<p>Bengaluru: Hyderabad has beaten Bengaluru to emerge as the most "liveable" metropolitan city in India, according to a new report that studied 15 metrics to capture overall ease of living in eight different cities. </p>.<p>While factors such as housing and diversity pushed the rankings for Hyderabad, commute time and infrastructure pulled Bengaluru down to the second place. </p>.<p>These findings were part of the report 'WeAreCity 2026' published by Unboxing BLR, a not-for-profit organisation based in Bengaluru. The data report was released during the Indiaspora Global AI summit on Wednesday. </p>.<p>The report reveals how the two southern tech hubs are now powering over half of India's urban growth momentum by reshaping jobs, consumption, mobility and the future of Indian cities. </p>.<p>Called 'City Indices', the 159-page report carries a section which ranks eight cities on ease of living using metrics such as commute, diversity, going-out, housing and infrastructure and lastly weather. </p>.<p>Hyderabad topped the chart overall, followed by Bengaluru and Kolkata. While Ahmedabad featured at the bottom, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Pune and Greater Mumbai were ranked fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. </p>.<p>Interestingly, Bengaluru emerged as a tale of extremes. It was high on themes such as 'going-out', weather and diversity. Hyderabad performed more evenly across most sections even though commute was still an issue. Both cities, however, average 58-59 minutes to cover one‑way distance but Hyderabad commuters typically cover 22 km, which is about 4km more than what Bengaluru does. </p>.<p>Bengaluru still wears India's jobs crown. </p>.<p>"It tops the Workforce Pull Index on the strength of formal employment, tech‑talent density and recent hiring momentum especially in high‑end roles. Startups, GCC leadership and a thicker seed‑to‑scale pipeline keep Bengaluru the magnet for ambitious builders," the report states, noting that Hyderabad is emerging as a challenger to Bengaluru on many fronts such as formation of new companies, Grade-A office spaces and GCC set-ups. </p>.<p>In the Economic Heft Index that studied 30 metrics to study historic economic influence of a city and the change it has seen over the past five years, Delhi NCR and Greater Mumbai emerged as top in the chart but Bengaluru was surging ahead. </p>.<p>In her introduction to the report, Malini Goyal, co-founder of UnboxingBLR, noted that city indices unlike state indices are less common in India. </p>.<p>"One of the reasons we felt confident of adding indices now was the ever-growing base of data. The indices were crafted to understand the city better, connect with the daily expenses and arrive at a more informed view." </p>
<p>Bengaluru: Hyderabad has beaten Bengaluru to emerge as the most "liveable" metropolitan city in India, according to a new report that studied 15 metrics to capture overall ease of living in eight different cities. </p>.<p>While factors such as housing and diversity pushed the rankings for Hyderabad, commute time and infrastructure pulled Bengaluru down to the second place. </p>.<p>These findings were part of the report 'WeAreCity 2026' published by Unboxing BLR, a not-for-profit organisation based in Bengaluru. The data report was released during the Indiaspora Global AI summit on Wednesday. </p>.<p>The report reveals how the two southern tech hubs are now powering over half of India's urban growth momentum by reshaping jobs, consumption, mobility and the future of Indian cities. </p>.<p>Called 'City Indices', the 159-page report carries a section which ranks eight cities on ease of living using metrics such as commute, diversity, going-out, housing and infrastructure and lastly weather. </p>.<p>Hyderabad topped the chart overall, followed by Bengaluru and Kolkata. While Ahmedabad featured at the bottom, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Pune and Greater Mumbai were ranked fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. </p>.<p>Interestingly, Bengaluru emerged as a tale of extremes. It was high on themes such as 'going-out', weather and diversity. Hyderabad performed more evenly across most sections even though commute was still an issue. Both cities, however, average 58-59 minutes to cover one‑way distance but Hyderabad commuters typically cover 22 km, which is about 4km more than what Bengaluru does. </p>.<p>Bengaluru still wears India's jobs crown. </p>.<p>"It tops the Workforce Pull Index on the strength of formal employment, tech‑talent density and recent hiring momentum especially in high‑end roles. Startups, GCC leadership and a thicker seed‑to‑scale pipeline keep Bengaluru the magnet for ambitious builders," the report states, noting that Hyderabad is emerging as a challenger to Bengaluru on many fronts such as formation of new companies, Grade-A office spaces and GCC set-ups. </p>.<p>In the Economic Heft Index that studied 30 metrics to study historic economic influence of a city and the change it has seen over the past five years, Delhi NCR and Greater Mumbai emerged as top in the chart but Bengaluru was surging ahead. </p>.<p>In her introduction to the report, Malini Goyal, co-founder of UnboxingBLR, noted that city indices unlike state indices are less common in India. </p>.<p>"One of the reasons we felt confident of adding indices now was the ever-growing base of data. The indices were crafted to understand the city better, connect with the daily expenses and arrive at a more informed view." </p>