A survey called the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index reveals which metropolitan regions in the United States are happiest by measuring factors of well-being such as residents' health, job satisfaction, and access to basic necessities.
You can read more about the well-being survey and what it means, but here are 2012's top 25 and bottom 25 cities and their average well-being scores (out of a possible 100 points):
The top 25 cities:
- Lincoln, Neb.: 72.8
- Boulder, Colo.: 72.7
- Burlington-South Burlington, Vt.: 72.4
- Provo-Orem, Utah: 71.7
- Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.: 71.6
- Barnstable Town, Mass.: 71.5
- Honolulu, Hawaii: 71.5
- Ann Arbor, Mich.: 71.4
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, (D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.V.): 71.3
- San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.: 71.2
- Charlottesville, Va.: 71.1
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.: 71.0
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.: 70.8
- Denver-Aurora, Colo.: 70.4
- Madison, Wis.: 70.4
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.: 70.3
- Bellingham, Wash.: 70.2
- Raleigh-Cary, N.C.: 70.0
- Bremerton-Silverdale, Wash.: 70.0
- Naples-Marco Island, Fla.: 69.9
- Des Moines-West De Moines, Iowa: 69.9
- Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine: 69.8
- Lancaster, Penn.: 69.6
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa: 69.6
- Salt Lake City, Utah: 69.5
The bottom 25 cities:
- Charleston, W.Va.: 60.8
- Huntington-Ashland, W.Va.-Ky.-Ohio: 61.2
- Mobile, Ala.: 62.4
- Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas: 62.5
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C.: 62.7
- Fort Smith, Ark.-Okla.: 62.9
- Bakersfield, Calif.: 63.1
- Rockford, Ill.: 63.1
- Spartanburg, S.C.: 63.4
- Utica-Rome, N.Y.: 63.4
- Binghamton, N.Y.: 63.5
- Corpus Christi, Texas: 63.5
- Chattanooga, Tenn.-Ga.: 63.5
- McAllen-Edinburgh-Mission, Texas: 63.7
- Redding, Calif.: 63.7
- Yakima, Wash.: 63.8
- Topeka, Kan.: 63.8
- Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Fla.: 64.0
- Dayton, Ohio: 64.0
- Shreveport-Bossier City, La.: 64.2
- Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Md.-W.Va.: 64.3
- Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Penn.: 64.4
- Stockton, Calif.: 64.5
- Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Penn.: 64.5
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.: 64.6
The survey included 189 metro areas. If you don't see your hometown on this list, you can search for it in Gallup's breakdown.
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