A new national analysis suggests that while Utah often ranks high in measures of economic growth and outdoor lifestyle, the state’s largest cities placed relatively low in a recent study of the happiest places to live in the United States.

Financial website WalletHub recently released its annual report on the “Happiest Cities in America,” comparing 182 of the nation’s largest cities across 29 key indicators of well-being. The rankings examine three broad categories: emotional and physical well-being, income and employment, and community and environment.

Now, I have to tell you that I'm not sure that all the metrics that WalletHub used are what adds up to bring happiness into a persons life. Emotional and physical well being seem like reasonable factors, but the economic factors to my mind are not the driving force of having a happy life.

Szilivia Basso via Unsplash
Szilivia Basso via Unsplash
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Still, the report offers some interesting insights.

California And The Midwest The Happiest Places?

According to the study, many of the nation’s happiest cities are located in California and the Midwest. Fremont, California ranked first overall, followed by San Jose, California and Irvine, California. The top five was rounded out by Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Overland Park, Kansas.

Utah’s showing in the rankings was comparatively modest. Among the state’s largest cities included in the analysis, Salt Lake City placed in the middle portion of the list, and it was the highest ranking of any place in Utah. West Valley City was just outside of the top 100 at 102. But Provo-Orem, Utah's Happy Valley? Not even on the list.

Mi Pham via Unsplash
Mi Pham via Unsplash
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The study attempts to measure how living conditions influence overall life satisfaction. Emotional and physical well-being accounted for half of the overall score and included metrics such as depression rates, life expectancy, adequate sleep and job satisfaction. Income and employment made up 25 percent of the ranking and examined factors like household income growth and unemployment levels. The remaining 25 percent focused on community and environmental factors, including commute times, weather, access to parks and community engagement.

Researchers note that happiness tends to be influenced by a combination of economic stability, physical health and strong social connections. While higher income can improve quality of life, studies often show that the relationship between money and happiness levels off after a certain point.

Utah is frequently praised for strong economic growth, low unemployment and access to outdoor recreation. However, the WalletHub analysis suggests those advantages do not necessarily translate into top-tier happiness rankings for its largest cities.

Helena Lopes via Unsplash
Helena Lopes via Unsplash
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The report highlights how complex and varied the factors behind happiness can be, showing that even states with strong economies may face challenges when it comes to residents’ overall life satisfaction.

Read More: Three Years Ago, Utah Was The Happiest State

I, for one don't know about happiness being plotted on some kind of graph. In the 1930's entomologist August Magnan suggested, based on calculations, the bumblebee's wings were too small and that a bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly. Well, bumblebees didn't read the report and they went ahead and flew anyway.

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Even though I don't live in one of the cites on this list, I think I'll go ahead and be happy anyway.

10 Most Unhappy Cities in the United States

Gallery Credit: Dana Marshall and Canva

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