Scientists have several theories on what contributes to a person's happiness. Beyond genetics and having our basic biological needs met with food and shelter, some scientists believe that happiness is influenced by environmental factors such as our social network, job opportunities, and where we live.
Along those same lines of thinking, the website WalletHub believes that residents of different states in America enjoy different levels of happiness. The site looked at 30 different metrics of happiness to determine which states in America had the happiest residents.
What Were the Specific Criteria?: WalletHub looked at 3 main categories covering 30 metrics - emotional and physical well-being, income and employment, and community and environment. Examples of specific metrics that WalletHub looked at were things like a person's sleep rate, depression rate, accessibility to sports, divorce rate, work hours, income, life expectancy, job satisfaction, bankruptcy rate, weather, and leisure time, to name just a few.
How Did Florida Fare?: There were 10 Florida cities that made the list. Florida's earliest showing was at number 37 out of 182.
Here are the top 5 Florida cities that ranked as the happiest cities in Florida.
Pembroke Pines, at Number 37: This city with a population of around 170,000 people is in south Florida's Broward County. It is arguably nicely landscaped with 28 parks, a sound safety record, and excellent schools. It's close to Miami and Fort Lauderdale attractions and Pembroke Pines itself is home to C.B. Smith Park and Chapel Trail Park Nature Preserve. The median home price here is around $403,000. Note that Pembroke Pines is pictured t the top of this article.
Cape Coral, at Number 52: Cape Coral is known as Florida's city of canals. It has around 400 of them. This city of around 200,000 people is in southwest Florida's Lee County on the Gulf of Mexico. As you might imagine, water sports and beaches are very much part of the Cape Coral lifestyle, but it is also home to the lovely Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve and Sirenia Vista Park. The median home price here is about $450,000.
Fort Lauderdale, at Number 53: We're still in south Florida as Fort Lauderdale is only about 30 miles north of Miami. This city of approximately 180,000 residents is known for its beaches and its shopping on Las Olas Boulevard. It's also home to the Museum of Discovery and Science as well as Butterfly World. However, home prices have risen rapidly here so the current median home price is over $600,000.
Tampa, at Number 61: We've finally moved away from south Florida and are in central Florida. Tampa is a larger city, with a population of nearly 400,000. It is known for its Gasparilla Celebration, its sports teams - the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Tampa Bay Lightning - and Busch Gardens. Tampa is also very close to the diverse and vibrant Ybor City and to Clearwater and St. Petersburg. The median home price is a bit cheaper than some of the other options on the list at around $395,000.
Miami, at Number 66: Rounding out the top 5 is Miami, which is probably one of the state's best-known cities. Miami is famous for South Beach, Ocean Drive, its diverse beaches, warm weather, nightlife, and its diving. For the quieter side of Miami, there's the Ancient Spanish Monastery, Zoo Miami, and Jungle Island. The median home price is relatively pricey here at $530,000.
The Rest of the Florida Cities that Made the List: Above is the top 5, but other cities in Florida made the list of 182 cities. They were as follows:
Pembroke Pines, 37
Cape Coral, 52
Fort Lauderdale, 53
Tampa, 61
Miami, 66
Orlando, 75
St. Petersburg, 84
Port St. Lucie, 88
Tallahassee, 95
Jacksonville, 111
The Top 20 Happiest Cities in America: Although there weren't any Florida cities that made the top 20, it is interesting to see which cities made the cut. The top 20 are as follows:
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
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