Ibeya Net "Town Livability & Desirable Towns" Ranking 2026 <Tohoku Edition>

Daito Trust Construction Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kei Takeuchi) conducted its largest-ever resident satisfaction survey and compiled the "Ibeya Net Town Livability Ranking 2026 <Tohoku Edition>" and "Ibeya Net Desirable Towns Ranking 2026 <Tohoku Edition>".

"Ibeya Net Town Livability Ranking 2026 <Tohoku Edition>" Key Points

All of the top 5 most livable towns are in Miyagi Prefecture.

Tomiya City ranks first for the 7th consecutive year. Rifu Town, Miyagi District, and Taihaku Ward, Sendai City, rank second and third for the second consecutive year.

○ Tomiya City Ranks First for the 7th Consecutive Year

Tomiya City, Miyagi Prefecture, is a bedroom community adjacent to Sendai City, rich in nature and home to large commercial facilities such as Aeon Mall and Costco. It is also home to many families raising children, and it achieved an extremely high evaluation with a standard deviation score in the 80s, ranking first for the 7th consecutive year.

○ Municipalities in the Top Ranks Also Score High in Multiple Factors

Municipalities with high livability rankings also score high in the factors of "Friendliness" and "Vibrancy." In particular, the same municipalities that ranked in the top 5 for "Livability" also ranked high in the "Vibrancy" factor.

*The "Livability Ranking" is compiled by accumulating responses from 5 years, from 2022 to 2026. However, if the cumulative number of respondents for each municipality surveyed does not reach the specified 50 people from 2022 to 2026, responses from 2021 are also accumulated. If the number still does not meet the requirement even after adding 2021, responses from 2020 will be accumulated, and if still insufficient, responses from 2019 will be accumulated. There is no overlap in respondents.

"Ibeya Net Desirable Towns Ranking 2026 <Tohoku Edition>" Key Points

Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, ranks first as the most desirable town for the 7th consecutive year. Tokyo's 23 wards rank second for the 5th consecutive year. Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture, ranks third.

○ Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Ranks First for the 7th Consecutive Year

Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, has been ranked first for the 7th consecutive year. Tokyo's 23 wards rank second for the 5th consecutive year, and Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture, which rose from 4th place last year, ranks third.

○ 74.5% of Respondents Affirm Their Current Town of Residence

"No particular town I want to live in" (55.7%) and "I want to continue living in my current town" (18.8%) total 74.5%, indicating that, as in the previous year, people are evaluating their current towns positively.

*The "Desirable Towns Ranking" is compiled by ranking all municipalities nationwide based on responses from residents of the Tohoku area in 2026.

*Administrative wards are aggregated into a single municipality for the survey.

Town Livability Ranking 2026 <Tohoku Edition> Top 15 Municipalities & Factor Rankings

"Municipalities" Outside the Top 15 & Factor Ranking Topics

● Shizukasa Chian (Quietness and Public Safety) ranks first in Shizukuishi Town, Iwate District, Iwate Prefecture, second in Ogachi Town, Ogachi District, Akita Prefecture, and third in Iwate Town, Iwate District, Iwate Prefecture.

● Bukka Kake (Price and Rent) ranks second in Gojome Town, Minamiakita District, Akita Prefecture.

● Bosai (Disaster Prevention) ranks second in Ishikawa Town, Ishikawa District, Fukushima Prefecture, and third in Shizukuishi Town, Iwate District, Iwate Prefecture.

*Scores are the average values when "overall satisfaction with the current town of residence" is rated as: Very Satisfied: 100 points, Satisfied: 75 points, Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied: 50 points, Dissatisfied: 25 points, Very Dissatisfied: 0 points.

*Standard deviation is normalized so that the average score is 50, and it indicates how far the score is from the average. If standard deviations are the same but ranks differ, the difference is in the second decimal place or beyond.

*For factor rankings, if the standard deviation is less than 50, it is displayed as "-".

Past Rankings for Town Livability (Municipalities) Ranking 2026 <Tohoku Edition> Top 50

● Tomiya City, Miyagi Prefecture, ranked first in 2026, has been in the top position for 7 consecutive years since 2020.

● The following municipalities have improved their rankings by double digits since 2020:

・2nd place: Rifu Town, Miyagi District, Miyagi Prefecture - 14th place in 2020

・8th place: Tagajo City, Miyagi Prefecture - 18th place in 2020

・16th place: Yahaba Town, Shiwa District, Iwate Prefecture - 26th place in 2020

・24th place: Sagae City, Yamagata Prefecture - 43rd place in 2020

・25th place: Nishigo Village, Nishi-Shirakawa District, Fukushima Prefecture - 51st place in 2020

・27th place: Hirakawa City, Aomori Prefecture - 42nd place in 2020

● The following municipalities, which were not surveyed or whose rankings were not disclosed due to a standard deviation below 50 in 2020 (less than 50 respondents), have improved their rankings by double digits:

7th place: Kōri Town, Date District, Fukushima Prefecture; 20th place: Kagamiishi Town, Iwase District, Fukushima Prefecture; 30th place: Nanbu Town, Sannohe District, Aomori Prefecture; 35th place: Shiroishi Town, Nishiokitama District, Yamagata Prefecture; 36th place: Yamabe Town, Higashimurayama District, Yamagata Prefecture; 37th place: Katagami City, Akita Prefecture; 39th place: Rokunohe Town, Kamikita District, Aomori Prefecture; 43rd place: Misato Town, Senboku District, Akita Prefecture; 48th place: Kami Town, Kami District, Miyagi Prefecture

*Although not released as a Tohoku edition in 2020, rankings were calculated from the scores released for each prefecture.

Survey Overview

◇ Survey Method

Survey questionnaires were distributed and collected via the internet from registered monitors of Macromill, Inc.

◇ Respondents

Total of 52,669 individuals aged 20 and over residing in the Tohoku area (Aomori Prefecture, Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Akita Prefecture, Yamagata Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture) were surveyed, with data accumulated from 2022-2026 (responses from 2021-2019 were additionally used for some cases).

[Gender Ratio] Male 48.2% : Female 51.8%

[Marital Status] Unmarried 41.1% : Married 58.9% [Children] None 43.4% : Yes 56.6%

[Age Distribution] 20s 13.8%, 30s 21.3%, 40s 24.6%, 50s 22.6%, 60s 13.4%, 70s 4.3%

◇ Survey Period

February 10 (Tue) - March 22 (Sun), 2026: 2026 Survey (Number of respondents: 12,391)

February 21 (Fri) - March 10 (Mon), 2025: 2025 Survey (Number of respondents: 10,631)

February 21 (Wed) - March 14 (Thu), 2024: 2024 Survey (Number of respondents: 9,766)

February 17 (Fri) - March 15 (Wed), 2023: 2023 Survey (Number of respondents: 10,489)

March 8 (Tue) - March 29 (Tue), 2022: 2022 Survey (Number of respondents: 8,574)

March 17 (Wed) - March 30 (Tue), 2021: 2021 Survey (Number of respondents: 192 *Partial responses only)

March 17 (Tue) - April 3 (Fri), 2020: 2020 Survey (Number of respondents: 353 *Partial responses only)

March 26 (Tue) - April 8 (Mon), 2019: 2019 Survey (Number of respondents: 273 *Partial responses only)

Total 52,669

◇ Survey Structure

Survey planning, questionnaire design, and analysis: Daito Trust Construction Co., Ltd. Chintai Mirai Kenkyujo, Takeshi So (Fellow); Questionnaire distribution and collection: Macromill, Inc.

◇ Response Method

The Livability Ranking is created from the average score of "Overall satisfaction with the current town of residence (Very Satisfied: 100 points, Satisfied: 75 points, Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied: 50 points, Dissatisfied: 25 points, Very Dissatisfied: 0 points)". The Desirable Towns Ranking is created by aggregating the number of votes from responses using a free-word suggestion method where multiple candidate municipalities are displayed and selected based on the entered municipality name.

*Reproduction, public transmission, distribution, alteration, or reprinting of this press release, in whole or in part, on other websites is prohibited, except for printing and saving for personal use or as otherwise permitted by copyright law.

*Media organizations such as newspapers, magazines, television, and radio are requested to indicate "Ibeya Net Town Livability & Desirable Towns Ranking 2026 <Tohoku Edition>" and the source when publishing, reporting, or quoting this press release.

*For academic research purposes, individual-level data from this survey may be available. Please contact us for details.

*The "Livability Ranking" website features academic papers and explanatory articles on survey data related to town livability and urban development. For details, please visit the website.

▼Details here https://www.eheya.net/sumicoco/ ▼Press release here

https://www.kentaku.co.jp/news/survey/2026/sumicoco_tohoku2026.html