Are you happy in Washington? This city ranks among the happiest in US, study shows
A new study has determined the happiest cities across the U.S. in 2022 — and one city in Washington made it near the top of the list.
SmartAsset released “Where Americans Are Happiest – 2022 Study,” on Tuesday, Dec. 20.
And Bellevue, which is about 10 miles east of Seattle, landed the No. 3 spot.
The study looked at 164 of the largest cities in the country and based its findings on 13 metrics across three categories, including personal finance, well-being and quality of life.
“We ranked each place in every metric and found an average ranking and score for each category. We then found a final score, averaging the three category scores,” the company said.
The highest score made it to the top of the list.
SmartAsset looked at the percentage of individuals who earned more than $100,000, the cost of living, marriage rates, average commute time, the violent crime rate, life expectancy and percent of those who reported poor mental health days, among other metrics.
Bellevue was noted for ranking high in the quality of life category and for personal finances. About 61% of residents earn more than $100,000 and less than 8% live below the poverty line. Additionally, at 28.69%, the “cost of living as a percent of income is the lowest across the study.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Are you happy in Washington? This city ranks among the happiest in US, study shows."
