While an amusement park in another Orange County city claims to be the Happiest Place on Earth, Surf City ranks higher in the latest Wallet Hub analysis of “Happiest Cities in America.”
Huntington Beach ranked as the 14th happiest city to reside ahead of other municipalities such as Anaheim, San Diego, and Honolulu, Hawaii. The survey ranked cities in three main categories:
- Emotional & Physical Well-Being
- Income & Employment
- Community & Environment
Within those categories, the study looked at 30 key indicators of happiness ranging from the depression rate to the income-growth rate to average leisure time spent per day.
Other Orange County cities that ranked in the Top 25 include Irvine (#6), Anaheim (#23), and Garden Grove (#24).
Only the top 150 most populous cities in the country were ranked. In this 2023 study, Fremont, California was the top-ranked happiest city and Detroit, Michigan was at the bottom of the list.