Techniques for scheduling measurements for cells in multiple (e.g., GSM and W-CDMA) wireless communication systems are described. GSM neighbor cells are categorized based on a number of states. The states are prioritized in a manner to achieve good performance. The GSM neighbor cells are thus assigned different priorities depending on their states. W-CDMA neighbor cells are prioritized relative to the states for GSM cells. All W-CDMA neighbor cells can be assigned the same state, given the same priority, and considered as “one” W-CDMA cell in the scheduling. A cell in the GSM or W-CDMA system is selected based on the priorities of the neighbor cells, and the selected cell is scheduled for measurement in the next available frame. The highest-ranking GSM or W-CDMA cell for each idle frame is thus granted use of that idle frame for measurement.