South Africa / Africa
Johannesburg is South Africa's largest urban region and a major economic and cultural hub with deep finance, mining, and creative industries. Johannesburg is a africa city of about 9.7M metro in South Africa. On the composite city-intelligence score, Johannesburg sits around the indexed median (70/100).
Image credit: Image: Evan Bench / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Composite profile
70/100
Johannesburg is most useful for users comparing affordability and economic depth in southern Africa against energy-transition and safety considerations.
70/100
Strong economic depth and affordability profile balanced against energy-transition needs.
Very high
Finance, mining, and creative industries shape opportunity.
Favorable
Cost-of-living levels are comparatively favorable.
The table is part of the initial server-rendered HTML and mirrors the key city score cards.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 70/100 | Composite score across major city intelligence modules. |
| Cost of Living | 76/100 | Johannesburg offers favorable affordability for a major economic capital, with food and services costs supporting steady daily life. |
| Air Quality | 64/100 | Johannesburg's air-quality profile is shaped by traffic, industry, and seasonal heating, with active monitoring and policy attention. |
| Energy | 64/100 | Johannesburg's energy profile reflects an active national transition with rising renewable build-out and ongoing grid-resilience work. |
| Safety | 60/100 | Johannesburg has mid-tier safety with strong neighborhood variation; resident experience differs widely across districts. |
| Internet Speed | 80/100 | Johannesburg offers solid fiber broadband and reliable mobile coverage, supporting a deep finance, services, and digital-economy presence. |
| Climate Risk | 70/100 | Johannesburg carries moderate climate exposure from heat, water variability, and intense storms, balanced by active adaptation programs. |
| Resilience | 68/100 | Climate adaptation and infrastructure continuity context. |
Deterministic safety estimates from our index — planning signals derived from country priors and city data, not official crime statistics.
Johannesburg scores below average for safety in our index (43/100); research neighborhoods and take standard precautions.
A composite quality-of-life estimate and its component indicators.
Johannesburg has a moderate quality-of-life estimate (58/100) across our combined indicators.
How the city scores for raising a family, with the indicators that drive it.
Johannesburg scores modest for family living (54/100).
Suitability for remote workers, based on connectivity, mobility, and livability.
Johannesburg is moderate for remote workers (65/100), based on connectivity, affordability and walkability and day-to-day amenities.
Suitability for retirement, weighing healthcare, affordability, climate, and environment.
Johannesburg is moderate for retirement (59/100), appealing for affordability and a comfortable climate.
Local public safety guidance for Johannesburg, with the country-level emergency contacts that apply when calling for police, fire, or ambulance.
For the universal emergency contacts that apply in Johannesburg, including police, fire, and ambulance, see the South Africa emergency profile, which currently lists no verified national contacts.
Methodology and the wider source registry are documented on the scoring methodology and data sources pages.
Healthcare context for Johannesburg, with national-level information from South Africa where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only and does not provide medical advice.
For the national healthcare and public-health context that applies in Johannesburg, see the South Africa healthcare profile, which currently lists no verified national healthcare information.
Related sections: emergency and public safety, scoring methodology, and data sources.
Local mobility context for Johannesburg, with national-level context from South Africa where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only.
For national transport authorities and operators that apply in Johannesburg, see the South Africa transport profile, which currently lists no verified national transport information.
Related sections: emergency and public safety, healthcare and hospitals, cities directory, countries directory, scoring methodology, data sources.
Source-attributed air-quality dataset for Johannesburg. Verified measurements are surfaced when published from accepted official datasets; transparent fallback is shown otherwise.
Source-attributed values for Johannesburg will appear here after the platform integrates verified measurements from accepted official publishers. Until then, structured air-quality module context remains available on the dedicated module page.
| Metric | Value | Data year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air quality | Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location. | ||
Global City Intelligence — air-quality dataset
Verified data unavailableThe air-quality dataset begins empty by design. Verified city-level measurements appear here only after they are sourced from accepted publishers (WHO, EEA, US EPA, OpenAQ, OECD, or official national/city environmental agencies).
Numeric measurements appear in this section only after they are sourced from accepted official publishers. The dataset is independently validated at build time; malformed records cannot ship to production.
Quick, evidence-based answers about Johannesburg drawn from this profile's indexed cost, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data. Figures are deterministic estimates for orientation — verify specifics with official sources.
Yes — good quality of life (58/100) and a tourism economy economy.
Good (54/100) on safety, schools and green space.
More affordable than average; about R14,700/month for one person (estimate).
Late spring to early autumn; warmest in Jan, coldest in Jul.
Mainly tourism, manufacturing, mining.
A semi-arid climate, averaging about 23.9°C.
Higher education is good (62/100).
Healthcare access is good (58/100).
Retirement suitability is good (62/100).
No major nature destinations are indexed within day-trip range.
Pairs that share a city, comparison intent, or region — useful for users planning a wider relocation, remote-work, or business decision.
City pages link to module and ranking pages so crawlers can move through the topic cluster naturally.
Johannesburg offers favorable affordability for a major economic capital, with food and services costs supporting steady daily life.
Johannesburg's air-quality profile is shaped by traffic, industry, and seasonal heating, with active monitoring and policy attention.
Johannesburg's energy profile reflects an active national transition with rising renewable build-out and ongoing grid-resilience work.
Johannesburg has mid-tier safety with strong neighborhood variation; resident experience differs widely across districts.
Johannesburg offers solid fiber broadband and reliable mobile coverage, supporting a deep finance, services, and digital-economy presence.
Johannesburg carries moderate climate exposure from heat, water variability, and intense storms, balanced by active adaptation programs.
Compare this city against other indexed cities in crawlable ranking tables.
Cost of living estimates for Johannesburg — monthly budgets, rent, food, and transport in the local currency, plus an affordability score for comparison. Planning estimates derived from country baselines, not live prices.
Climate profile for Johannesburg — Semi-Arid climate, annual average 23.9°C, comfort score 78/100. Month-by-month temperatures, rainfall, sunshine, and the best months to visit. Deterministic planning estimates, not a forecast.
Economy and jobs profile for Johannesburg — tourism economy, economy score 58/100, key industries including tourism, manufacturing, mining. Employment, salary, startup, remote-work, and career indicators. Deterministic planning estimates.
Education profile for Johannesburg — regional education center, education score 62/100, 6 representative universities, plus research, student life, and international-student indicators. Deterministic dataset, not institutional rankings.
Healthcare and retirement profile for Johannesburg — mixed healthcare profile, healthcare score 58/100, retirement score 62/100. Medical access, specialist and emergency care, affordability, and retirement suitability. Deterministic planning estimates.
Practical arrival planning context for Johannesburg — links into transport, public-safety, healthcare, budgeting tools, and methodology. Not an official airport or travel instruction service.
Estimate a monthly budget for Johannesburg using your own housing, food, transport, healthcare, and lifestyle inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official cost-of-living measurement.
Plan a trip budget for Johannesburg using your own accommodation, food, local transport, activities, travel, healthcare buffer, and emergency buffer inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official travel cost estimate.
Where else nearby you could spend a day or a weekend from Johannesburg. Links are derived from geographic proximity, shared region, shared natural-recreation areas, transport corridors, and country borders — not popularity or tourism rankings.
Same region · about 53 km from Johannesburg. Explore Pretoria's city intelligence profile.
Cross-border · about 275 km from Johannesburg. Explore Gaborone's city intelligence profile.
Cross-border · about 453 km from Johannesburg. Explore Maputo's city intelligence profile.
Weekend trip · about 501 km from Johannesburg. Explore Durban's city intelligence profile.
Cross-border · about 1180 km from Johannesburg. Explore Windhoek's city intelligence profile.
Common questions about living in, visiting, working in, studying in and retiring to Johannesburg, answered from the indexed cost-of-living, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data on this profile.
Johannesburg has a moderate quality-of-life estimate (58/100) across our combined indicators. Visitors can also reach nature such as nearby parks and countryside within weekend range.
Johannesburg has a moderate quality-of-life estimate (58/100) across our combined indicators. It indexes 58/100 for overall quality of life.
A single resident of Johannesburg spends roughly R14,700 per month, with a one-bedroom rent near R7,810. Overall the city is more affordable than average for South Africa. These are modelled estimates, not live quotes — verify locally.
Plan for below-average living costs and check current rents before relocating. Johannesburg is moderate for remote workers (65/100), based on connectivity, affordability and walkability and day-to-day amenities.
Johannesburg's labour market is moderate, with opportunities concentrated in tourism and hospitality, manufacturing and technology. Johannesburg has a tourism-driven economy with strengths in tourism, manufacturing and mining.
Johannesburg offers solid infrastructure and amenities for remote professionals, with a remote-work score of 58/100.
Johannesburg is a regional education center with a mix of universities and research activity in our dataset, spanning fields such as Mathematics, Law and Environmental Sciences.
Johannesburg offers a strong student environment, supported by walkable neighborhoods and relatively affordable living.
Johannesburg has a mixed healthcare profile, supported by hospitals, specialist services, and public-health infrastructure, with a healthcare score of 58/100. Residents have solid access to healthcare across primary, specialist, and emergency care.
Johannesburg offers a combination of healthcare access, safety, and amenities that may appeal to retirees, with a retirement score of 62/100. Residents benefit from walkable streets and day-to-day services.
Johannesburg has a semi-arid climate, averaging about 23.9°C annually with roughly 600 mm of rain. The hottest month is Jan and the coldest Jul. The driest is typically Jul.
Johannesburg scores below average for safety in our index (43/100); research neighborhoods and take standard precautions.
Johannesburg indexes a walkability score of 81 and a cycling score of 59 out of 100. Check the local operator for live transit routes and fares.
Johannesburg has limited indexed nature destinations within day-trip range.
Johannesburg scores modest for family living (54/100).
Johannesburg rates 28/100 for outdoor lifestyle and 43/100 for green space.
Johannesburg is most useful for users comparing affordability and economic depth in southern Africa against energy-transition and safety considerations. Its standout dimensions are internet speed (80/100) and cost of living (76/100). The area most worth watching is safety (60/100), where the model registers practical gaps. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 5 institutional references.
Country context is available on the South Africa country page. Related rankings include Overall Intelligence, Quality of Life, Remote Work. See where Johannesburg appears in global rankings or read the scoring methodology.
Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.
5 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
Used to normalize air-quality indicators toward health-protective benchmarks.
Used as an energy-resource and weather-normalization reference.
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.
Used to ground energy-readiness scoring in international transition guidance.