Study: Flagstaff one of the happiest metropolitan areas in US
Dec 21, 2014, 9:00 AM | Updated: 9:00 am
One of the happiest cities in the U.S. is right here in Arizona.
According to a study by University of British Columbia’s Vancouver School of Economics, Flagstaff ranks sixth among U.S. metropolitan areas in highest reported happiness. In fact, it’s the only Arizona city to crack the top 10 as either the happiest or unhappiest metropolitan areas in the country.
The research is based on a survey that asked about “satisfaction with life.” It is used as a measure of happiness that also includes factors such as income and cost of living in a given area.
The state as a whole is happier than the majority of the country, with only parts of western Arizona ranking in the unhappy category.
Charlottesville, VA, Rochester, MN and Lafayette, LA are the three happiest metro areas in the country, while Scranton, PA, St. Joseph, MO and Erie, PA are the unhappiest.
As far as metro areas with more than 1 million residents, Richmond-Petersburg, VA is the happiest while the Big Apple is the unhappiest.
