Utah: Are We Happy And Don’t Know It?

Happiness isn’t just a personal mindset. It can be influenced by where you live. Research has shown that key factors such as mental well-being, physical health, social connections, job satisfaction, and financial stability all contribute to overall happiness.

We were talking about this today with our national correspondent Rory O' Neil. Wallet Hub has just released a study of the Happiest Cities in the country. Now this is not to be confused by their recent release of the Happiest States in the country. In that study, Utah as a whole did pretty well, coming in as the fourth most happy state.

But this study looked at “more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities” to conduct their research. I'm not sure why some cities made the list, while others did not. And there were many places in Utah that could have qualified for the “largest city” designation” that either didn't make the rankings or were not included in the study.

For example, Casper, Wyoming and Juneau, Alaska were included in the list. But, if population is a factor, Provo and St. George would both need to be looked at. But neither city is on the list.

How can that be? I mean, don't we all refer to Provo as “Happy Valley?” How could that not be on the list?

Wallet Hub used 29 key indicators, including depression rates, income growth, and average leisure time, to determine where happiness thrives the most. Their findings highlighted how location can shape overall well-being.

Some locations make sense. Anaheim, California? Well, it is home toi the “happiest place on earth!” Honolulu, Hawaii? I mean, hello, HAWAII! It makes sense that those places are on the list.

Fremont, California came in first overall. I think they got that rating based a lot on the fact that there are a lot of people making $75,000 there, and that is a contributing factor.

Utah only contributed to cities to the list, Salt Lake City at number 85 and West Valley City at 111. But I'm still puzzled.

Again, on population I would have to think St. George would be right up there with happiness, at least until July. And Provo? That's the happiness center of the state!

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At least until the NCAA tournament kicks off.