National Geographic, New York Times Best-Selling Author Dan Buettner and Gallup Announce The 25 Happiest Cities in the United States

National Geographic, Gallup and New York Times best-selling author and National Geographic Explorer Dan Buettner have announced The 25 Happiest Cities in the United States based on The National Geographic/Blue Zones® Index. The Index was specifically developed to measure a population’s happiness based on 15 metrics including civic engagement, walkability and healthful food options. Boulder, Colorado tops the list with walkability, access to nature and sense of community as contributing factors to its residents’ happiness.

Buettner mentions, “if you want to get happy, don’t try and change your belief system. Change your environment.” In National Geographic’s November cover story and newly-published The Blue Zones of Happiness, Buettner reveals the world’s happiest places (Denmark, Costa Rica and Singapore) and explains environmental and lifestyle factors that contribute to the overall happiness in these geographic regions. Pulling from years of experience studying the world’s most-thriving populations, Buettner, National Geographic and Gallup developed a methodology for measuring where Americans are living their happiest lives.

The full list of the 25 Happiest Cities, in order by National Geographic/Blue Zones® Index score, is below.

California contributed 8 entries to this list – with the majority being on the beautiful Central Coast.

1. Boulder, CO
2. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
3. Charlottesville, VA
4. Fort Collins, CO
5. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA
6. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
7. Provo-Orem, UT
8. Bridgeport-Stamford, CT
9. Barnstable Town, MA
10. Anchorage, AK
11. Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL
12. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
13. Salinas, CA
14. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL
15. Urban Honolulu, HI
16. Ann Arbor, MI
17. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
18. Colorado Springs, CO
19. Manchester-Nashua, NH
20. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA
21. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
22. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
23. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
24. Portland-South Portland, ME
25. Austin-Round Rock, TX

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