A February report from WalletHub ranked the happiest cities in America for 2024. To rank the cities, the report looked at more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities and examined them across three key dimensions:
- Emotional and physical well-being
- Income and employment
- Community and environment
The three categories were evaluated using 29 metrics graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing maximum happiness. Some categories include a life-satisfaction index, life expectancy, job satisfaction, income-growth rate, and a well-being "community" index score.
While Florida is home to Disney World, often referred to as the happiest on Earth, the Sunshine State didn't have any city rank in the top 10.
Fremont, California is the happiest city in America
For the third year in a row, Fremont, California is the happiest city in America.
Fremont had a total score of 74.16 and ranked 85th in income and employment and third in community and environment.
The California city has the highest-earning middle class, according to a 2023 SmartAsset study.
Fremont is located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area and has a substantial tech industry population because of its proximity to Silicon Valley and San Francisco.
The city has the highest share of households with an income above $75,000, at nearly 80%, the WalletHub report states.
Another contributing factor is that Fremont has the country's lowest separation and divorce rate, at only 8.9%.
10 happiest cities in America
- Fremont, Calif.
- Overland Park, Kan.
- San Jose, Calif.
- Madison, Wis.
- Irvine, Calif.
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- San Francisco, Calif.
- Pearl City, Hawaii
- Columbia, Md.
- Scottsdale, Ariz.
Overland Park, Kansas, is the second-happiest city in the U.S., up from the No. 4 spot in 2023.
It had a total score of 69.78 and ranked sixth in emotional and physical well-being, 36th in income and employment, and sixth in community and environment.
Overland Park has the lowest poverty rate in the country at 4.2% and one of the lowest unemployment rates at 3%. Residents in the Kansas city get more sleep than people in most other cities, according to the report.
Overland Park is the second-largest city in Kansas and the median household income is $92,769, according to the city's website.
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