Happiness is both simple and complicated.
Aristotle said, “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” Gretchen Rubin, author of “The Happiness Project,” discovered during her one-year project that sometimes happiness can come from making other people happy.
But what makes some cities happier than others? Researchers have worked hard to find the magic formula, and of course there probably isn’t one, but a few key themes rise to the top, including subjective well-being, quality of life, community, mental and physical health, security, economics and environment.
To determine the happiest cities, WalletHub compared 182 of the largest cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state — using three criteria:
- emotional and physical well-being, which includes depression and suicide rates, sleep rates, life expectancy, food insecurity and sports participation;
- income and employment, which includes poverty, unemployment and bankruptcy rates, income growth, job satisfaction, commute time and work hours;
- community and environment, which includes weather, divorce rate, hate crimes, well-being index, amount of parkland and leisure time.
Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing maximum happiness; cities were ranked based on an overall score.
Coming out on top of the happy meter is Fremont, Calif., a city of about 230,000 across the bay from San Francisco, home to the California School for the Deaf and a Tesla (TSLA) factory. Fremont also ranked No. 1 for lowest separation and divorce rate, and was No. 2 for lowest rate of depression. The city ranks fourth for highest rate of participation in sports.
Based on WalletHub’s research, here are the happiest and unhappiest cities in the U.S.:
The Happiest Cities
1. Fremont, Calif.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 1 (of 182 cities)
- Income & employment: 46
- Community & environment: 2
Fremont also ranked No. 1 for lowest separation and divorce rate, and was No. 2 for lowest rate of depression. The city ranks fourth for highest rate of participation in sports.
The Happiest Cities
2. Columbia, Md.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 3
- Income & employment: 161
- Community & environment: 5
Columbia ranked in the top five for lowest suicide rate.
The Happiest Cities
3. San Francisco
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 4
- Income & employment: 1
- Community & environment: 44
The Happiest Cities
4. San Jose, Calif.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 2
- Income & employment: 6
- Community & environment: 55
San Jose is also in the top five for lowest depression rate and lowest separation/divorce rate.
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The Happiest Cities
5. Irvine, Calif.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 5
- Income & employment: 16
- Community & environment: 12
Irvine is also in the top 5 for lowest depression rate as well as lowest separation/divorce rate.
The Happiest Cities
6. Madison, Wis.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 10
- Income & employment: 11
- Community & environment: 19
The Happiest Cities
7. Seattle
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 6
- Income & employment: 2
- Community & environment: 99
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The Happiest Cities
8. Overland Park, Kan.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 12
- Income & employment: 54
- Community & environment: 13
Overland Park ranks in the top five for highest adequate sleep rate.
The Happiest Cities
9. Huntington Beach, Calif.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 9
- Income & employment: 51
- Community & environment: 43
The Happiest Cities
10. San Diego
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 14
- Income & employment: 18
- Community & environment: 25
The Happiest Cities
11. Fargo, N.D.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 22
- Income & employment: 24
- Community & environment: 23
The Happiest Cities
12. Minneapolis
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 8
- Income & employment: 20
- Community & environment: 80
Minneapolis also ranks in the top five for folks getting enough sleep.
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The Happiest Cities
13. Bismarck, N.D.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 48
- Income & employment: 32
- Community & environment: 4
The Happiest Cities
14. Santa Rosa, Calif.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 13
- Income & employment: 22
- Community & environment: 105
The Happiest Cities
15. Santa Clarita, Calif.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 15
- Income & employment: 100
- Community & environment: 29
The Least Happy Cities
1. Detroit
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 179 (of 182 cities)
- Income & employment: 179
- Community & environment: 177
Detroit has the unenviable ranking of least happy city of 182 cities in the study. Detroit also ranks last for adequate sleep rates, and one of the highest rates of divorce/separation, second only to Cleveland.
The Least Happy Cities
2. Gulfport, Miss.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 181
- Income & employment: 153
- Community & environment: 151
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The Least Happy Cities
3. Memphis, Tenn.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 176
- Income & employment: 181
- Community & environment: 172
Memphis ranks among the cities with the worst rate of adequate sleep.
The Least Happy Cities
4. Huntington, W.V.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 182
- Income & employment: 39
- Community & environment: 141
Hunting is one of five cities with the highest rate of depression.
The Least Happy Cities
5. Montgomery, Ala.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 174
- Income & employment: 180
- Community & environment: 161
The Least Happy Cities
6. Cleveland
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 170
- Income & employment: 156
- Community & environment: 180
Cleveland ranks among the cities with the worst rate of adequate sleep, as well as the highest rate of separation/divorce of all 182 cities.
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The Least Happy Cities
7. Augusta, Ga.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 178
- Income & employment: 162
- Community & environment: 135
The Least Happy Cities
8. Fort Smith, Ark.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 180
- Income & employment: 61
- Community & environment: 158
Fort Smith has one of the highest suicide rates.
The Least Happy Cities
9. Mobile, Ala.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 171
- Income & employment: 172
- Community & environment: 124
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The Least Happy Cities
10. Shreveport, La.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 175
- Income & employment: 173
- Community & environment: 71
Shreveport ranks among the worst three cities for income growth, along with Fayetteville, N.C. and Charleston, W.V.
The Least Happy Cities
11. Charleston, W.V.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 173
- Income & employment: 81
- Community & environment: 173
Charleston has the lowest income growth of all 182 cities.
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The Least Happy Cities
12. Toledo, Ohio
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 172
- Income & employment: 171
- Community & environment: 127
Steve Lagreca / Shutterstock
The Least Happy Cities
13. Birmingham, Ala.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 168
- Income & employment: 158
- Community & environment: 162
Birmingham is among the five cities with the highest separation/divorce rate.
Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
The Least Happy Cities
14. Jackson, Miss.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 160
- Income & employment: 159
- Community & environment: 174
Jackson has one of the lowest sports participation rates.
The Least Happy Cities
15. Fayetteville, N.C.
- Emotional & physical well-being, rank: 161
- Income & employment: 155
- Community & environment: 171
Fayetteville ranks among the cities where people work the most hours, as well as lowest income growth.
See the full ranking of all 182 cities and the methodology for this study at WalletHub.
