Though Houston continuously offers some of the best restaurants, nightlife, and entertainment in the country, it doesn’t seem to be enough to overcome some of the city’s downsides. In its new ranking of the ‘Happiest Cities in America’, Wallethub found Houston to be among the unhappiest in the country for the second year in a row.
The study marks the second time that Houston placed among the unhappiest in person finance website Wallethub’s annual study, coming in as the 151st happiest US city out of 182 cities throughout the country.
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The metrics by which Wallethub conducted its study include 29 key indicators across three main categories:
1. emotional & physical well-being
- adequate sleep rate
- mental health index
- depression rate
- life expectancy
- sports participation rate
- food insecurity rate
- physical health index
2. income & employment
- poverty rate
- household income adjusted for cost of living
- unemployment rate
- job satisfaction
- commute time
- work hours per week
3. community & environment
- number of community events
- crime rate
- weather and frequency of sunny days annually
- entertainment and restaurants per capita
- traffic congestion
- recreational park and fitness center access
Houston’s lowest performances came in that of community and environment, ranking 170th out of the 182 cities. The city ranked 152nd in income & employment and 128th in emotional & physical well-being.
On the flip side, the happiest cities in the United States, according to the study, are Fremont, CA, San Jose, CA, and Irvine, CA – as 1, 2, and 3. Sioux Falls, SD, and Overland Park, KS, were also ranked in the top 5 in the study.
With regards to Fremont, its top-spot placement was in large part due to the highest number of household with an above $75,000 income, highest life satisfaction rate, and lowest rate of separation and divorce in the nation.
The unhappiest city in the US, according to Wallethub, is Detroit, Michigan.
See the full study here.
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