Only 1 California city ranks among world’s ‘happiest’, report shows

LOS ANGELES – Do you live in one of the happiest cities in the world? 

The latest ‘Happy City Index’ put out by researchers with the London-based Institute for Quality of Life analyzed the 250 happiest cities worldwide based on five factors – citizens, governance, environment, economy, and mobility. Within those areas were two dozen subcategories including education and transportation. The cities were then ranked in one of three groups – bronze, silver, or gold.

Ten cities in the U.S. ranked among the happiest cities – and only one California city made the cut. 

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That accolade went to San Francisco, which ranked at No. 114 overall. 

Minneapolis was named the happiest city in the U.S., followed by Boston.

“We not analyze the happiness of an imaginary individual in every location in the world, but people actually living in these cities,” the institute wrote.

“There is no statistical woman or man whose sense of happiness can be studied by locating her or his in different cities of the world,” the institute added. “In each location, a bunch of other determinants affects the feeling of happiness.”

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Minneapolis was the only U.S. city to achieve “gold” status, while Boston, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. were the only “silver” U.S. locations.

The happiest city overall was Aarhus, Denmark. Most of the top-scoring cities were all located in Europe, specifically Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. Zurich and Berlin rounded out the top three.

You can see the full list of happiest cities by tapping or clicking here.