This NC city ranks among the nation’s happiest places to live. Here’s why
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- Raleigh ranks No. 5 on a list of the happiest places in the United States.
- The city ranked high for well-being, including life expectancy and exercise.
- Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina are also included in the ranking.
If you’re looking for a blissful place to call home, you may not have to travel far (or anywhere at all).
That’s because North Carolina is home to one of the nation’s happiest cities, a new report finds.
Raleigh ranks No. 5 on a list of U.S. places offering residents financial stability, space to spread out and other factors that contribute to a good quality of life, according to results published in mid-March.
“Financial freedom can alleviate worry about day-to-day costs and the occasional unexpected expense,” the personal finance website SmartAsset wrote in its report. “Similarly, good relationships, overall health and longevity, basic conveniences and privacy can go a long way in keeping stress down and contentment up.”
Why Raleigh ranks high for happiness
To create the list, SmartAsset said it focused on 85 of the largest cities across the country. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program, it studied how each place fared in three categories: personal finance, well-being and quality of life.
Raleigh earned a top spot after it ranked high for well-being. Within that category, it had one of the nation’s longest life expectancies at 81 years, results show.
Compared to many other cities, Raleigh residents also had stronger mental health and more physical activity, with 84% of adults getting exercise.
Meanwhile, when it came to quality of life, the report said Raleigh has some of the least traffic on main roads. But the city didn’t fare as well in other parts of the category, ranking closer to average for marriage rates and access to exercise spaces.
Which other cities rank among the happiest?
Last year, both Raleigh and Durham were named among the top 10 happiest U.S. cities on SmartAsset’s list, The News & Observer previously reported.
But more recently, Raleigh missed the top 10 in another happiness ranking. The capital city landed at No. 22 in the nation on a list from online finance resource WalletHub, which looked at job opportunities, pleasant weather, divorce rates and other elements.
So, how did other North Carolina cities fare in the latest SmartAsset rankings? Here’s where they landed on the list:
- Charlotte at No. 13
- Greensboro at No. 37
Nationwide, SmartAsset said the No. 1 happiest place to live is Arlington, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C. area. Here are the places that round out the top five:
- Fremont, California, at No. 2
- San Jose, California, at No. 3
- Seattle at No. 4
