At , we take great pride in our annual ranking of the world’s best cities, which is based on survey data from 18,500 local participants (and the help of a panel of experts), but what makes a city great means something different to each generation, and that’s why we dug a little deeper to find out what matters most to Gen Z.
So, drawing on the same data that was used to rank our list of the world’s best cities, but filtered for responses from those under the age of 30, we now have a comprehensive ranking of the best cities in the world for Gen Z, and topping that list was Bangkok.
That’s right – the Thai capital beat out the likes of every other city to claim the crown as the best hub in the world for those under the age of 30, so let’s find out why.
Well, firstly it’s because a whopping 84 percent of our participants said they are happy living in Bangkok, and more so than in any other city, the locals here said they find it easy to make friends – a pretty good foundation, right?
It also ranked as a very affordable place to live, with 71 percent of under-30s rating Bangkok as budget-friendly, which is obviously a massive factor in quality of life for young people. Oh, and Bangkok also claimed a spot in our roundup for the best cities in the world for nightlife – read more about that here.
But the Thai capital was far from the only city to score well among under-30s. Melbourne claimed second place, with a staggering 96 percent of young locals rating the Aussie hub’s art and cultural scene, and in third place it was Cape Town, which scored well for happiness, beauty, cheap nights out and being an ‘exciting’ place to live.
Check out our brand-new list of the best cities in the world for Gen Z here.
Did you see that this South American city was named one of the world’s best for nightlife in 2025?
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