Smile!: America’s Five Happiest Cities

There’s nothing more important in life than finding true happiness. Many factors play into this such as who you know, your job, and where you live. If you’re still trying to find the perfect mix in your own life, here’s a few places around the country where you’ll find some of the happiest people.

Saint Louis, Missouri

Even with the recent troubles that plagued the suburbs of Saint Louis, USA Today ranked the city as the happiest in the entire country. The JetPac City Guides app analyzes millions of photos on Facebook and Instagram and tallies the number of smiles in the pictures. Through this method, Saint Louis emerged number one. If you couple that with tons of free activities, festivals, the victorious Saint Louis Cardinals, and great beer, it’s no wonder that Saint Louis is one of the best places to live in the Midwest.

Provo, Utah

With one of the most scenic surrounding areas of any city in the country, Provo is a city of just over a half million phenomenally happy residents. In addition to the natural beauty, most of the happiness is the result of an insanely low unemployment rate of 2.8 percent, one of the lowest in the country. It also has a low poverty rate, in part to over a third of the city having a bachelor’s degree.

Sarasota, Florida

Over 30 percent of the residents of Sarasota are over age 60, but this isn’t just a retirement community. It has a large number of people from every age group, so there’s something for everyone. The city’s happiness is largely based on the great weather and numerous outdoor activities such as sailing, parasailing, sea kayaking, and swimming. It’s also a starting point for the wealthy making their trip to the Caribbean (and looking for help on their yacht, if you’re interested).

Denver, Colorado

According to a recent analysis of Twitter by the company Brandwatch, Denver ranked as the happiest city in the country. The happiness formula analyzed thousands of Tweets to look for key phrases. Denver had the highest number of positive comments from its citizens. The city also has sunny days 85 percent of the time, along with festivals, live music, and hundreds of outdoor activities. Residents are also more fit than other cities, and a low obesity rate often leads to higher levels of happiness.

Sacramento, California

The capital of California is widely disregarded in comparison to other larger cities in the state, but residents are some of the happiest in the country. According to a recent survey by CareerBliss, Sacramento’s happiness is due to having some of the happiest employees. High chances for career growth without negating free time makes for a better, harder working individuals, and thus keeps the citizens at a higher level of ecstasy.

The best way to find your happy place is to discover a place that has all your wants and needs, while also incorporating a sense of adventure. The more active you are, the less bored and the happier you’ll become.