Kano state emerged as Nigeria‘s most livable family city, leading on safety, childcare, grid supply, and daily affordability, according to a new survey by SBM Intelligence.
The report, published on Tuesday, surveyed quality of life, covering 442 respondents across Abuja (FCT), Anambra, Bauchi, Cross River, Kano, Lagos, Oyo, and Rivers states between April and May 2026.
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It also conducted a ‘Power Survey’ on 191 respondents independently, across the same eight states in January, as complementary data sources. The report used a five-point composite scoring system.
“The data in this report is only up to date as of Wednesday, 6 May 2026. Some of it is subject to change during the natural course of events.
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“In each of the eight states, we deliberately recruited respondents to achieve an even split across high‑brow, middle‑class, and low‑income residential areas,” the report stated.
Findings
The report noted that Kano State’s major challenge is income levels, but families able to live on lower earnings or those with established livelihoods in the state enjoy a quality of life that many wealthier cities are unable to offer.
The report said Kano state has the safest streets, the most affordable daily life, and the easiest access to childcare of the states surveyed.
Rivers state trailed Kano state in the general quality of life ranking, driven by strong family stability, the lowest disruption frequency, and the best healthcare scores.
It also stated that Cross River state collapsed on every metric, including safety, schools, healthcare, and affordability.
Cross River state scores last on 11 of 15 dimensions. Abuja, the country‘s aspirational city, ranks fourth: high on income and support networks, but undercut by poor affordability and a strikingly pessimistic outlook on power.
“Of the states surveyed, Kano tops the quality-of-life ranking on safety, childcare, and grid supply, though incomes are low. Cross River ranks last on nearly every metric; no key strength, only collapse.
“Oyo holds its people through optimism. Lagos and Abuja struggle with affordability and power pessimism,” the report stated.
Income
Abuja recorded the highest income score at 3.16, with 41.2 per cent of Abuja respondents earning between N500,000 and N999,999 per month. This is followed by Cross River State at 3.04, while Kano State ranked lowest at 2.08, with over 31 percent earning below N100,000 monthly.
Lagos scored 2.43 despite its reputation as Nigeria’s top-earning city, reflecting wage pressure and a large informal workforce. The report noted that high incomes in Lagos and Abuja are increasingly offset by rising living costs, including rent, transport, and utilities.
“By the time I finish paying rent and transport for the year, I already feel like I‘m working to recover from January to March. Nothing is left for savings,” a respondent stated.
Living costs, housing
Kano State ranked highest in daily affordability with a score of 3.53, while Rivers State scored 3.53 for housing and 3.44 for daily living costs, reflecting relatively affordable living conditions.
Lagos recorded the lowest scores at 1.63 for housing and 1.71 for daily life, while Cross River State also ranked low despite moderate incomes.
Abuja scored 2.25 on both measures, highlighting that higher earnings do not necessarily guarantee financial comfort.
Extra help
The survey stated that people living in Abuja and Kano receive practical support from extended family and friends, covering childcare, school runs, and emergencies, at 3.55 and 3.27, respectively.
This reflects the strong kinship networks that characterise northern and FCT communities, where extended family proximity is common and reciprocal care is a cultural norm.
In the extra support metric, Cross River scores 1.97, the only state below 2.0 on community support. Lagos recorded 2.53, while Rivers got 2.98, also scoring below the survey mean.
The report noted that the data is consistent with social atomisation observed in high‑mobility urban centres, where people move for work and leave networks behind.
Safety
Kano scores 3.98 on safety, while some 80.4 per cent of Kano respondents said they felt ‘somewhat or very safe’ after dark and ‘rarely or never worried’ about their children’s exposure to crime.
In late 2025, after a surge in banditry and kidnapping in parts of the state, Governor Abba Yusuf deployed a 2,000‑strong neighbourhood watch and opened negotiations with neighbouring Kaduna, Katsina, and Bauchi for a cross‑border intelligence‑sharing framework.
In a different vein, Cross River has a safety score of 1.84, the lowest in the survey. Rivers (3.47) scores well despite its wider security reputation, reflecting the survey‘s focus on specific residential neighbourhoods rather than citywide conditions.
Lagos (3.14) sits just above the midpoint.
Education, healthcare
Kano State ranked highest in affordable school quality with a score of 3.61, followed by Abuja at 3.55 and Rivers State at 3.53.
Lagos scored 2.92, reflecting limited access to quality schools for average-income families, while Cross River State ranked lowest at 1.96 amid declining education standards, poor public school conditions, and rising unofficial fees despite its free education policy.
Also, Rivers State recorded the highest healthcare quality score at 3.68, followed by Oyo State at 3.49 and Abuja at 3.33.
Lagos scored 2.67, indicating that quality healthcare remains inaccessible to many residents, while Cross River State scored 2.00, reflecting weak public healthcare services.
This points to tangible investment in healthcare in Rivers state. In December 2025, Governor Fubara commissioned the Ahoada Zonal Hospital, a 105‑bed secondary healthcare facility, as part of a wider programme constructing zonal hospitals across the state.
The state has also begun revitalising over 200 primary health centres13 and the state has been commended by UNICEF.
Other metrics
Across two surveys, Oyo State and Bauchi State suffer the most household disruptions, while Rivers State and Kano State fare best.
Oyo records high disruption (2.16) with frequent outages and low grid supply (2.65/5), while Kano shows strong power access, with only 9.5% under eight hours daily.
Anambra State performs worst on electricity (1.70), with 81.4 per cent below eight hours, prompting state intervention over persistent supply failures.
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More so, relocation intent is highest in Anambra State at 49.1 per cent and Lagos at 49.0 per cent, driven by high costs, weak services, and perceived better opportunities elsewhere.
Rivers State also shows notable exit intent at 40.4 per cent despite strong scores, reflecting insecurity perceptions, while Oyo State records near-total retention, 1.8 per cent, due to high satisfaction and optimism.
Abuja is the top relocation destination, followed by Lagos, with smaller mentions for Anambra, Enugu, and Uyo.
Though Abuja ranks only mid-tier in terms of quality and affordability is weak, it retains a strong symbolic appeal as a seat of opportunity and order, even as rising living costs strain residents.
Recommendation
The report stated that Cross River State faces an urgent quality-of-life crisis and must treat rising relocation intent as a political emergency. It advised the policymakers in the state to rapidly fix waste, roads, and schools to prevent population loss and fiscal decline.
The report also recommended that the federal government should study Kano State’s strong childcare, power management, and security systems, and scale them cautiously to avoid overextension as regional insecurity spreads.
It stated that Anambra State must urgently address its severe electricity failures, where extremely low supply and poor satisfaction show a broken power contract despite recent reforms.
It further urged the Lagos government to prioritise affordable housing, healthcare, education, and tenant protections, as its high costs and service gaps are pushing middle-income residents out.
The SBM Intelligence report said Abuja must tackle rising living costs, especially rent and transport, through housing supply expansion and improved connectivity. It said this will prevent the capital from losing its role as the country’s main aspiration city.
SBM Intelligence, an Africa-focused geopolitical research and communications firm, addresses the need for political, social, economic, and market change with data and analytics.
