This California City is the Happiest in America

Fremont, California has been ranked the happiest city in America by WalletHub.

The personal finance website released a report on 2026’s Happiest Cities in America ahead of the International Day of Happiness, which is March 20. WalletHub compared over 180 of the largest U.S. cities against 29 metrics, including life satisfaction; depression rates; suicide rates; sports participation; life expectancy; income growth; poverty rates; unemployment; commute times; and rates of divorce. 

Bismarck, North Dakota; Scottsdale, Arizona; South Burlington, Vermont; and Fargo, North Dakota rounded out the top five nationwide. 

These are the 20 happiest cities in California, according to WalletHub:

1. Fremont (#1 nationally)

2. Irvine (#8 nationally) 

3. San Jose (#10 nationally) 

4. San Francisco (#17 nationally)

5. San Diego (#21 nationally)

6. Huntington Beach (#25 nationally)

7. Chula Vista (#30 nationally)

8. Santa Clarita (#40 nationally)

9. Glendale (#43 nationally)

10. Santa Rosa (#44 nationally)

11. Oceanside (#47 nationally)

12. Garden Grove (#48 nationally)

13. Ranch Cucamonga (#49 nationally)

14. Oakland (#52 nationally)

15. Anaheim (#55 nationally)

16. Santa Ana (#64 nationally)

17. Fontana (#72 nationally)

18. Oxnard (#74 nationally)

19. Sacramento (#80 nationally)

20. Ontario (#85 nationally)

See full list and methodology here.

List and data were compiled by WalletHub and do not reflect statistics on all cities.