1 Hudson Valley City Made The List Of 'Happiest Cities In America'

YONKERS, NY — If you believe that happiness is the truth, you don't need to go far to find one of the happiest cities in the U.S., according to a just released survey.

With International Day of Happiness coming up this month on March 20, and 83 percent of U.S. adults feeling stressed out by high inflation, the personal finance website WalletHub released its report on 2023’s Happiest Cities in America and Yonkers was named among the very happiest cities in America.

The researchers at WalletHub say that it’s vital for people to boost their happiness through family, friends, activities, entertainment or work. However, they say that people might not realize that where they live may also determine how happy they are.

According to the survey's authors, location plays a big hand in how bright or gloomy our days are. Researchers who have studied the science of happiness have found that its key ingredients include a positive mental state, healthy body, strong social connections, job satisfaction and financial well-being, and WalletHub considered all of these factors. The study, however, found that money can only make you so happy – people who make $75,000 a year won’t get any higher satisfaction from more money. The authors noted that while the U.S. is one of the richest countries, it ranks only 16th on the World Happiness Report.

In order to figure out where people in the U.S. are most content with their lives, WalletHub compared 182 of the largest U.S. cities across 30 key indicators of happiness covering three key dimensions: 1) Emotional & Physical Well-Being, 2) Income & Employment and 3) Community & Environment. The data set ranges from depression rate to income-growth rate to average leisure time spent per day.

Although Yonkers isn't the richest city in the Hudson Valley, its wealth of diversity and opportunities for all help to put smiles on residents faces, according to the WalletHub report.

"One factor in making a location related to increased happiness is the economy of the area," University at Albany Psychology Professor Dev Dalal explained. "Specifically, it is the amount of economic equality among residents. The more equality there is among residents, the happier the residents tend to be."

Top 20 Happiest Cities in America

1. Fremont, CA
2. San Jose, CA
3. Madison, WI
4. Overland Park, KS
5. San Francisco, CA
6. Irvine, CA
7. Columbia, MD
8. Sioux Falls, SD
9. South Burlington, VT
10. Burlington, VT
11. Seattle, WA
12. Bismarck, ND
13. Oakland, CA
14. Huntington Beach, CA
15. San Diego, CA
16. Scottsdale, AZ
17. Minneapolis, MN
18. Yonkers, NY
19. Aurora, IL
20. Fargo, ND

Find the complete list of of the happiest cities in America, along with the detailed methodology here.