Happiest US Cities of 2012: The List

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:

1. Lincoln, Neb.: 72.8
2. Boulder, Colo.: 72.7
3. Burlington-South Burlington, Vt.: 72.4
4. Provo-Orem, Utah: 71.7
5. Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.: 71.6
6. Barnstable Town, Mass.: 71.5
7. Honolulu, Hawaii: 71.5
8. Ann Arbor, Mich.: 71.4
9. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, (D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.V.): 71.3
10. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.: 71.2
11. Charlottesville, Va.: 71.1
12. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.: 71.0
13. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.: 70.8
14. Denver-Aurora, Colo.: 70.4
15. Madison, Wis.: 70.4
16. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.: 70.3
17. Bellingham, Wash.: 70.2
18. Raleigh-Cary, N.C.: 70.0
19. Bremerton-Silverdale, Wash.: 70.0
20. Naples-Marco Island, Fla.: 69.9
21. Des Moines-West De Moines, Iowa: 69.9
22. Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine: 69.8
23. Lancaster, Penn.: 69.6
24. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: 69.6
25. Salt Lake City, Utah: 69.5

The bottom 25 cities:

1. Charleston, W.Va.: 60.8
2. Huntington-Ashland, W.Va.-Ky.-Ohio: 61.2
3. Mobile, Ala.: 62.4
4. Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas: 62.5
5. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C.: 62.7
6. Fort Smith, Ark.-Okla.: 62.9
7. Bakersfield, Calif.: 63.1
8. Rockford, Ill.: 63.1
9. Spartanburg, S.C.: 63.4
10. Utica-Rome, N.Y.: 63.4
11. Binghamton, N.Y.: 63.5
12. Corpus Christi, Texas: 63.5
13. Chattanooga, Tenn.-Ga.: 63.5
14. McAllen-Edinburgh-Mission, Texas: 63.7
15. Redding, Calif.: 63.7
16. Yakima, Wash.: 63.8
17. Topeka, Kan.: 63.8
18. Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Fla.: 64.0
19. Dayton, Ohio: 64.0
20. Shreveport-Bossier City, La.: 64.2
21. Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Md.-W.Va.: 64.3
22. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Penn.: 64.4
23. Stockton, Calif.: 64.5
24. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Penn.: 64.5
25. 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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