Released July 28th 2009 in Melbourne Australia, below is the full 2thinknow Innovation Cities Global 256 Index. The largest ranking of cities globally ever under-taken, the final analysis is based on 162 Innovation Indicators weighted against 21 current global trends and summed into 3 factors.
Please purchase the accompanying Innovation Cities Analysis Report for methodology, and an explanation and examples of each of the 162 indicators.
Go to ALL YEARS Indexes.
2thinknow Innovation Cities™ Global 256 Index.
When quoting this Index please attribute as in full: “Source: 2thinknow Innovation Cities™ Global 256 Index” and with a link to this page.
| GLOBAL RANK | CITY | STATE1 | COUNTRY | REGION | CATEGORY | INDEX SCORE |
| 1 | Boston | United States | AMERICAS | NEXUS 25 | 28 | |
| 2 | Vienna | Austria | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 28 | |
| 3 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 27 | |
| 4 | Paris | France | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 27 | |
| 5 | San Francisco | United States | AMERICAS | NEXUS 25 | 27 | |
| 6 | London | United Kingdom | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 27 | |
| 7 | Hamburg | Germany | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 27 | |
| 8 | New York | United States | AMERICAS | NEXUS 25 | 27 | |
| 9 | Tokyo | Japan | ASIA | NEXUS 25 | 26 | |
| 10 | Lyon | France | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 26 | |
| 11 | Stuttgart | Germany | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 26 | |
| 12 | Berlin | Germany | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 25 | |
| 13 | Barcelona | Spain | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 25 | |
| 14 | Frankfurt | Germany | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 25 | |
| 15 | Washington DC | United States | AMERICAS | NEXUS 25 | 25 | |
| 16 | Geneva | Switzerland | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 25 | |
| 17 | Copenhagen | Denmark | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 25 | |
| 18 | Strasbourg | France | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 25 | |
| 19 | Toronto | Canada | AMERICAS | NEXUS 25 | 25 | |
| 20 | Melbourne | Australia | ASIA | NEXUS 25 | 25 | |
| 21 | Milan | Italy | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 25 | |
| 22 | Sydney | Australia | ASIA | NEXUS 25 | 24 | |
| 23 | Rome | Italy | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 24 | |
| 24 | Brussels | Belgium | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 24 | |
| 25 | Zürich | Switzerland | EUROPE | NEXUS 25 | 24 | |
| 25 | NEXUS 25 Count | |||||
| 26 | Kyoto | Japan | ASIA | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 27 | Stockholm | Sweden | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 28 | Helsinki | Finland | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 29 | Düsseldorf | Germany | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 30 | Munich | Germany | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 31 | Singapore | Singapore | ASIA | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 32 | Philadelphia | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 33 | Minneapolis-St Paul | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 34 | Manchester | United Kingdom | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 35 | Leipzig | Germany | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 36 | Budapest | Hungary | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 37 | Kobe | Japan | ASIA | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 38 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | ASIA | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 39 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 40 | The Hague | Netherlands | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 41 | Oslo | Norway | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 42 | Aachen | Germany | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 43 | Basel | Switzerland | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 44 | Marseille | France | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 45 | Karlsruhe | Germany | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 46 | Dresden | Germany | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 47 | Cologne | Germany | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 24 | |
| 48 | Vancouver | Canada | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 49 | Montréal | Canada | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 50 | Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates | EMERGING | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 51 | Edinburgh | United Kingdom | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 52 | Shanghai | China | ASIA | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 53 | Dallas-Fort Worth | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 54 | Seattle | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 55 | Portland | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 56 | Ann Arbor | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 57 | Linz | Austria | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 58 | Glasgow | United Kingdom | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 59 | Nuremberg | Germany | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 60 | Los Angeles | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 61 | Chicago | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 62 | Pittsburgh | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 63 | Osaka | Japan | ASIA | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 64 | Austin | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 65 | Hannover | Germany | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 66 | Toulouse | France | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 67 | Baltimore | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 68 | Bonn | Germany | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 69 | Houston | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 70 | Bordeaux | France | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 71 | Québec | Canada | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 23 | |
| 72 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 22 | |
| 73 | Tel Aviv | Israel | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 22 | |
| 74 | Prague | Czech Republic | EUROPE | HUB CITIES | 22 | |
| 75 | Detroit | United States | AMERICAS | HUB CITIES | 22 | |
| 50 | HUB CITIES Count | |||||
| THE BELOW 181 CITIES ARE SCORED & SORTED A-Z WITHIN THE SCORE. THEY ARE NOT RANKED. |
||||||
| Antwerp | Belgium | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Bath & NE Somerset | United Kingdom | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Belfast | United Kingdom | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Belgrade | Serbia | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Berkeley | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Bern | Switzerland | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Bilbao | Spain | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Boise | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Bristol | United Kingdom | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Buffalo | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Cleveland | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Curitiba | Brazil | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Dortmund | Germany | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Dubai | United Arab Emirates | EMERGING | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Gothenburg | Sweden | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Hartford | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Jerusalem | Israel | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Kiel | Germany | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Leeds | United Kingdom | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Liverpool | United Kingdom | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Lucerne | Switzerland | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Madrid | Spain | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Nagoya | Japan | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Nantes | France | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Newark | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Nice | France | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Providence | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Raleigh-Durham | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Richmond | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Rochester | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Sacramento | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Seoul | Korea, South | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Sheffield | United Kingdom | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Springfield | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| St Louis | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Torino | Italy | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Wellington | New Zealand | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 22 | ||
| Atlanta | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Auckland | New Zealand | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Bangalore | India | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Beijing | China | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Bologna | Italy | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Bozeman | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Bridgeport | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Canberra | Australia | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Cannes | France | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Charleston | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Charlotte | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Charlottesville | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Cincinnati | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Coventry | United Kingdom | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Denver | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Des Moines | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Dublin | Ireland | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Essen | Germany | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Florence | Italy | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Fresno | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Gent | Belgium | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Graz | Austria | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Lisbon | Portugal | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Madison | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Milwaukee | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Modena | Italy | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Montpellier | France | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Moscow | Russia | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Nagasaki | Japan | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Nashville | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Oakland | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Oporto | Portugal | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Padova | Italy | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Phoenix | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Reims | France | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Rochester | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Salzburg | Austria | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| San Diego | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| São Paulo | Brazil | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Savannah | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Solingen | Germany | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Springfield | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Syracuse | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Tallinn | Estonia | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Utrecht | Netherlands | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Valencia | Spain | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Venice | Italy | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Verona | Italy | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 21 | ||
| Adelaide | Australia | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Athens | Greece | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Augusta | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Birmingham | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Brisbane | Australia | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Burbank | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Cape Town | South Africa | EMERGING | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Cedar Rapids | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Colorado Springs | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Edmonton | Canada | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Fort Lauderdale | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Gdansk | Poland | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Grand Rapids | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Indianapolis | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Jeddah | Saudi Arabia | EMERGING | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Kansas City | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Liège | Belgium | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Ljubljana | Slovenia | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Málaga | Spain | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Memphis | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Mexico City | Mexico | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Miami | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Mumbai | India | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Oklahoma City | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Omaha | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Ottawa | Canada | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Pamplona | Spain | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Reno | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Rio De Janeiro | Brazil | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Riverside | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Salt Lake City | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Seville | Spain | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Springfield | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| St Petersburg | Russia | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Taipei | Taiwan | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Tallahassee | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Tampa | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Tucson | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Tulsa | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Winnipeg | Canada | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 20 | ||
| Ballarat | Australia | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Boulder | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Bratislava | Slovakia | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Christchurch | New Zealand | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Doha | Qatar | EMERGING | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Dongguan | China | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Gold Coast | Australia | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Green Bay | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Guangzhou | China | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Honolulu | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Hyderabad | India | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Istanbul | Turkey | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Kuwait City | Kuwait | EMERGING | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Lexington | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Nanjing | China | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| New Orleans | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Orlando | United States | AMERICAS | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Parma | Italy | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Perth | Australia | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | EMERGING | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Suzhou | China | ASIA | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Trieste | Italy | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Warsaw | Poland | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| Zagreb | Croatia | EUROPE | NODE CITIES | 19 | ||
| 150 | NODE CITIES Count | |||||
| Bangkok | Thailand | ASIA | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Bendigo | Australia | ASIA | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Bucharest | Romania | EUROPE | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Chennai | India | ASIA | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Delhi | India | ASIA | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Geelong | Australia | ASIA | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Granada | Spain | EUROPE | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Halifax | Canada | AMERICAS | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Kolkata | India | ASIA | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Kraków | Poland | EUROPE | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Little Rock | United States | AMERICAS | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Macau | China | ASIA | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Queenstown | New Zealand | ASIA | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Shenzhen | China | ASIA | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Sofia | Bulgaria | EUROPE | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Vilnius | Lithuania | EUROPE | INFLUENCERS | 18 | ||
| Casablanca | Morocco | EMERGING | INFLUENCERS | 17 | ||
| Hobart | Australia | ASIA | INFLUENCERS | 17 | ||
| Katowice | Poland | EUROPE | INFLUENCERS | 17 | ||
| Kiev | Ukraine | EMERGING | INFLUENCERS | 17 | ||
| Kosice | Slovakia | EUROPE | INFLUENCERS | 17 | ||
| Reykjavik | Iceland | EUROPE | INFLUENCERS | 17 | ||
| RIGA | Latvia | EUROPE | INFLUENCERS | 17 | ||
| 23 | INFLUENCERS Count | |||||
| Dubrovnik | Croatia | EUROPE | UNRANKED | 16 | ||
| Johannesburg | South Africa | EMERGING | UNRANKED | 16 | ||
| Madurai | India | ASIA | UNRANKED | 16 | ||
| Manila | Philippines | ASIA | UNRANKED | 16 | ||
| Timisoara | Romania | EUROPE | UNRANKED | 16 | ||
| Skopje | Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of | EUROPE | UNRANKED | 13 | ||
| Tirana | Albania | EUROPE | UNRANKED | 12 | ||
| Dakar | Senegal | EMERGING | UNRANKED | 11 | ||
| 8 | UNRANKED Count | |||||
Source: 2thinknow Innovation Cities Global 256 Index, published: July 28 2009





