NYC was just ranked the best city for nightlife in America, according to Time Out

New York City has officially earned another superlative to add to its already crowded trophy case: Time Out has named the Big Apple the best city for nightlife in America.

In our new global ranking of the world’s best cities for nightlife in 2026, NYC landed at No. 3 overall, behind only Bangkok and Berlin. Because the list includes only the highest-ranking city from each country, that makes New York the top U.S. entry—and, naturally, the country’s undisputed after-dark champion.

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The ranking drew on feedback from more than 24,000 locals around the world, who were asked about the quality and affordability of nightlife, as well as whether their cities feel safe, welcoming, diverse, exciting and conducive to finding community. Time Out’s city editors and nightlife experts also weighed in.

We gave our home turf a very healthy vote of confidence: 82-percent said the city’s nightlife is “good” or “amazing,” the third-highest local rating in the survey. The city also received a 95-percent approval score from our expert panel. Respondents were especially likely to describe New York as exciting, diverse and lively.

Of course, participating in the city’s nightlife is not exactly a budget-friendly hobby. Only 40-percent of New Yorkers said it’s affordable to go out here, the lowest affordability score among the cities surveyed. (That tracks for anyone who's ever paid for a couple of cocktails and a cover charge.)

Still, New York’s strength is its range. There are big-room dance floors, tiny cocktail bars, live-music haunts, wine clubs, queer parties and stoop gatherings. You can dance under the Kosciuszko Bridge, head to a Harlem block party or find a community-centered wine event in Brooklyn—and that’s before getting into the city’s bar scene.

Nightlife conversations in the city these days often lean toward doom and gloom with club closures, rising rents and reports of younger generations drinking less. But New York’s showing suggests the city’s nights are evolving rather than disappearing. The party may be more scattered, more expensive and occasionally over by 10 pm—but it is very much still on.