California dominates the list of the happiest cities in America, according to WalletHub.
The financial news site’s annual ranking, which evaluates 182 U.S. cities based on 29 factors, placed Fremont, California, at the top.
The report considers metrics such as depression rates, income levels and average leisure time to determine where Americans are most content.
Fremont scored highly due to its high median income, frequent reports of mentally healthy days — and its strong sense of community. WalletHub had previously found Fremont to be the sixth-most caring city in America.
Nearly 80% of households in the city earn more than $75,000 per year in Fremont, a threshold studies show to be associated with peak happiness. And the city’s separation and divorce rate is the lowest in the nation.
Here are the 10 happiest cities in the U.S., according to WalletHub:
• Fremont, California
• San Jose, California
• Irvine, California
• Sioux Falls, South Dakota
• Overland Park, Kansas
• Lincoln, Nebraska
• Madison, Wisconsin
• Scottsdale, Arizona
• San Francisco, California
• Huntington Beach, California
“The ideal city provides conditions that foster good mental and physical health, like reasonable work hours, short commutes, good weather and caring neighbors,” Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst, said in the report.
Meanwhile, the unhappiest cities were concentrated in the South and Midwest, with Cleveland, Detroit and Memphis ranking at the bottom.
