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The age-old Melbourne vs Sydney debate is still going strong, but we’ve got new stats to back up the case for the Victorian capital as Australia’s buzziest place to be. According to the latest Measuring the Night-time Economy Report 2026, Melbourne now has the fastest-growing nighttime economy in Australia, adding almost 3,000 new jobs and close to 180 new venues between 2024 and 2025.
The city's biggest success story? Food. Restaurants, cafés and other hospitality businesses accounted for 77 per cent of all new nighttime businesses, creating around 2,300 new jobs as Melburnians continued to embrace dining out well into the evening. The report also suggests that the way we spend a night out is changing. According to the stats, leisure and entertainment businesses grew at twice the national average, with younger Melburnians increasingly choosing experience-led evenings over traditional nights at the pub.
While many Australian cities have embraced Thursday as the new Friday thanks to flexible work schedules, Melbourne is bucking the trend. Crowds remain just as strong on Friday nights, with almost 60 per cent of core nighttime businesses open between 6pm and 9pm across both evenings. Come the weekend, the city stays lively even later, with almost half of businesses trading past 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Melbourne's shopping scene is also helping keep the city buzzing after dark, recording some of the country's strongest evening retail activity, with up to 52 per cent of retailers staying open on weeknights.
All up, Melbourne's nighttime economy generated more than $5.1 billion in sales between 2024 and 2025 – the strongest growth of any Australian capital.
The figures come after another bumper year of major events, with more than 4.3 million visitors flocking to the city throughout 2024–25 for festivals, sporting events, concerts and cultural celebrations. The City of Melbourne has also continued investing in the sector, providing $600,000 in grants to 19 businesses and 20 events to help keep the city lively after sunset.
“Melbourne's mojo is running red hot at the moment,” said Lord Mayor Nick Reece. “They're embracing everything our city has to offer after dark – from the latest dining hotspots and night markets to uniquely Melbourne events that bring people together.”
Perhaps the most telling takeaway? As Reece put it, today's young Melburnians are increasingly “more keen on matcha than Margaritas and prefer hot pot over pints” – proving that the city's nightlife is evolving well beyond the traditional pub crawl. That being said, we don’t think there’s anything wrong with the tried-and-tested drinks to dinner to dancefloor formula.
You can check out the full report over here.
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