Our beloved South Australian capital seems to find itself on lists like these rather frequently, and we don’t think it’s by coincidence. In particular, Adelaide has been a mainstay on most liveable city and most beautiful city lists, but this time, it’s topped the charts as Australia’s happiest city.
Each year, Happy Cities Index ranks the happiest cities worldwide with gold ranking (1st to 31st), silver ranking (32nd to 100th), and bronze ranking (101-200). Adelaide placed first for Australian cities and 29th globally.
The index ranks cities on six key dimensions: citizens, governance, environment, economy, health, and mobility. Each city receives a total score based on 82 specific indicators, from access to green spaces and public services to culture and transport.
Adelaide was awarded 846 points, with particularly high scores in health and mobility. While the city also scored highly in the environment category, it is worth noting that rankings came before the state’s algal bloom crisis was in full effect. However, the city narrowly squeezed into the gold category where it sits among the 31 most highly rated cities for happiness worldwide.
No other Australian city cracked the gold tier. In the silver category, Canberra came in next at 51st, followed by Melbourne at 67, Sydney at 75, Brisbane at 78, and the Gold Coast at 88. Hobart at 135th, Darwin at 146th and Perth at 165th all featured in the bronze category.
At the top of the global rankings, Copenhagen secured first place with a whopping 1039 points, followed by Zurich and Singapore. European destinations dominated the top 31, though New York, Vancouver, and Auckland also earned a spot.
Last year’s rankings saw 2032 Olympic host Brisbane take the title of Australia’s happiest city, with a global ranking of 21. 2024’s happiest cities were Aarhus in Denmark, followed by Zurich in Switzerland and Berlin in Germany. Zurich has held strong in second spot, Aarhus has dropped slightly at number four, and Berlin has fallen to number 16 globally.
The Happy Cities Index is presented by The Institute for Quality of Life, who think that ‘urban wellbeing’ isn’t a one-size-fits-all. The index takes into account that happiness means different things to different people. Can students get a cheap and delicious meal? Can you get home quickly from work? How easy is it to fill your school holiday itinerary. It’s clear that Adelaide is ticking a lot of those boxes.
The festival state is packed with cultural events year-round, the city is surrounded by nature, world-class food and wine, and we think it’s one of the country’s best-kept secrets.
For the full 2025 Happy Cities Index, click here.
To find out what’s on across Adelaide, check out the Glam Adelaide Events Calendar.
