- WalletHub analyzed more than 180 U.S. cities using happiness research.
- Top contributing happiness factors include mental well-being and financial stability.
- Happiness is something that can be improved with these tips.
To hear WalletHub tell it, happiness is a crazy concoction with a recipe that contains many parts, not all of them intuitive or related.
In the “Happiest Cities in America” reckoning for 2026, WalletHub lists the “core” factors it included, all borrowed from scientific research: mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction and financial stability.
In deciding this superlative, the company, which is primarily a financial site, “analyzed more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities using insights from positive-psychology research.” They looked at the 150 most populated cities and then, lest any state feel shunned, included at least two of the most populated cities in each state if they weren’t already included.
In Utah, for example, Salt Lake City and West Valley City were evaluated, coming in at No. 60 and No. 102 respectively.
Interestingly, the happiest cities are not always in the happiest states. In WalletHub’s view of statewide happiness in 2026, Utah was No. 6, behind Hawaii, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey and Connecticut and just ahead of California, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Idaho.
Each city was evaluated across 29 key indicators of happiness, including depression rates, income growth, and average daily leisure time,” wrote Adam McCann, one of the financial writers at WalletHub, which frequently covers “best” and “worst” places for almost any aspect of life one could name.
Top honors went to Fremont, California, which ranked No. 1 for emotional and physical well-being, No. 4 for community and environment and No. 89 for income and employment. It had an overall score of 74.09.
It edged out by less than a single point Bismarck, North Dakota, which was tops in community and environment, No. 5 in emotional and physical well-being and 23 in income and employment. Its score was 73.11.
If you’re happy and you know it...
Those weighing the happiness weighted the categories to reach a possible score of 100, with the combined points for emotional and physical well-being worth a possible 50 points. Factors contributing to income and employment and community and environment categories could each potentially reach 25 points total.
The top 10 happy cities were:
- Fremont, California
- Bismarck, North Dakota
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- South Burlington, Vermont
- Fargo, North Dakota
- Overland Park, Kansas
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Irvine, California
- Gilbert, Arizona
- San Jose, California
The bottom five, starting with dead last overall, were Detroit, Michigan; Memphis, Tennessee; Shreveport, Louisiana; Cleveland, Ohio; and Huntington, West Virginia. The worst score, Detroit’s, was 29.55.
How WalletHub measured happiness
The breakout for some key factors gives plenty of locations a chance to giggle or groan based on happiness factors.
Money’s a big one, for instance, and as Deseret News has reported in the past, research suggests that money can buy happiness, but only to a point. Above about $75,000, it flatlines.
In the happiness report, the places with the highest income growth are Miami, Florida; Providence, Rhode Island; Hialeah, Florida; Nampa, Idaho; and Oakland, California. Folks looking for income growth might want to skip Juneau, Alaska, which ranks last, followed by Casper, Wyoming; Anchorage, Alaska; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Gulfport, Mississippi, according to this reckoning.
It’s assumed that fewer work hours are key to happiness and the cities where people have the fewest hours, per WalletHub, are Burlington, Vermont; Huntington, West Virginia; Tallahassee, Florida; New Haven, Connecticut and — tied for fifth place — Buffalo, New York; and Bridgeport, Connecticut.
If you yearn for looong work hours, WalletHub says Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Scottsdale, Arizona, could be your place. Other contenders are Dallas, Texas; Anchorage, Alaska; and Washington, D.C.
Depression is reportedly highest in Huntington, West Virginia; followed by Knoxville, Tennessee; Lewiston, Maine; Charleston, West Virginia; and Portland, Oregon.
Getting enough sleep is South Burlington, Vermont’s forte, but Burlington, Vermont; Missoula, Montana; Portland, Oregon; and Denver, Colorado do well on that front, too. Sleep’s far less adequate, per the report, in Detroit, Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; Pearl City, Hawaii; Newark, New Jersey; and Cleveland, Ohio.
Folks are more apt to participate in sports in South Burlington, Vermont, according to the report, but they’re well-engaged as well in Seattle, Washington; Scottsdale, Arizona; nearby Gilbert, Arizona; and Washington, D.C. The opposite is true in Laredo, Texas; Newark, New Jersey; Gulfport, Mississippi; Detroit, Michigan; and Brownsville, Texas.
The lowest suicide rates are found in Newark, New Jersey; Jersey City, New Jersey; and Washington, D.C. But the highest rates are reportedly in five cities that tie for No. 176 overall: Missoula, Montana; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Rapid City, South Dakota; Juneau, Alaska; and Casper, Wyoming.
Divorce and separation rates also contributed to the making of this report. The cities with the lowest rate were Fremont, California; Irvine, California; Pearl City, Hawaii; Gilbert, Arizona; and San Jose, California. The highest rate (dis?)honor went to Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Birmingham, Alabama; Rochester, New York; and Wilmington, Delaware.
The journey to joy
The 2026 happy city report asks several experts about factors that contribute to happiness.
That’s a question Deseret News has spent some time on, talking over the years to a number of experts for their views on what provides happiness and how to find it or craft it.
Many family structure experts believe that marriage is key as people are not meant to be alone and commitment enhances happiness.
Social connections are also very well-recognized as important to happiness.
Other factors that boost happiness include having a sense of meaning and purpose, not carrying the bag of rocks that is a grudge or unforgiveness around, supporting others, showing kindness, practicing faith, being kind, choosing optimism, not overthinking and comparing, savoring joyful moments, having goals and taking care of your body.