The results for the sixth edition of the Happy City Index were announced in London last week. Developed by a team of researchers from the Institute for Quality of Life, this global ranking identifies cities that combine good governance, sustainability, resilience and quality of life for its residents. After an initial pool of over 3,400 cities, nearly 1,000 cities were chosen for deeper analysis, with 251 cities appearing in the final index. And to our surprise, Ballarat was named as the happiest town in Australia, appearing 16th on the list. Meanwhile, Melbourne just missed out on the top 100, appearing in 108th place.
Happy City Index for 2026
This index is based on 64 indicators, grouped into six themes: Citizens, Governance, Environment, Economy, Health and Mobility. The results are weighted and scored.
Only seven Australian cities appeared on the list, and three of them were from Victoria.
Ballarat received a total score of 6546, and did well across a range of factors. The gold rush town had a higher GDP per capita than the average, as well as a higher percentage of GDP growth (2.60% compared to 0.02%). The amount of Green Space per Capita was listed at 182.35, more than double the average of 72.57. And, it also had a strong Net Internal Migration Rate per 1,000 Population of 18.10, compared to the average of just 3.58, meaning more people are choosing to live in Ballarat. To read the full results for Ballarat, click here.
Results for Australian cities:
- 16. Ballarat, VIC
- 35. Maitland, NSW
- 71. Adelaide, SA
- 108. Melbourne, VIC
- 122. Geelong, VIC
- 132. Hobart, TAS
- 168. Rockhampton, QLD
Top 10 cities
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Helsinki, Finland
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Uppsala, Sweden
- Tokyo, Japan
- Trondheim, Norway
- Bern, Switzerland
- Malmö, Sweden
- Munich, Germany
- Aarhus, Denmark
To see the full list, click here.