2022’s Happiest Cities in America

With March 20 being International Day of Happiness and a third of Americans sometimes having trouble making basic decisions due to the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2022’s Happiest Cities in America, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.

In order to determine where people in America are most content with their lives, WalletHub compared more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities across 30 key indicators of happiness.

The data set ranges from depression rate to income-growth rate to average leisure time spent per day.

Top 20 Happiest Cities in America
1. Fremont, CA	11. Fargo, ND
2. Columbia, MD	12. Minneapolis, MN
3. San Francisco, CA	13. Bismarck, ND
4. San Jose, CA	14. Santa Rosa, CA
5. Irvine, CA	15. Santa Clarita, CA
6. Madison, WI	16. Oakland, CA
7. Seattle, WA	17. Sioux Falls, SD
8. Overland Park, KS	18. Glendale, CA
9. Huntington Beach, CA	19. Scottsdale, AZ
10. San Diego, CA	20. Anaheim, CA

Key Stats

• Pearl City, Hawaii, has the lowest depression rate, 12.70 percent, which is 2.3 times lower than in Huntington, West Virginia, the city with the highest at 29.70 percent.
• Newark, New Jersey, has the lowest number of suicides per 100,000 residents, 4.65, which is 6.8 times lower than in Rapid City, South Dakota, the city with the highest at 31.62.
• Fremont, California, has the lowest separation & divorce rate, 9.21 percent, which is 4.4 times lower than in Cleveland, the city with the highest at 40.77 percent.
• South Burlington, Vermont, has the lowest share of adults sleeping less than 7 hours per night, 28.50 percent, which is 1.8 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 51.40 percent.
• Cheyenne, Wyoming, has the lowest average commute time, 14.30 minutes, which is 2.9 times lower than in New York, the city with the highest at 41.50 minutes.

To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit Wallethub.