Photo by Uladzik Kryhin via Shutterstock
–
Staff Writer
·
March 14, 2026
A new study has evaluated cities across the United States on “happiness,” and one Bay Area city was ranked first. The study was conducted by WalletHub, which pulled data from over 180 of the largest cities in the country. The study concluded that Fremont, California, was the happiest in the U.S., for the second year in a row.
What makes a city the happiest?
Happiness is obviously very subjective, but the study used 29 indicators of happiness, such as depression rates, income, and daily leisure time. The indicators were divided into three categories: Emotional & Physical Well-Being, Income & Employment, and Community & Environment.
Each metric has a corresponding weight and was evaluated out of 100. Then an average is determined for each city, resulting in the final score to determine the ranking. The ranking draws from four studies on happiness as well. Some metrics include poverty rate, life expectancy, amount of parkland, and more.
The happiest city in the U.S.
Fremont, a Bay Area city, was ranked first with a score of 74.09. The 2025 version of the study also ranked Fremont as the happiest city, followed by fellow Bay Area city San Jose. One notable factor in the city’s score is that it has the highest share of households with incomes over 75,000 (almost 80% of households earn above that amount). It also has the highest rate of life satisfaction as reported by residents, and the fifth-highest life expectancy in the country.
It’s notable that a key metric in the study is income above $75,000, which references a 2010 study that found an income below $75,000 exacerbated emotional stress. The study is widely referenced; however, that income level does not account for inflation and cost-of-living changes that have occurred in the past 16 years. A more recent study suggests that today’s equivalent income for happiness would be much higher.
Top 10 happiest cities in the U. S.
While Fremont is the happiest city once again, the rest of the ranking has changed since 2025. Check out the top 10 happiest cities for 2026.
Fremont, CA
Bismark, ND
Scottsdale, AZ
South Burlington, VT
Fargo, ND
Overland Park, KS
Charleston, SC
Irvine, CA
Gilbert, AZ
San Jose, CA
Happiness is obviously subjective and therefore difficult to measure, although the study offers interesting insights into major cities across the United States. You can find the full ranking from WalletHub here.