Happiest City? Distinction Goes To Aurora For 2nd Consecutive Year

AURORA, IL — Aurora has been deemed one of the happiest cities in the United States by a personal finance website.

It's the second consecutive year Illinois's second-largest city received the distinction from WalletHub.

Aurora ranked 19th among more than 180 of the largest cities in the country based on the average scores of three metrics: emotional and physical well-being, income and employment, and community and environment. In the first and third categories, the city came in 16th and 15th, respectively, in the country.

In the second category, income and employment, Aurora didn't do so hot, coming in 154th out of 182 cities analyzed.

Aurora's ranking improved by two spots this year, compared to coming in 21st in 2022, Patch reported.

"Spend a few minutes at a community event in the City of Lights, and you'll quickly learn that happiness is both authentic and contagious," city officials said in an announcement Thursday morning. The only other Illinois city to make the list, Chicago ranked 74th overall.

Fremont, California; San Jose, California; and Madison, Wisconsin; landed in the first three spots on the list.

The full report, released in late February, can be viewed on WalletHub.