It is not uncommon to go on a vacation and wonder, “Why am I not living here?” While the U.S. only ranks 23rd on the World Happiness Report, there are pockets of happiness that outshine the rest of the country, as not everyone’s experience of joy is equal. If you’re unhappy where you are living—or are looking for a fresh start—you might want to consider the happiest cities in the U.S.
Personal finance company WalletHub just released its rankings of America’s happiest cities. The company ranked cities based on 29 metrics of happiness, from depression rates to the income-growth rate to average leisure time spent per day. Each metric was ranked on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing maximum happiness.
“The ideal city provides conditions that foster good mental and physical health, like reasonable work hours, short commutes, good weather, and caring neighbors,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the report.
Here are how the happiest and unhappiest cities measured up.
10 happiest cities
- Fremont, Calif.
- San Jose, Calif.
- Irvine, Calif.
- Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Overland Park, Kans.
- Lincoln, Neb.
- Madison, Wis.
- Scottsdale, Ariz.
- San Francisco, Calif.
- Huntington Beach, Calif.
The WalletHub report explains that the top city, Fremont, Calif., had the highest share of households with an income above $75,000—nearly 80%. One study from 2022 found that happiness increases steadily as income increases until $75,000, where happiness appears to flatten out. Analysts from WalletHub determined that cities where a substantial percentage of people make at least $75,000 per year are more likely to have maximized their happiness.
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People in Fremont also have the highest rate of life satisfaction, the fifth-lowest depression rate, and the fourth-highest average life expectancy in the country, according to WalletHub. It also has the lowest separation and divorce rate in the country, at only 8.9%, and the fewest reports of mentally unhealthy days per month.
The longest study on happiness revealed that the number one factor for long-term happiness was the strength of people’s relationships—and Fremont took the sixth spot among WalletHub’s ranking of the most caring cities in America.
How the cities were determined
To figure out how each city compared, WalletHub drew upon their own research and data from the U.S. government, as well as several studies on happiness. They then used the following metrics to score the cities:
Emotional and physical well-being
- Life-satisfaction index
- Depression rate
- Suicide rate
- Adequate sleep rate
- Physical health index, which measures the percentage of adults reporting good or better health.
- Sports participation rate
- Share of people aged 12 or older who used marijuana in the past month
- Retail opioid prescriptions dispensed per 100 persons
- Share of adults with mental health not good, which measures the percentage of adults with 14 or more mentally unhealthy days reported in the past month.
- Life expectancy
- Food insecurity rate
Income and employment
- Income-growth rate
- Share of households with annual incomes above $75,000
- Poverty rate
- Job satisfaction
- 4+ star job opportunities per total people in the labor force, which measures the number of job opportunities at 4+ star rated companies on Glasssdoor.com per the total people in the labor force
- Job security, measuring the probability of unemployment
- Unemployment rate
- Underemployment rate
- Bankruptcy rate
- Weekly work hours
- Commute time
Community and environment
- WalletHub’s “Most Caring Cities” Ranking
- Separation and divorce rate
- Hate-crime incidents per capita
- Ideal weather, using data from WalletHub’s “Cities with the Best & Worst Weather” ranking.
- Acres of parkland per 1,000 residents
- Average leisure time spent per day
- Well-being “community” index score Note: This metric refers to the “Community” section of the Sharecare Well-Being Index, which refers to “liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community.”
10 unhappiest cities
173. Mobile, Ala.
174. Montgomery, Ala.
175. Huntington, W.Va.
176. Birmingham, Ala.
177. Toledo, Ohio
178. Gulfport, Miss.
179. Fort Smith, Ark.
180. Memphis, Tenn.
181. Detroit, Mich.
182. Cleveland, Ohio
For more on happiness:
- Researchers have followed over 700 people since 1938 to find the keys to happiness. Here’s what they discovered
- 4 daily habits of truly happy people
- Americans are proof that money can’t buy happiness, new report shows
- The 3 habits that can help boost your happiness as you age
