(NEXSTAR) — Happiness doesn’t grow on trees, but it may be a little easier to come by in parts of Texas, a new study has found.
Reviewing federal and local government data across 13 metrics based on personal finances, well-being, and quality of life, SmartAsset ranked nearly 165 of the nation’s largest cities to find where Americans are happiest.
While California dominated the list with 17 cities among the top 50, three Texas cities also found themselves on the list, with two landing among the top 10 happiest U.S. cities.
Frisco, which is roughly 30 miles north of Dallas, was the highest-ranked Texas city, coming in at fifth overall. Right behind it was nearby Plano, found roughly 20 miles southeast of Frisco.
The only other Texas city to make the list was Austin, which landed in the 20th spot.
Overall, Frisco had the highest personal finance score based on the percentage of individuals earning $100,000 or more, cost of living as a percent of income, personal bankruptcy filings, and down payment to income ratio. It just edged out Anchorage, Alaska, according to SmartAsset’s findings. When ranked on personal finance score, Plano came in 4th and Austin in 10th.
Frisco also had one of the highest quality of life scores, which was calculated based on the percent of the population reporting poor mental health days, life expectancy, physical activity rate, and percent of adults with health insurance.
According to SmartAsset, Frisco had the highest marriage rate of cities reviewed at 62.6% and the percentage of residents living in poverty at 2.5%. It had the second-best typical living costs compared to the average household income and a violent crime rate of about 86 crimes per 100,000 residents.
Plano wasn’t far behind Frisco’s marriage rate with 56.9%, the fourth-highest among cities analyzed. Overall, the top 10 happiest cities in SmartAsset’s list are almost all home to high marriage rates. In all but one – Arlington, Virginia – married residents make up the majority of the population.
Here are the 10 places where Americans are happiest, according to SmartAsset’s findings:
- Sunnyvale, California
- Arlington, Virginia
- Bellevue, Washington
- Fremont, California
- Frisco
- Plano
- Roseville, California
- San Jose, California
- Santa Clarita, California
- Irvine, California
Americans aren’t happiest everywhere, of course. According to SmartAsset, Birmingham, Alabama was the least happy place based on the metrics reviewed in the study. It scored poorly in multiple metrics, including personal bankruptcy filings per capita, life expectancy, and the percentage of residents living in poverty.
Newark, New Jersey, and Memphis, Tennessee were found to be the second and third least happy cities.
Cities from 19 states ranked among the 50 happiest places in America, as well as Washington, D.C. California dominated the list, with 17 of its cities ranking among the top 50, followed by Colorado, which had four cities in the top 50.
You can see SmartAsset’s full rankings here.
(Information from the Nexstar Media Wire)
