Melbourne is known for many things – good coffee, excellent restaurants and cool design being key. Happy locals? The answer to that one depends on who you ask. Wondering what makes a happy city? Some indexes look at stuff like environment, economy and health – all very important. But then there are the little things: a sense of community in your neighbourhood or a city’s green spaces. Other things that add up to improve the happiness of a city’s population include its cultural scene or its natural beauty.
At Time Out, we take the pulse of city living by going straight to the people that matter most: the locals. Globally, more than 18,000 urbanites took part in our annual city survey this year, used to create our definitive ranking of the world’s best cities. We asked about culture, nightlife, food, walkability, affordability and quality of life, among other things. And we also specifically asked about happiness.
Our happiness metric was based on the percentage of positive responses to five statements: My city makes me happy; I feel happier in my city than other places I’ve visited or lived; The people in my city seem happy; I find joy in the everyday experiences my city offers; The sense of happiness in my city has grown a lot recently.
According to the data, Melbourne is not only the happiest city in Australia, but also the tenth happiest city globally. So what’s making Melburnians smile? Compared with other Aussie capitals (particularly Sydney) Melbourne’s cost of living is manageable, our younger generations have it good (Melbourne claimed second place in Time Out’s recent list of the best cities in the world for Gen Z), and the general "liveability" is high – with Melbourne ranking among the top five most liveable cities in the world three years in a row.
The only other Aussie city to crack the top 20 was Sydney, which ranked at number 13 on the list.
The 20 happiest cities in the world in 2025
- Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Medellín, Colombia
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Mumbai, India
- Beijing, China
- Shanghai, China
- Chicago, US
- Seville, Spain
- Melbourne, Australia
- Brighton, UK
- Porto, Portugal
- Sydney, Australia
- Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Marrakech, Morocco
- Dubai, UAE
- Hanoi, Vietnam
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Valencia, Spain
- Glasgow, UK
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