Find out how happy your hometown is.
If you’re happy and you know it, pack your bags! Well, that’s only if you don’t currently live in one of the happiest cities in America. If you do, please stay put.
Personal finance website WalletHub just released its report on 2023’s Happiest Cities in America, and we’re thinking about moving.
Given that the world is currently grappling with increasingly expensive food costs, the troubling impact of AI, the nightmare that is climate change, and all of our own personal struggles on top of that, living happily can feel really out of reach. But, happiness might actually be right outside your door. “What people might not realize is that where they live may also determine how happy they are,” the report states. “As this study aims to illustrate, moving to a certain city may help you be more content.”
In order to determine where people in America are most content with their lives, WalletHub drew upon the various findings of positive-psychology research among 182 of the largest U.S. cities across 30 key indicators of happiness. The data set ranges from depression rate to adequate sleep rate to average leisure time spent per day. The comprehensive research is meant to reflect the happiest cities in America right now.
So, not only did they discover where people are happiest, but they also uncovered why:
· Fremont, California, has the lowest depression rate, 11.90 percent, which is 2.5 times lower than in Huntington, West Virginia, the city with the highest at 30.10 percent.
· Newark, New Jersey, has the lowest number of suicides per 100,000 residents, 4.93, which is 7.9 times lower than in Casper, Wyoming, the city with the highest at 39.05.
· Fremont, California, has the lowest separation & divorce rate, 9.21 percent, which is 4.4 times lower than in Cleveland, the city with the highest at 40.77 percent.
· South Burlington, Vermont, has the lowest share of adults sleeping less than 7 hours per night, 24.00 percent, which is 1.9 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 45.90 percent.
· Missoula, Montana, and Juneau, Alaska, have the lowest average commute time, 15.50 minutes, which is 2.7 times lower than in New York, the city with the highest at 41.40 minutes.
There are some seriously happy people in California, which accounts for four out of the top 10 happiest cities. Plus, multiple cities in California rank in the top five for the lowest depression rate and highest income growth. Believe it or not, California accounts for three out of the top five cities with the lowest separation and divorce rates (Los Angeles is not one of them, thanks to celebs, we’re guessing). And if you want to work less? There are two cities in Connecticut that can help with that.
OK, without further ado, we present the happiest cities in America:
| Top 20 Happiest Cities in America | |
| 1. Fremont, CA | 11. Seattle, WA |
| 2. San Jose, CA | 12. Bismarck, ND |
| 3. Madison, WI | 13. Oakland, CA |
| 4. Overland Park, KS | 14. Huntington Beach, CA |
| 5. San Francisco, CA | 15. San Diego, CA |
| 6. Irvine, CA | 16. Scottsdale, AZ |
| 7. Columbia, MD | 17. Minneapolis, MN |
| 8. Sioux Falls, SD | 18. Yonkers, NY |
| 9. South Burlington, VT | 19. Aurora, IL |
| 10. Burlington, VT | 20. Fargo, ND |
Source: WalletHub
For the complete list, peruse WalletHub’s full report.
