Kuopio, perceived as a safe and pleasant place to live, saw the biggest increase in its appeal – Tampere remains popular

 

Kuopio, which is perceived as safe and pleasant, has seen the greatest increase in its appeal among Finland’s ten largest cities. Tampere remains Finland’s most attractive city, while the Helsinki metropolitan area is more appealing to its residents than its reputation suggests.

Attraction&Retention annual Attraction&Retention, which measures perceptions of cities, was conducted for the fifth time. In January and February, T-Media surveyed residents of Finland’s ten largest cities on their views regarding the cities’ ability to retain residents, as well as potential residents’ views on the cities’ appeal.

As in previous years, Tampere is the most attractive city in the survey and has managed to boost its reputation compared to last year.

 

 

“It is difficult to compete with Tampere, which has invested heavily in development, in terms of vitality and overall performance. However, Kuopio scores higher than Tampere in terms of safety and the cost of living,” says Andrei Sergejeff, senior expert at T-Media.

 

Safety and livability influence the choice of where to live – Kuopio is considered the safest city in the study

 

A study conducted by T-Media shows that when choosing a place to live, the attractiveness of the area—and especially its safety—has an even greater influence than municipal services. A strong sense of community in the area also emerged as a very important factor in the decision-making process.

Overall, perceptions of safety in the ten largest cities have declined among potential residents. Of the ten largest cities, Kuopio is considered the safest, receiving a score of 4.10 for safety and livability.

“Kuopio was the only city whose current residents gave it excellent ratings for safety and livability. No other city achieved an ‘excellent’ rating in this important category,” says Sergejeff.

 

 

The Helsinki Metropolitan Area is better than its reputation suggests – residents view their city more favorably than outsiders do

 

Residents of Espoo, Helsinki, and Vantaa rate their own cities much more favorably than potential residents do.

Residents of Espoo rate their city highly as a place to live—in fact, ratings have even risen slightly from last year. In the eyes of potential residents, however, Espoo has lost some of its appeal compared to last year and ranks sixth among the most attractive cities.

 

This is how we conducted the study

The results are based on Attraction&Retention of cities conducted by T-Media in January–February 2025.

The study examined the attractiveness and retention power of Finland’s ten largest cities in terms of population, both among potential residents and the cities’ own residents. A total of 2,166 city residents participated in the survey, and 2,067 potential residents responded. The study’s target group consisted of Finns aged 15–65, excluding those in the Åland Islands.

Attraction&Retention T-Media’s Attraction&Retention, a city’s attractiveness score is calculated as the average of six different categories: economic vitality, community, environment, location, services, and cost structure.

 

For more information:

Andrei Sergejeff, Senior Specialist, T-Media

andrei.sergejeff@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com, +358 50 3030204

 

Harri Leinikka, CEO, T-Media

harri.leinikka@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com, 040 505 5001

 

Photo: Petra Kuha / City of Kuopio