'Happiest Places in America:' Montgomery County Ranks

Hmm, we would argue that Montgomery County has been slighted in a ranking of "Happiest Places in America," but at No. 19 on the list, MoCo must be doing something right.

The designation comes from a new study that measures such factors as unemployment and poverty rates in counties with populations of 50,000 or more.

For the second year in a row, nearby Loudoun County Virginia comes in at No. 1 on the list of happy places, while Virginia’s Fairfax County bumps up a spot from last year's #3 ranking to #2 in the 2016 study that also looks at marriage rates, income and life expectancy.

The SmartAsset study noted these statistics about life in Montgomery County:

• 3.36 percent unemployment
• 6.9 percent poverty rate
• 53.2 percent marriage rate
• 83.3 year life expectancy

SEE ALSO:

• Four of Most Diverse Cities in America Are in Montgomery County
• Rockville Tops List of 10 Best Cities for Families
• Rockville Lands on 10 Best Foodie Cities List
• Bethesda and Rockville Among 10 “Snobbiest Small Cities in America”
• Rockville Named to America’s Most Educated Town List
• Montgomery Ranked Healthiest County in Maryland: Report
•  Chevy Chase Ranks on America's Best 'Burbs List
• Best Cities for Retirement: Survey Says Bethesda, Rockville

Other Factors to Happiness

Other factors in the SmartAsset study included physical activity rate (the percentage of the population getting adequate physical activity each week). The negative factors were each county’s poverty rate, unemployment rate, divorce rate and personal bankruptcy rate.

For positive factors, a higher number was better and for negative factors a lower number was better, according to SmartAsset. Each county was ranked on each of the eight factors, giving each factor equal weight. They then averaged those rankings for each county.

Top 10 "happiest" counties

Here are the other eight counties in the study's top 10:

#3 Carver County, Minnesota

#4 Chester County, Pennsylvania

#5 Hunterdon County, New Jersey

#6 Morris County, New Jersey

#7 Howard County, Maryland

#8 Douglas County, Colorado

#9 Somerset County, New Jersey

#10 Ozaukee County, Wisconsin

Read more about the study at SmartAsset.

»Photo from Montgomery County Recreation