10 Happiest Cities in the US

Fremont, California, is No. 1 in WalletHub ranking
Posted Mar 14, 2026 11:10 AM CDT
The Happiest City in the US Is in the Bay Area
The view toward Fremont, California, from Garin Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park, with the San Francisco Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains in the background.   (Getty/Sundry Photography)

WalletHub has taken a crack at identifying the happiest city in the nation, and it turns out that Fremont, California, wins the crown. The site used nearly 30 metrics gleaned from "positive-psychology research," including income, leisure time, physical health, depression rates, divorce rates, and even sleep rates. Fremont in particular has a large share of households making at least $75,000, seen as an important threshold for happiness (though earning more doesn't seem to make much of a difference). The top 10:

  1. Fremont, California, 74.09 total score
  2. Bismarck, North Dakota, 73.11
  3. Scottsdale, Arizona, 71.36
  4. South Burlington, Vermont, 70.15
  5. Fargo, North Dakota, 69.36
  6. Overland Park, Kansas, 68.45
  7. Charleston, South Carolina, 68.44
  8. Irvine, California, 67.99
  9. Gilbert, Arizona, 67.96
  10. San Jose, California, 67.79

Bottom 10

  1. Akron, Ohio, 40.11
  2. Dover, Delaware, 39.08
  3. Fort Smith, Arkansas, 38.66
  4. Augusta, Georgia, 38.24
  5. Toledo, Ohio, 37.21
  6. Huntington, West Virginia, 37.20
  7. Cleveland, 36.50
  8. Shreveport, Louisiana, 34.93
  9. Memphis, Tennessee, 34.39
  10. Detroit, 29.55

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