholm is the only capital city to receive a high rating for its public services. Helsinki ranked second in terms of service quality. The appeal of all the capital cities surveyed is dampened by high housing costs.

An analysis of the impact of these sub-areas reveals that a sense of safety is the most important factor attracting potential residents in all four capital cities.

“In addition to general well-being and a sense of community, the importance of personal well-being and a sense of security has grown in recent years. It’s not just about the spiral of shootings and explosions that has hit Stockholm; street violence is also occurring elsewhere, and low perceptions of safety are also weighing on the appeal of Helsinki and Oslo. Safety also appears to be the most important factor in retaining current residents of the capital,” says Leinikka.

People in Copenhagen and Oslo appreciate their hometowns—even Stockholm and Helsinki are better than their reputations

The same research questions were also posed to current residents of the capital cities. Copenhagen stands out as the highest-rated city even among its own residents, but Oslo residents rate their city almost as highly. Compared to Copenhagen residents, Oslo residents give higher ratings for their city’s sense of community and services.

“What’s interesting here is that Oslo residents perceive their city as safe, while outsiders do not. A similar difference is evident in the results for all cities, but for Oslo, the gap in perceptions is the widest,” says Leinikka.

Here's how we conducted the study

The results are based on the Urban Attraction & Retention 2025 survey of cities, conducted by Reputation and Trust Analytics from January to March 2025. The survey assessed how attractive and sustainable the Nordic capitals—Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, and Oslo—are perceived to be by both potential and current residents. Each capital city was assessed by approximately 200 current and potential residents of the cities.

The survey’s target group consisted of citizens aged 15–65 in the countries surveyed.

In the Urban Attraction & Retention research model, a city’s attractiveness score is calculated as the average of six different sub-areas: economic vitality, community, safety, location, services, and cost structure.

Additional information

Harri Leinikka, CEO, Reputation and Trust Analytics Oy

harri.leinikka@reputationandtrust.com

+358 40 505 5001

Alexander Widén, Senior Advisor, Reputation and Trust Analytics Sweden AB

alexander.widen@reputationandtrust.com

+46 (0) 70 471 23 32