According to new research, the happiest places on Earth do not include the United States.
Scandinavian cities ranked highly in the 2025 Happy City Index, as is customary.
Copenhagen, Denmark, was ranked first, followed by Zurich, Switzerland; Singapore; Aarhus, Denmark; and Antwerp, Belgium.
The rankings are based on six criteria: citizens, governance, environment, economy, health, and mobility. They incorporate data from databases and interviews with residents of the respective cities.
A total of 200 cities made the list, where they were evaluated in the six categories, with points tallied to provide an overall score.
Top 10 happiest cities:
1. Copenhagen, Denmark
2. Zurich, Switzerland
3. Singapore
4. Aarhus, Denmark
5. Antwerp, Belgium
6. Seoul, South Korea
7. Stockholm, Sweden
8. Taipei, Taiwan Region
9. Munich, Germany
10. Rotterdam, Netherlands
U.S. cities that made the list:
17. New York, NY
30. Minneapolis, MN
34. San Diego, CA
43. Washington, DC
56. Salt Lake City, UT
63. Columbus, OH
70. Los Angeles, CA
80. Seattle, WA
84. Baltimore, MD
89. San Antonio, TX
96. Nashville, TN
112. Indianapolis, IN
119. San Jose, CA
131. Boston, MA
141. Portland, OR
176. Orlando, FL
181. Phoenix, AZ
198. Houston, TX