They've been in power for seven years. Říčany is again at the top of the quality of life rankings

Prague, 27 November - For the seventh time in a row, Říčany in Central Bohemia has become the place with the highest quality of life in the Czech Republic. Beroun or Tišnov have now entered the top twenty. Kostelec nad Orlicí made the biggest move among all towns. This is according to the seventh annual Quality of Life Index, compiled by the company Obce v datech.

The top positions of the imaginary ranking remained unchanged compared to the previous year. The first place was taken by Říčany, followed by Prague. The third place belongs to Hustopeče, which exchanged the position with Brandýs nad Labem-Starou Boleslav, this time fourth.

Beroun moved up from the third place to the ninth place, for which it is a return to the top ten after three years. Tišnov in the South Moravian Region also made a significant move upwards. "The reasons are similar for both towns. Young people have moved there and the overall population has increased. In the case of Tišnov, the good accessibility to Brno has had a positive effect," said Jan Havránek, managing director of Obce v datuch.

Kostelec nad Orlicí was the absolute leader, jumping 76 places. It was followed by Česká Třebová (+ 68 positions) and Vimperk (+ 55 positions). Kostelec was helped in its move up by better availability of kindergarten capacity and, as with the top towns, the migration of young people. Vodňany (- 98 places) and Humpolec (- 79 places) went in the opposite direction this time. Karlovy Vary and Bystřice nad Pernštejnem fell by 73 and 62 places respectively.

The main reason for the lower ranking of these municipalities is the outflow of young people, which, of course, negatively affects the total number of inhabitants. In addition to the towns mentioned above, this is especially true for the Moravian-Silesian and Ústí Regions. The number of inhabitants in Karviná, Český Těšín, Rýmařov and Bruntál has declined significantly, while in the Ústí Region it concerns Litvínov, Děčín and Varnsdorf.

"A comparison of all the indices shows that one of the biggest changes is the price of housing. While in the previous period the transaction price of real estate was CZK 41,184 per m2, now it was CZK 48,186 per m2," Havránek said. It has decreased only in about a tenth of the towns (e.g. Vrchlabí, Přelouč, Hlinsko), elsewhere it has increased rapidly. This was most noticeable, for example, in Lysá nad Labem, Pohořelice and Bystřice nad Pernštejnem.

The complete results are available on the website https://www.obcevdatech.cz/en/.

This year we have slightly adjusted the Quality of Life Index. We are now presenting the specific ranking only for the top 20. Other rankings are shown in groups, but the results of the individual indices are still available for all municipalities. A completely new feature is the Traffic Accident Index, in which Neratovice performed best. 

"Partial changes have been made in the index of food sales, where we have included sales areas of all sizes. Until now, we counted stores over 200 square metres, but the new methodology better reflects the strength of smaller stores and the availability of services in rural areas. The latest adjustment concerns the Protected Areas Index, in which we have now included protected areas abroad, provided they meet the condition that they are within 30 kilometres as the crow flies from the town hall of the town in question," Havránek explained.

Quality of life is measured by indices that have an impact on a person's contented and happy life. The methodology and the complete list of indexes can be found HERE.