Money is not the only factor that influences people's happiness. However, research by SmartAsset showed that in some cases it does. The study revealed that almost all cities where the "happiest" citizens live have one thing in common: households enjoy an annual income of $100,000 or more.
This is not the first time that a correlation between happiness and income has been shown. In 2021, a University of Pennsylvania study found that people earning annual incomes of more than $80,000 were happier than those earning $75,000 or less.
The 200 largest cities in the country
The report looked at the 200 largest cities in the country to discover which were the happiest. The rankings were based on three different categories:
- Personal finance: factors such as the percentage of individuals earning $100,000 or more, cost of living as a percentage of income and the rate of personal bankruptcy were considered.
- Well-being: aspects such as the percentage of citizens reporting poor mental health, life expectancy, the number of people reporting physical inactivity and the percentage of adults with health insurance were taken into account.
- Quality of life: items such as the percentage of adults living below the poverty level, marriage rate, average travel time, concentration of dining, bar and entertainment establishments, and violent crime rate were used.
Top 10 happiest cities
1. Sunnyvale, Calif.: The Californian city leads the ranking in two of the three categories measured, well-being and quality of life. It the highest percentage of people whose annual income is $100,000 or more (62.5%) and has the third lowest percentage of adults living below the poverty level (5%). In addition, violent crime in the area is relatively low, with approximately 149 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants.
2. Arlington, Va.: This city ranks among the top seven cities in all three categories measured: personal finance, well-being and quality of life. Its county ranks first in personal finance. About 48% of its residents earn $100,000 or more. In addition, living costs represent less than 35% of average household income. It also has the lowest number of personal bankruptcy filings.
3. Bellevue, Wash.: This city stood out for its high scores in the categories of quality of life and personal finance. Approximately 61% of Bellevue residents earn $100,000 or more, and less than 8% of the population lives below the poverty line. In addition, the cost of living compared to the percentage of its citizens' income is the lowest in the study (28.69%).
4. Fremont, Calif.: This city stood out in the ranking for its citizens' strong personal finances and the quality of life it offers. More than half of its residents earn $100,000 or more (55.4%). In addition, the city has a low cost of living in relation to income (32.17%). The percentage of adults living below the poverty level is also extremely low (4.9%).
5. Frisco, Texas: This Texan city obtained a special place in the ranking in terms of personal finances and quality of life. The percentage of residents living below the poverty level is the lowest on the list (2.5%). In addition, its low cost of living stands out in comparison to the average household income (29.55%) and its low rate of violent crime (approximately 86 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants).
6. Plano, Texas: This city dominated in the categories of quality of life and personal finance. The city has the 10th lowest violent crime rate in the ranking (approximately 155 per 100,000 residents). In addition, just over one-third of its population earns $100,000 or more and cost-of-living expenses account for 40.43% of the average household income.
7. Roseville, Calif.: The city excelled in quality of life and personal finance. Living costs are the fifth lowest in the study and represent about one-third of the average annual household income. Nearly 40% of its population earns $100,000 or more, and less than 6% lives below the poverty level (the fourth lowest). Its county is among the top 15 with the fewest personal bankruptcy filings in the entire study.
8. San Jose, Calif.: The city excelled in the factors of quality of life, personal finance and well-being. Approximately 43% of its residents earn $100,000 or more, and less than 7.4% live in poverty. In addition, the county where San Jose is located ranks second in both the percentage of residents reporting poor mental health (10%) and life expectancy of 84.7 years.
9. Santa Clarita, Calif.: The city ranks among the top in the quality of life category. Less than 7% of its population lives in poverty (sixth lowest). The area is also quite safe, with the seventh lowest rate of violent crime in the entire study (131 crimes per 100,000 residents).
10. Irvine, Calif.: The city, located in Orange County, stood out in the personal finance category. It ranked in the top 10 for both percentage of people earning $100,000 or more (46%) and living costs as a percentage of income (38%). Irvine also has the lowest violent crime rate in the entire study (51 crimes per 100,000 residents).
Birmingham, Ala. is the unhappiest city
Birmingham, Ala. is the unhappiest city, ranking in the bottom five on metrics such as personal bankruptcy filings per capita, life expectancy and percentage of residents living in poverty. It is followed by Newark, N.J. and Memphis, Tenn.
Among the top 50 cities, Sacramento (California) is the least happy city, followed by Aurora (Illinois), Saint Paul (Minnesota), Jersey City (New Jersey) and New York (New York).
