Study Reveals The USA’s Happiest Cities In 2022

Have you ever wondered what the happiest cities in the US are? If you’ve considered moving to a new location, perhaps you thought you’d be happier, and a new study by WalletHub suggests that you might.

According to WalletHub’s 2022 Happiest Cities in America study, there are some areas that provide more opportunity to find happiness, so if you’ve considered moving, you may want to take a peek at the list.

As part of the study, WalletHub looked at 182 different cities throughout the country. Each city was ranked based on 30 different metrics, which included things like rates of depression and income-growth pace.

Photo: Pixabay/Erik Larson

Ultimately, the researchers wanted to evaluate each location for the people and their emotional and physical well-being, income and employment rates, and overall sense of community and environment.

According to their data, the happiest cities are on the West Coast! In fact, California alone has six of the top 10 cities on the list. However, it’s not just the West Coast that boasts the happiest cities, there are other cities that made the top 10, including some in the Midwest and on the East Coast.

Photo: Max Pixel

Per WalletHub’s study, these are the top 10 happiest cities:

1. Fremont, California

2. Columbia, Maryland

3. San Francisco, California

4. San Jose, California

5. Irvine, California

6. Madison, Wisconsin

7. Seattle, Washington

8. Overland Park, Kansas

9. Huntington Beach, California

10. San Diego, California

Photo: Pixabay/Yinan Chen

Speaking with Wallethub, Jay Caughron, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Radford University, said that he has mixed feelings about the impact location plays on overall happiness.

He said, “I think the more pertinent question is the people you are around, and this can vary by location. If you move to Appalachia because you like hiking, are you happier because you get to hike or because you make friends with others who enjoy the same activities and lifestyle? If you move to a place that has more opportunities within your career field, is it because of the place or because you are seeing forward progress in your life goals? Probably a bit of both.”