Institute for the Quality of Life recently released their 2025 Happy City Index, tracking 82 indicators of happiness across six major categories including Citizens, Governance, Environment, Economy, Health and Mobility. The index measured the policies that contribute to the quality of life, as well as their implementation and impact on residents.
The index noted that no city should ultimately be considered "the happiest", instead naming a group of 31 cities that made the "Gold Cities" list, indicating especially strong scores across all metrics.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Denmark frequently ranks in the happiest countries index, so perhaps it's no surprise that its capital city received the highest overall score. Copenhagen scores exceptionally well in the Environment category, which ranks its green spaces, sustainability and waste management; and the Economy category, which factors in items like GDP, median salary and overall innovation and international company presence.
Zurich, Switzerland
Ranked second highest in the index, Switzerland's largest city received especially high marks in the Citizens category as well as the Governance category, which measures citizen participation in government policies and access to digital services to improve life for residents.
Singapore
The city-state of Singapore often ranks high in various indexes, especially as one of the happiest countries in Asia due to its ease of doing business, cleanliness and infrastructure. In the 2025 Happiest City Index, it scored particularly well in the newly created Health metric, which tracks overall safety, public health initiatives like vaccinations and financial protection for health expenses.
Aarhus, Denmark
As Denmark's second-largest city, Aarhus often gets called the "world's smallest big city", something that helps residents stay happy by combining urban amenities with a small community feel. The city scored well across all metrics, but especially in Citizens, Environment and Health – factors that residents say come across in the ease of life here.
Antwerp, Belgium
Antwerp managed to inch out larger sister-city Brussels in the Happy Cities index, with higher scores in the Citizens, Government and Environment categories. Residents praise its reliable public transportation, its safe and easy cycling and its compact size – all of which making getting around quick and easy.
