Best Cities For Gamers

Austin TX, USA 🇺🇸

Fast internet, frequent expos, and great gaming job opportunities

Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷

Extremely fast internet, and a thriving eSports scene

Bucharest, Romania 🇷🇴

Cheap, fast internet, and low living costs

Worst Performers

Abu Dhabi, UAE 🇦🇪

Slow, expensive internet, and poor gaming job opportunities

Sydney, Australia 🇦🇺

Slow, expensive internet, and a high cost of living

Dubai, UAE 🇦🇪

Slow, expensive internet, and poor gaming job opportunities

Complete Rankings*

City	Country	Average internet speed (Mbps)	Lowest monthly cost of a 1Gbps internet connection (USD)	Major eSports events in the previous 5 years	Major gaming expos in the previous 5 years	Average unit rent	Gaming jobs per 100k people	5G coverage	Cost of an RTX 3090 (USD)	Overall score
Austin	USA	138	$60.00	0	17	$1,705	13.378	Partial	$1,500	19.0
Seoul	South Korea	602	$33.24	4	6	$878	0.258	Full	$1,892	18.5
Bucharest	Romania	164	$9.98	2	2	$518	1.148	Full	$2,320	18.0
Paris	France	122	$26.74	2	5	$1,493	9.682	Partial	$2,127	17.5
Los Angeles	USA	100	$49.99	16	25	$1,898	1.357	Full	$1,500	17.5
Hong Kong	Hong Kong	182	$15.22	3	15	$2,345	1.503	Full	$1,625	17.5
Montreal	Canada	41	$70.56	5	26	$1,089	4.634	Full	$1,568	17.0
Barcelona	Spain	59	$49.85	1	4	$1,115	8.889	Full	$1,884	16.5
Seattle	USA	77	$60.00	4	10	$2,192	19.733	Partial	$1,500	16.5
Boston	USA	118	$54.99	1	5	$2,013	6.767	Partial	$1,500	16.0
Shanghai	China	17	$17.81	4	14	$1,077	2.582	Full	$1,773	16.0
New York City	USA	179	$65.00	8	20	$2,870	1.095	Full	$1,500	15.5
Philadelphia	USA	106	$54.99	1	8	$1,543	0.505	Full	$1,500	15.5
Jacksonville	USA	89	$60.00	0	13	$1,246	1.438	Partial	$1,500	15.0
San Francisco	USA	110	$60.00	3	8	$3,544	5.208	Partial	$1,500	15.0
Houston	USA	101	$80.00	0	10	$1,422	0.114	Full	$1,500	14.5
San Antonio	USA	106	$60.00	0	10	$1,388	0.588	Partial	$1,500	14.5
Dallas	USA	101	$60.00	2	6	$1,497	1.041	Partial	$1,500	14.5
Incheon	South Korea	51	$33.24	1	0	$611	0.203	Full	$1,892	14.5
Birmingham	United Kingdom	29	$53.71	2	13	$1,138	3.943	Full	$1,880	14.0
Warsaw	Poland	50	$24.66	5	8	$826	0.567	Partial	$1,926	14.0
Sofia	Bulgaria	60	$18.62	0	0	$424	0.324	Partial	$2,135	14.0
Columbus	USA	85	$60.00	2	5	$1,139	0.047	Partial	$1,500	14.0
Indianapolis	USA	88	$60.00	0	6	$1,126	0.342	Partial	$1,500	14.0
Osaka	Japan	124	$40.47	0	0	$674	0.885	Partial	$2,005	14.0
Budapest	Hungary	51	$20.08	2	5	$555	0.114	Partial	$2,766	13.5
Fort Worth	USA	99	$60.00	0	0	$1,234	0.559	Full	$1,500	13.5
Vancouver	Canada	71	$66.67	2	12	$1,679	1.24	Full	$1,568	13.5
Madrid	Spain	62	$49.85	3	5	$1,219	0.818	Partial	$1,884	13.0
Prague	Czech Republic	51	$18.26	0	5	$866	0.229	Partial	$2,125	13.0
Toronto	Canada	22	$66.67	1	10	$1,631	4.057	Full	$1,568	13.0
Calgary	Canada	37	$70.56	0	5	$985	2.919	Full	$1,608	13.0
Edmonton	Canada	32	$90.20	0	4	$865	4.688	Full	$1,608	13.0
Kiev	Ukraine	39	$12.61	5	4	$635	0.389	None	$2,144	13.0
Hamburg	Germany	22	$24.31	3	6	$1,144	0.706	Full	$2,072	12.5
Istanbul	Turkey	28	$34.47	0	5	$289	0.161	Partial	$1,902	12.5
Phoenix	USA	88	$99.99	0	5	$1,240	0.063	Partial	$1,500	12.5
Charlotte	USA	102	$60.00	0	0	$1,425	0	Partial	$1,500	12.5
Cologne	Germany	33	$48.63	5	5	$925	0.829	Full	$2,072	12.0
Chicago	USA	88	$60.00	3	7	$1,844	0.445	Partial	$1,500	12.0
San Diego	USA	102	$60.00	0	7	$2,149	1.826	Partial	$1,500	12.0
Tokyo	Japan	99	$53.96	1	5	$1,295	0.334	Partial	$2,246	11.5
London	United Kingdom	33	$53.71	7	14	$2,180	0.882	Full	$1,880	11.0
Bradford	United Kingdom	29	$53.71	0	0	$680	1.862	Partial	$1,880	11.0
Mexico City	Mexico	49	$68.14	1	8	$647	0.519	None	$2,188	11.0
Manchester	United Kingdom	24	$53.71	0	1	$1,350	3.254	Full	$1,880	10.5
Mumbai	India	10	$54.38	3	5	$531	1.112	None	$1,951	10.5
Leeds	United Kingdom	25	$53.71	0	0	$1,100	0.757	Full	$1,880	10.0
Glasgow	United Kingdom	13	$53.71	0	4	$1,192	1.016	Full	$1,880	10.0
Munich	Germany	49	$48.63	1	1	$1,458	0.883	Full	$2,066	10.0
Milan	Italy	19	$36.36	0	5	$1,272	1.849	Full	$1,884	10.0
Delhi	India	10	$54.38	1	3	$252	0.3	None	$1,951	10.0
Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	26	N/A	2	6	$486	0.019	Full	$2,022	10.0
Sao Paulo	Brasil	28	N/A	1	15	$426	0.599	Partial	$3,923	10.0
Moscow	Russia	45	N/A	6	5	$934	0.319	Partial	$1,995	10.0
Berlin	Germany	21	$85.10	4	2	$909	3.952	Partial	$2,072	9.5
Sheffield	United Kingdom	20	$53.71	0	0	$1,092	1.368	Partial	$1,880	9.0
Rome	Italy	18	$24.32	0	0	$1,073	0.07	Partial	$1,884	9.0
Beijing	China	17	$91.55	2	2	$1,158	0.332	Full	$1,773	8.5
Lima	Peru	41	$139.48	0	5	$537	0.031	None	$2,381	8.0
Cape Town	South Africa	25	$133.45	0	4	$732	0.459	Partial	$2,489	8.0
Edinburgh	United Kingdom	29	$53.71	0	1	$1,545	1.84	Partial	$1,880	7.5
Bogota	Colombia	59	N/A	2	0	$428	0.027	None	$2,670	7.5
Melbourne	Australia	30	$112.78	3	10	$1,266	0.871	Partial	$1,967	7.5
St Petersburg	Russia	42	N/A	0	0	$510	0.521	None	$1,995	7.5
Cairo	Egypt	9	N/A	2	4	$280	0.053	None	$2,445	7.0
Johannesburg	South Africa	19	$133.45	0	5	$471	0.222	Partial	$2,489	7.0
Vienna	Austria	73	N/A	0	0	$1,102	0.105	Partial	$2,127	7.0
Santiago	Chile	33	N/A	0	5	$422	0.036	None	$2,569	7.0
Auckland	New Zealand	42	N/A	0	7	$1,361	0.181	Partial	$2,133	6.5
Brisbane	Australia	28	$112.78	0	4	$1,226	0.132	Partial	$2,080	6.0
Abu Dhabi	UAE	9	$775.89	2	5	$1,222	0.276	Partial	$2,172	5.5
Sydney	Australia	26	$112.78	3	6	$1,894	0.631	Partial	$2,042	4.5
Dubai	UAE	11	$775.89	2	5	$1,579	0.15	Partial	$2,001	3.5

Our Comments

“

Depending on what you’re looking for, there are a number of different cities that would make a great place to live as a gamer.

Cities such as Bucharest scored well due to their cheap, fast internet, and low costs of living. Other cities such as LA and London cost more to live in, but have a much greater number of expos and eSports events each year.

Austin Texas came in first place in our rankings, as it offers an excellent overall package – with fast internet, frequent expos, and excellent gaming-related job opportunities.

On the other hand, some cities scored low due to the extremely high cost and lack of availability of fast broadband. These lower-ranked cities also generally had a much higher cost of living than the top ten cities in the rankings.

– Tom Paton, founder, Broadband Savvy

Performance By Continent

NORTH AMERICA

Most North American cities performed well in our rankings, with Austin Texas taking out the number one spot. Los Angeles, Montreal, Seattle, and Boston all made the top ten.

The United States has the lowest costs of gaming hardware in the world, although costs of living, including internet costs, are generally quite high. However, most major American cities have full 5G coverage, and many have good gaming job opportunities, especially Seattle and Austin, which rank first and second in the world respectively for gaming job availability.

Montreal was the only Canadian city to make the top ten. When compared to other major cities in Canada such as Toronto and Vancouver, Montreal has a lower cost of living, and has hosted more gaming expos during the previous five years.

EUROPE

When compared to North America, Europe saw a much greater disparity in the performance of different cities.

Bucharest, Romania and Paris, France came in third and fourth respectively, in large part due to the low cost and good availability of fast broadband. While the cost of rent is higher in Paris, the city offers better gaming job opportunities.

For expos and eSports events, British cities such as London and Birmingham performed well, as did Warsaw, Poland.

European gamers face higher hardware costs than their North American counterparts, which was part of the reason why only three European cities made the top ten.

ASIA

Asia also had three cities make the top ten, with Seoul, Hong Kong, and Shanghai coming in second, fifth, and tenth respectively.

Nearly all Asian cities analysed performed well in the internet category. High-speed, low-cost broadband packages are very common in Asia, with the exception of China and India.

Seoul in particular has some of the world’s fastest internet, full 5G coverage, low rent costs, and plenty of expos and LAN events, helping it to second place in the rankings.

Asia also performed quite well in terms of gaming hardware costs. Because many components and consoles are manufactured in the region, Asia is the cheapest continent to buy hardware, other than North America.

SOUTH AMERICA

Although South American cities generally have a low cost of living, cheap, high-speed broadband is hard to come by. In some cities, such as Bogota, it is not possible to buy a 1 Gbps fixed-line internet package. However, it is possible to get fast internet for a reasonable price in certain places in Central America, such as Mexico City.

There are also relatively few major gaming expos and eSports events in South America, although the popularity of gaming is definitely growing in the region. In terms of expos, Sao Paulo was the standout – the city holds three different gaming events each year, including the Brasil Game Show. Lima, Peru also hosts the Lima Game Fest on an annual basis.

South American gamers unfortunately face some of the highest hardware costs in the world. It costs about 50-75% more to buy an RTX 3090 in Mexico, Colombia, or Chile compared to the United States.

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

Middle Eastern and African gamers also face high costs of gaming hardware – however, PC parts and consoles don’t quite cost as much as they do in South America.

The main reason many Middle Eastern and African cities performed poorly was the cost of fixed-line broadband. A 1 Gbps broadband connection costs the equivalent of nearly $800 USD per month in the United Arab Emirates, and 250/500 Mbps packages are not much cheaper. However, some Middle Eastern countries have been rolling out 5G recently, especially Saudi Arabia, which is great for mobile gamers.

South African and Egyptian gamers face a similar issue. Superfast broadband is not available in Cairo, and is only available in very limited areas in South Africa. However, Cape Town hosts the rAge gaming expo every year – one of the biggest in the region, which is why it outranks Johannesburg and Cairo.

OCEANIA

Australia and New Zealand face a similar broadband issue to the Middle East, albeit not on the same scale. Ultrafast broadband is not always available in either country, even in major cities, and when it is accessible, it’s generally quite expensive. Both countries have been accelerating fibre rollouts in recent years, so the situation may improve in the near future.

Although gamers in Oceania face quite expensive gaming hardware costs, and don’t often have major LAN tournaments hosted locally, there are a decent number of gaming expos each year. Melbourne is the gaming hub in the region, with the most frequent LAN events and expos, and the best gaming job opportunities.

Another area where gamers in Oceania are let down is 5G coverage. None of the cities we analysed in this region had full 5G available as of the start of 2021. However, complete 5G rollouts are currently underway in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Auckland, so this will likely change soon.

Our Methodology

Here’s how we found and ranked the best cities for gamers in the world right now.

Factors we assessed

Average broadband internet speed. We used this as a measure of the availability of fast internet in the city.

Lowest cost of a 1 Gbps internet connection. Although a 1 Gbps broadband connection may not be a necessity for all gamers, we used this as a measure of the cost of fast internet.

Number of major eSports events in the previous 5 years. We included major in-person eSports events for popular games, such as ESL One, LoL World Championships, and the Overwatch League Finals. We counted eSports events that occurred in the period from 2015 to 2019 inclusive, to control for the effect of COVID-19 on different cities.

Number of major gaming expos in the previous 5 years. We included major expos that would be likely to appeal to a large number of gamers, such as E3, from 2015 to 2019.

Average flat rent. Cost of living is an important consideration in our analysis, as some cities have cheap broadband but expensive rent. Therefore, we looked at the average monthly unit rent in each city.

Number of available gaming jobs per 100,000 people. We looked at each city’s largest job website for any job directly related to gaming. For example, game designers, game developers, game testers, and voice actors for video game roles.

5G coverage. We assessed each city’s 5G coverage as either “none”, “partial”, or “complete” as of the beginning of 2021.

Cost of an RTX 3090. For PC gamers, the cost of parts is extremely important. We looked for the cheapest cost of a new RTX 3090 graphics card in each city to measure not just the cost of PC parts, but as a proxy for the cost of gaming hardware more broadly.

Scoring methodology

Each factor was given a weighting to calculate each city’s final score. For example, depending on the city’s average internet speed, it got a “score” for this metric:

< 20 Mbps: +0 score
>= 20, < 40 Mbps: +1 score
>= 40, < 60 Mbps: +2 score
>= 60, < 80 Mbps: +3 score
>= 80, < 100 Mbps: +4 score
>= 100 Mbps: +5 score

We used a similar method with different weightings for each metric we analysed. See the complete spreadsheet to see the exact scoring methodology.

Currency conversions

Internet speed and apartment rent costs were initially recorded in each city’s local currency. These costs were then converted to US dollars simultaneously to ensure a fair comparison.

Why are certain cities missing?

For this study, we focused on major developed or semi-developed cities with a population of at least 500,000 people, to ensure a fair comparison. We recognise that there may be other smaller cities that have a low cost of living and cheap, fast internet, which would be perfect for some gamers.

If we’ve missed a city that you think we should include, let us know and we can include it in next year’s rankings.

Resources

Press release

Download our complete press release as a PDF document

View press release (.pdf)

Complete data

Download an Excel spreadsheet containing the entire dataset and score calculations

View data (.xlsx)

Contact Us

Tom Paton, founder, Broadband Savvy

tom (at) broadbandsavvy.com

*Data collected during December 2020. Where “N/A” is shown this means that no broadband packages with speeds of 1 Gbps or greater were available. Broadband Savvy makes no warranties or guarantees as to the accuracy of the data provided.

About the author

Tom Paton

Tom is the founder of Broadband Savvy. He has more than five years’ experience writing broadband tutorials, reviewing routers and internet service providers, and explaining broadband-related concepts. Tom is experienced as a writer, and also produces videos for the Broadband Savvy YouTube channel.

He currently specialises in writing content for Broadband Savvy designed to help people understand broadband jargon and terminology, increase their download and upload speeds, and improve their Wi-Fi connectivity. Tom also occasionally contributes to buyer’s guides and review articles on Broadband Savvy, utilising his knowledge of the broadband market in the UK.

When he’s not writing about broadband, you’ll find him walking his dog (Rex) or playing agar.io.

Best Cities For Gamers