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These Are the 20 Happiest Cities in America. Do You Live in One?

April 11, 2025

Real estate has always been about location, location, location. If mental health is also important to you, you may want to consider moving to California.

Half of the top 10 happiest cities in America were in the Golden State, according to a study by personal finance site WalletHub. The median home list price in California was $749,900 in March, according to Realtor.com data.

Fremont, Calif., about an hour southwest of San Francisco, bested 181 other cities to be named the nation’s happiest city, according to the report.

Fremont residents boast high household incomes, life satisfaction, and average life expectancy. They also have low depression and divorce rates. (The median household income in Fremont was $176,350 from 2019 through 2023 in 2023 dollars, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.)

“When deciding where to live to maximize your happiness, you’ll want to pick a city that offers more than just a decent average income,” said WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo in a statement. “The ideal city provides conditions that foster good mental and physical health, like reasonable work hours, short commutes, good weather and caring neighbors.”

Rounding out the list of the top five happiest cities were Silicon Valley’s San Jose, Calif.; Irvine, Calif.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Overland Park, Kan.

To come up with its findings, WalletHub looked at 29 metrics across emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment in 182 cities.

In each of the three top California cities, a substantial portion of the residents earn over $75,000 per year. That’s a benchmark threshold, Lupo said. When it comes to money, people generally only become happier until they hit that goal. After that, money doesn’t have as much of an effect.

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The local environment also has a major influence on happiness, said Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a psychology and neuroscience professor at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

“Features such as the extent of green space or access to nature, how much sunlight you get, congestion of cars and crowds, and the safety and walkability of your community” are important, Holt-Lunstad said in a statement. “More socially connected communities are safer, more resilient, and more prosperous—all of which can influence happiness.”

If you don’t live in one of these joyful cities, you aren’t doomed to face a lifetime of unhappiness.

“Location is likely more of an indirect and relatively small contributor to happiness,” said Matthew Joseph, the counseling program director at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. “Other factors, such as positive relationships, in particular, being in a satisfying long-term partnership, and/or having at least a few trusted friends, and both physical and mental health play more important roles.”