Our method
9 axes scored out of 10
Every city is scored on nine axes: quality of life, transport, nature, cost of living, safety, culture, remote work, schools — and the commute to Luxembourg City, the Greater Region's defining variable. Raw values are editorial, anchored on public data: STATEC and the Observatoire de l'habitat (rents), Police Grand-Ducale, SSMSI, Statbel and Destatis (safety), ACT traffic counts and CFL/SNCF/SNCB/DB timetables (commutes).
Editorial calibration
Documented corrections (lib/score-calibration.ts) adjust scores whenever real data contradicts the raw value — for instance A31 saturation at Zoufftgen or Metz crime statistics. Every correction cites its anchor.
Statistical normalization
A z-score rescaling (target mean ≈ 5.1, std ≈ 1.5) stretches the scale so differences stay readable. The global score is a weighted mean minus a worst-axis penalty: a city that is unlivable on one criterion (commute, cost, safety) cannot hide it behind its strengths.
The commute counts double for cross-border workers
The Cross-border ranking weighs the commute ×4: it is the variable that makes or breaks the daily life of 238,000 people. Rush-hour times are measured door-to-door to central Luxembourg City, not as the crow flies.
Rents, and what they measure
Luxembourg and France each publish an advertised rent per m², but not in the same way. On the Luxembourgish side, the Observatoire de l'habitat publishes a mean of per-listing rent/surface ratios: where studios and shared flats dominate the listings, that mean describes the format of what is on offer more than the price of a square metre — nationally it implies an average dwelling of 42 m². We therefore keep the published figure only in the 20 communes whose listing mix matches a normal apartment, and estimate the others from those. The average advertised rent in euros per month is shown exactly as published, with its sample size.
Limitations
Scores are indicative and comparative, not absolute truths. Average rents hide strong neighbourhood variations; commute times vary with weather and roadworks. Always cross-check with a visit.
Where the numbers come from
Every page shows the source of its figures. Official data is refreshed from public portals; everything else is an editorial estimate, labelled as such.
- National register — population per commune, 1 July 2026
- INSEE — legal population (French administrative API)
- Observatoire de l'habitat — advertised apartment rents, April 2025–March 2026
- DHUP — 2025 rent map (advertised €/m², apartments)
- OSRM / OpenStreetMap — road route to Luxembourg City, free-flow
- IGSS — people employed in Luxembourg by commune of residence, 31 March 2026
Official data refreshed on 2026-08-15. The Luxembourgish and French rent indicators are published by different bodies and are not computed the same way: the gap between countries is real, its precision to the cent is not.