Happiest U.S. Cities of 2014: The List

A Gallup-Healthways poll surveyed people from the most populous communities in every U.S. state and the District of Columbia about their well-being. The resulting score was based on five distinct elements of well-being, including purpose, social relationships, financial security, community pride/safety, and physical health.

Here is the full list of states ranked by the percent of people who reported the highest well-being across all five elements. [Read full story on the happiest U.S. communities]

2. Urban Honolulu

3. Raleigh

4. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura

5. El Paso

6. Austin-Round Rock

7. Provo-Orem

8. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara

9. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria

10. Winston-Salem

11. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim

12. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward

13. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land

14. Chattanooga

15. Spokane-Spokane Valley

16. San Diego-Carlsbad

17. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington

18. Omaha-Council Bluffs

19. Cape Coral-Fort Myers

20. San Antonio-New Braunfels

21. Richmond

22. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

23. Charleston-North Charleston

24. Springfield

25. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood

26. Grand Rapids-Wyoming

27. Boston-Cambridge-Newton

28. Colorado Springs

29. Tucson

30. Stockton-Lodi

31. Albuquerque

32. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia

33. Boise City

34. Lancaster

35. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

36. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk

37. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford

38. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale

39. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis

40. Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade

41. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford

42. Salt Lake City

43. Wichita

44. Nashville-Murfreesboro-Franklin

45. Bakersfield

46. Fresno

47. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville

48. New Haven-Milford

49. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell

50. Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin

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Tanya was a staff writer for Live Science from 2013 to 2015, covering a wide array of topics, ranging from neuroscience to robotics to strange/cute animals. She received a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a bachelor of science in biomedical engineering from Brown University. She has previously written for Science News, Wired, The Santa Cruz Sentinel, the radio show Big Picture Science and other places. Tanya has lived on a tropical island, witnessed volcanic eruptions and flown in zero gravity (without losing her lunch!). To find out what her latest project is, you can visit her website.