Where are the happiest cities in America? 4 California spots land on top 10 list

Hanh Truong
·2 min read
17

California is home to some of the happiest cities in the nation, according to WalletHub.

On Tuesday, the personal finance company published a new study ranking the happiest cities in America based on factors including income, environment and emotional and physical well-being.

Four California cities made the top 10 — and one of them landed at the top of the list.

Here’s where California cities ranked on WalletHub’s list.

Where are the top 10 happiest cities in America?

Fremont ranked at No. 1 on WalletHub’s list of the happiest cities in the United States, while San Jose followed at No. 3, Irvine at No. 5 and San Francisco at No. 7.

These were the top 10 happiest cities in America, according to WalletHub:

  1. Fremont

  2. Overland Park, Kansas

  3. San Jose

  4. Madison, Wisconsin

  5. Irvine

  6. Honolulu

  7. San Francisco

  8. Pearl City, Hawaii

  9. Columbia, Maryland

  10. Scottsdale, Arizona

What are the least happy cities in the US?

Detroit landed at No. 182 on WalletHub’s list, making it the least happy city in the country. It was followed by Cleveland at No. 181.

These were the top 10 least happy cities in the county, according to WalletHub:

  1. Detroit

  2. Cleveland

  3. Montgomery, Alabama

  4. Birmingham, Alabama

  5. Shreveport, Louisiana

  6. Huntington, West Virginia

  7. Toledo, Ohio

  8. Jackson, Mississippi

  9. Mobile, Alabama

  10. Akron, Ohio

How did other California cities ranked?

A handful of southern California cities ranked fairly high on WalletHub’s list of the nation’s happiest cities.

Huntington Beach came in at No. 12, while Garden Grove was No. 14 and San Diego was No. 15.

Elsewhere in the state, Sacramento landed at No. 63 on the list, and Los Angeles was No. 64.

Modesto was ranked No. 91, Stockton No. 111 and Fresno No. 112.

How did WalletHub come up with its rankings?

To come up with its rankings, WalletHub looked at 182 of the largest cities in the country and rated each one based on three key factors — emotional and physical well being, income and employment and community and environment.

The company evaluated these categories using 29 relevant metrics, including the rates of depression, suicide, adequate sleep and poor mental health.

Other metrics dealt with rates for unemployment, job security, and commute time, as well as weather and daily leisure time.

Which cities have the highest rates of depression? Divorce?

In its research, WalletHub found that Lewiston, Maine, has the highest rate of depression, while Pearl City, Hawaii, has the lowest.

Newark, New Jersey, had the lowest suicide rate and Casper, Wyoming, had the highest.

South Burlington, Vermont, was the best place to get a good night’s sleep and Detroit was the worst, the study found.

Detroit also had the highest rate of separations and divorces, while Fremont had the lowest rate.

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