The Happiest Cities in the US Right Now
Over the past decade , the World Happiness Report has ranked countries based on factors such as perceptions of corruption, GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, and the freedom to make life choices. Finland has come out on top in the last five years. Meanwhile, the US achieved its highest ranking ever – 11th – in 2012, the report’s first year.
Since then, it has fluctuated between middle and high adolescence, ranking 16th in the latest report published in 2022. that the United States is a large and diverse country, so it’s hard to lump together all of its people and places.
If you’ve ever wondered which American cities are the happiest in the country, you might be interested in a new report that ranks U.S. urban areas based on factors thought to contribute to happiness. Here’s what you need to know.
What makes a city happy?
So how exactly did WalletHub rank America’s happiest cities? The team started with the 150 most populous cities in the US and then added at least two of the largest cities in each state.
Ultimately, they received a list of 182 cities, which the team compared on three key dimensions: 1) emotional and physical well-being, 2) income and employment, and 3) community and environment. You can find their full methodology in the report.
America’s happiest cities
Using the criteria above, the WalletHub team determined that the following 10 cities are the happiest in the US :
1. Fremont, California
2. San Jose, California
3. Madison, Wisconsin
4. Overland Park, Kansas
5. San Francisco, California
6. Irvine, California
7. Columbia, Maryland
8. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
9. South Burlington, Virginia
10. Burlington, Virginia
The full ranking of all 182 cities is available here , as well as expert opinions on the report’s findings.