| Today is International Day of Happiness and the question on the minds of many is whether money really does buy happiness. WalletHub, personal-finance website today released its report on 2018’s Happiest Cities in America. For those from the DC metro area, you’ll be happy to hear I ranked number 12 on the Top 20 Happiest Cities in America.
In order to decide where people in America are most content with their lives, WalletHub compared more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities across 28 key indicators of happiness. The data set ranges from depression rate to income-growth rate to average leisure time spent per day. See the list below:
| Top 20 Happiest Cities in America |
|
|
| 1 |
Fremont, CA |
|
11 |
Madison, WI |
|
| 2 |
Bismarck, ND |
|
12 |
Columbia, MD |
|
| 3 |
San Jose, CA |
|
13 |
San Francisco, CA |
|
| 4 |
Pearl City, HI |
|
14 |
Scottsdale, AZ |
|
| 5 |
Plano, TX |
|
15 |
Overland Park, KS |
|
| 6 |
Fargo, ND |
|
16 |
Santa Clarita, CA |
|
| 7 |
Sioux Falls, SD |
|
17 |
Glendale, CA |
|
| 8 |
Irvine, CA |
|
18 |
Oakland, CA |
|
| 9 |
Huntington Beach, CA |
|
19 |
St. Paul, MN |
|
| 10 |
Grand Prairie, TX |
|
20 |
Gilbert, AZ |
|
Key Stats about the happiest cities in America
- El Paso, Texas has the lowest depression rate, 10.3 percent, which is 2.9 times lower than in Salem, Oregon, the city with the highest at 29.6 percent.
- Laredo, Texas, has the lowest number of suicides per 100,000 residents, 5.26, which is 5.5 times lower than in Missoula, Montana, the city with the highest at 29.18.
- Fremont, California, has the lowest separation & divorce rate, 16.52 percent, which is 2.9 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 47.65 percent.
- Overland Park, Kansas has the lowest adequate-sleep rate, 26.4 percent, which is 1.9 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 50.8 percent.
- Cheyenne, Wyoming, has the lowest average commute time, 14.6 minutes, which is 2.8 times lower than in New York, the city with the highest at 40.3 minutes.
To view the full report and your city’s rank now. |
