Revealed: These are the best places to live in Hungary in 2024!

Budapest, Debrecen, and the area around Pannonhalma have been ranked as the best places to live in Hungary in 2024, according to the latest livability report from MBH Jelzálogbank. The findings show that the competition is tight, especially outside the capital, with minimal differences in scores among the top-ranking areas.

The best places to live in Hungary this year

The report, released on Thursday, assesses 174 districts across Hungary, including Budapest, and takes into account factors such as education, healthcare, culture, crime rates, job opportunities, shopping options, and housing affordability to evaluate how these aspects influence the housing market, mfor.hu reports.

In terms of education, the top performers on the list of the best places to live in Hungary are Budapest and regions in the western and southern parts of the country. Healthcare scores are particularly high in southern districts, while job opportunities vary significantly across the country.

Budapest in the top spot

As in previous years, Budapest retains the top spot in the livability rankings, followed by the Debrecen district. In third place is the Pannonhalma district, with Budakeszi rising to fourth, having placed seventh last year. Other top performers include Pilisvörösvár, Bácsalmás, Dunakeszi, and Veszprém. Notably, the Kisbér and Érd districts, which dropped out last year, have re-entered the top ten. While Budapest remains an outlier with the highest overall score, the differences among the other leading districts are marginal—Debrecen, for example, edged out Érd by fewer than four points.

Győr ranked 11th this year, followed by Pécs in 13th and Szeged in 14th.

The analysis highlights that districts in the northeastern regions tend to score the lowest, while higher-scoring districts are concentrated in the south, around the capital, and in northwestern Hungary.

Education, healthcare, culture and job opportunities

The areas around Lake Balaton also rank highly on the list of the best places to live in Hungary in 2024. Lake Balaton. Source: depositphotos.com

Education-wise, Budapest leads, followed by western and southern regions, while large cities in the northern and eastern areas also received high scores. In healthcare, the top three spots remain unchanged from last year: Budapest ranks first, followed by Pécs and Gyula. Overall, southern districts have the highest healthcare scores. When it comes to culture, Budapest, Debrecen, Szeged, and Pécs are cultural hotspots, with areas around Lake Balaton also ranking highly. Job opportunities show stark regional differences, with northwestern Hungary and Budapest far outperforming the southern and eastern parts of the country.

Housing affordability, crime

Unsurprisingly, housing affordability remains a challenge near Lake Balaton, where high property prices relative to income keep these districts at the bottom of the affordability rankings. Budapest also ranks among the least affordable places to live. As for crime statistics, larger cities continue to perform poorly in this regard.

On the list of county seats, Budapest once again ranks first in livability, followed by Veszprém, Pécs, and Győr. Other notable cities include Szekszárd, Székesfehérvár, Szombathely, Szeged, Debrecen, and Zalaegerszeg. Despite Budapest’s strong overall ranking, Győr outscored the capital in education and job opportunities. Housing affordability remains a weak point for Budapest, which also struggles with moderate crime risk, placing 17th in this category. The most affordable county capital is still Salgótarján, with Miskolc and Békéscsaba trailing far behind. In healthcare, Pécs ranked highest, followed by Miskolc and Veszprém.

MBH’s Best Places to Live in Hungary list

This is the fourth year that MBH Jelzálogbank has conducted its livability study, which focuses on the factors affecting housing demand across different regions of Hungary to provide an overview of the best places to live in the country. The aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the economic, social, and infrastructural factors that contribute to a region’s appeal. Key considerations include education, healthcare, cultural access, job markets, crime rates, and shopping options.

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