Plano in Northern Texas is hailed as the happiest place in the United States, according to the latest poll by WalletHub.
In its annual Happiest Cities in America report, the personal finance website said Plano had the best score among contenders on the list, beating out big markets such as New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
'Happiest City In America'
WalletHub evaluated the "happiness" of each city, based on 31 metrics that fit three main categories:
- Physical and emotional well-being of citizens
- Income and employment
- Community and environment
Some of the metrics measured in the report include:
- Weighing physical health
- Rates of depression cases
- Food insecurity
- Income-growth rate
- Commute time
- Strength of social ties
Plano in Texas had the best overall scores out of 182 cities evaluated, followed by Irvine in California and Madison in Wisconsin.
Other notable cities on the list are San Francisco, California (10th), Austin, Texas (14th), San Diego, California (18th), Washington DC.(51st), Los Angeles (82nd), and New York (90th).
The study also ranks each city according to individual categories. San Jose, California, topped the list for emotional and physical health and well-being, while Seattle, Washington, led the cities in employment and wealth.
Fremont, a city located in California's San Francisco Bay Area, had the highest score in terms having a strong sense of community among its citizens.
On the other hand, Dallas, Texas, fell behind other cities under the categories for income and employment and community and environment.
WalletHub pointed out some other interesting findings in the study.
Burlington in Vermont had the fewest working hours among U.S. cities, while Anchorage in Alaska had the most.
People looking to get higher salaries might want to consider working in San Francisco, since it ranked as the one with highest income growth in the country. Meanwhile, Gulfport, Mississippi, had the lowest growth as far as income is concerned.
Overland Park in Kansas had the highest adequate sleep rate, while Detroit in Michigan had the lowest.
As for the emotional well-being of citizens, Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, and Miami in Florida had the lowest depression rates in the country, while Charleston in West Virginia had the highest.
Fremont also had the lowest divorce and separation rate, while Detroit had the highest.
Happiest States In America
Earlier this month, analytics firm Gallup released its list of the happiest states in the United States.
Residents from each state were polled based on how happy they are about their physical health, career, financial security, social life, and community.
Hawaii had the best overall score with 64.6 out of 100, after placing second in last year's poll. The Aloha State narrowly beat out this year's second placer Wyoming, which came in with a score of 64.2.
Other states in the top 10 of the list are Alaska (63.9), Montana (63.5), Utah (63.4), Colorado (63.4), Vermont (63.3), Delaware (62.9), South Dakota (62.7), and North Dakota (62.7).
West Virginia finished in last place overall for the 10th consecutive year, earning a score of 57. The state lagged in the categories for career and community happiness and physical health.
