While Melbourne may wear the official crown, the Regional Cities Victoria (RCV) liveability index report, which compares 10 Victorian regional cities to Melbourne, shows Warrnambool has the highest ranking out of all the councils.

Chief executive officer Bruce Anson said the results were something Warrnambool should be proud of.

“We are a liveable alternative to Melbourne,” he said.

“Melbourne is forecast to grow to eight million people by 2060. To put that into perspective, it’s two times the population of Brisbane moving there.

“Regional cities are saying to the government and future governments we can play a significant part, and take a million people into the regions. To attract these people we must have a sophisticated feel.

“If we want to attract people out of the metropolitan area, we do have a to have a moderate metropolitan feel. That will attract the doctors, lawyers, teachers, university professionals.

“The result shows we have been focusing and delivering on services.”

The report, compiled by Deloitte, says Warrnambool scores equal to, or higher than, Melbourne on six of the seven themes, the most of any RCV Councils.

The themes include housing affordability, local amenities, nature-based attraction, social capital, physical capital and health and safety. 

Warrnambool scores above average in its housing affordability, with only 18.5 per cent of low-income residents spending 30 per cent or more of their income on housing.

“This may partially reflect the council’s housing affordability program, funded since 2013,” the report says.

Warrnambool also reports a level of criminal offences below the Melbourne and RCV benchmarks.

It excels in its provision of nature-based attraction, which the report says is likely in due to our location and proximity to natural features.

Mayor Robert Anderson said the report showed Warrnambool offered exemplary attractions. 

"This is a place to live, work and invest," he said.

Improvements can be made on mobile and broadband coverage, and the report notes rail reliability over the 12 months to April 2017 is also poor, with 52.9 per cent of services delivered on time.

The speed of rail services is lower than the RCV council average.

Unemployment is below the Melbourne and other regional cities’ average at 4.6 per cent, where the capital is 6.1.

The report says the liveability index spans criteria which can be used by councils to attract and retain residents.

It may also be used to identify and understand potential opportunities for member cities to improve on existing liveability performance.