The Burrow
Dec 4, 2025
In recent years, there’s been a notable trend of people putting greater emphasis on their mental health inside and outside of work, both as a means to protect their general mood and to improve their own personal well-being.
It goes without saying that various factors can influence your mental health and quality of life, but one key thing you can’t ignore is the social infrastructure of your local community. From affordable healthcare and safe streets to accessible nightlife and bustling coffee shops, all can contribute to helping you stay happy.
But this begs the question – which cities are the best at providing these facilities?
To find out, the health insurance experts at Compare the Market did some research into the social infrastructure of 60 cities worldwide, assigning each a score ranging from 0 to 100 based on the average cost of a night out, the average weekly working hours, and the quality of green space found in the city.
Here’s what we learned about the most (and least) social parts of the world.
Despite being one of the smallest cities on our list, being home to just 231,800 residents, Porto ranks as our most social city in the world. It offers plenty of places to socialise, with 1,149.3 restaurants per 100k people (the highest rate in our rankings), and it’s also an economical city for nightlife, with the average night out costing just US$73.06 (AU$112.65).
And for those who prefer to relax, they can also enjoy 15.1 parks per 100k people, with some of the highest quality green space in the world (81.46). Alternatively, if you like to spend your time at home, residents can easily unwind thanks to an average internet speed of 218.01 Mbps. With a total score of 55.38, it beats out tough competition to finish at the top of our list.
Next up, we’re sticking with Portugal for another moment, as Lisbon takes a silver medal in our rankings of the most social cities. As the capital city of Portugal, it’s home to the fourth-highest number of pubs and clubs per 100k people in our data (36.6), and a typical night out costs just US$77.11 (AU$118.89).
The city is also home to a large number of parks (13.6 per 100k) and restaurants (1,127 per 100k), meaning there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Finishing with a score of 53.85 out of 100, it narrowly loses out on a first-place finish by less than two points.
Paris is renowned for its bustling arts scene, iconic landmarks, and delicious cuisine, but it’s also a brilliant city for a night out. With 58 events listed on TripAdvisor in the city, it’s the second-most active city for nightlife on our list behind London, and a typical night out only costs US$103.80 (AU$160.05).
It also boasts 906.6 restaurants per 100k residents, and with the average local only working 28.7 hours a week, there are plenty of opportunities to get socialising. It scores 53.17 out of 100 in our rankings.
In fourth place on our rankings of the most social cities in the world, we have Barcelona. Locals can enjoy a wide range of activities, with 27.2 pubs and clubs per 100k people, and more than 78,000 Instagram posts sharing the city’s nightlife.
The average night out in Barcelona costs US$96.11 (AU$148.19), making it an affordable choice. Plus, with 34 events listed on TripAdvisor, there’s no shortage of ways to get involved in the local culture. Its index score of 45.74 out of 100 demonstrates the strength of its social infrastructure.
Finishing our top five is Houston, which is home to a thriving nightlife scene. We recorded more than 800,000 Instagram posts discussing the city’s social scene, which is more than any other area in our rankings and almost double that of the city in second place (Los Angeles).
It also boasts some of the most interesting volunteering projects in the world, with 66,200 online searches for the topic last year. Its final score of 44.33 beats other cities such as Lyon (44.11) and San Francisco (44.03) to secure the final place in our top five.
Standing in stark contrast to our top 5 most social cities, the following are the 5 least social cities based on our ranking:
Athens is a popular tourist destination known for its rich history and stunning sights, but its social infrastructure appears to be quite lacking, making it the lowest-ranked city in our index with a score of 16.62.
It has the fewest restaurants per 100k people on our list (89.1), as well as just 0.6 parks for the same metric. What little green space it does have is also among the lowest-quality in Europe, with a rating of 30.29 out of 100. The city’s nights out are at least affordable, however, costing an average of $91.63 USD ($141.28 AUD).
Thessaloniki’s ranking as the second-lowest on our list sadly reinforces Greece’s weak social infrastructure. Despite having 800,000 residents, the city has so little green space that the average number of parks per 100k people sits at 0.
We also found just 535 posts about its nightlife on Instagram, which is fewer than in any other city on our list. These all contribute to its lower score of 19.55 out of 100.
Any social city needs a variety of places to meet new people, but Perth stands out as the area on our list with the fewest venues for socialising. We counted just 123.6 restaurants per 100k people in the city, and only 1.1 pubs or clubs for the same metric!
A quiet night at home in Perth can also prove to be difficult, as the average Wi-Fi speed is just 109.19 Mbps. Its final score of 23.28 makes it the third-lowest-ranked city on our list.
The capital city of Serbia, Belgrade, boasts the second-cheapest average night out in Europe (behind Brno), costing just US$68.72 (AU$105.80). Despite that, some of the city’s social infrastructure is still lacking, such as having just 0.8 parks per 100k people.
This green space is also of relatively low quality, ranked at just 53.58 out of 100. With a score of 24.61 out of 100, it finishes as the fourth-least social city in the world.
The fifth-least social city on our rankings is Oslo. Norway’s capital city has some of the highest-quality green space in Europe (rated 85.92 out of 100), but it offers only 5.1 parks per 100k people.
Its nightlife also seems to be lacking, with just 4,379 related Instagram posts, and around three events listed on TripAdvisor. It ranks just lower than Zagreb (26.21) and Naples (26.22), rounding out our list with a score of 26.05.
Despite their lower scores, even the least social cities on our ranking still have plenty of opportunities to meet new people and relax, provided you search in the right places.
If you’re looking to socialise in your area, try checking social media for nearby events relating to your hobbies. You can also ask your local friends for recommendations, or keep an eye out for flyers and posters promoting social groups.
Executive General Manager of Health Insurance at Compare the Market, Steven Spicer, notes how social areas can promote mental wellbeing.
“Socialising is a core part of a healthy mental wellbeing,” Mr Spicer said.
“Cities with a strong social infrastructure can naturally facilitate stronger levels of socialising within their inhabitants.
“If mental health is a priority for you, look for private health cover that includes psychology or counselling. Some policies may also include telehealth, wellness programs and medication support, depending on your provider, cover level and eligibility.
“When looking to take out private health insurance, it’s always a good idea to compare your options to ensure you find a policy that works for you and your lifestyle.”
This dataset ranks 60 cities worldwide based on the social opportunities each city offers. Using 10 key factors, each factor’s data was collected and normalised to a score between 0 and 1, and if data was missing, a score of 0 was given. These scores were then combined to give each city a total score out of 100, and cities were then ranked from highest to lowest.
The factors used were as follows:
The factors were then weighted as follows:
Finally, the factors were indexed as follows:
All data is correct as of 23/10/25. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regard to the sources provided.
To see the 2024 version of this story, click here.