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This is the only U.S. city that is happier than Boston, according to a new report

The list — which contains mostly foreign cities — takes into account factors such as environment, economy, and mobility.

Boston skyline.

June 12, 2024

Boston is almost the happiest city in America, according to a new report.

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The Institute for Quality of Life’s annual Happy City Index, which ranks the happiest cities in the world, named Minneapolis the happiest city in the U.S., followed by Boston.

The ranking took into account five factors, which the report calls the “most important areas defining urban activities that have a direct impact on happiness.” They are: citizens, governance, environment, economy, and mobility.

The index lists 250 cities worldwide and separates them into golden, silver, and bronze cities. The top 37 cities, the golden cities, are called “the happiest locations in the world” and Minneapolis is the lone U.S. city on that list at No. 18. Boston, ranked No. 38, is the top city on the silver list, which includes cities 38-100. The bronze category includes cities ranked 101-250.

The organization noted that it doesn’t officially rank the first 37 cities on the golden list, writing, “One size does not fit it all. We believe it is not possible to fairly well identify a single city that should be considered the best in terms of ensuring the happiness of its inhabitants.”

However, based on the total scores given the cities, Minneapolis places 18th on the golden list. Aarhus, Denmark placed No. 1.

“Importantly, we do not analyze the happiness of an imaginary individual in every location in the world, but people actually living in these cities,” according to the report.

The silver and bronze lists, which are ranked, include eight more U.S. cities.

Baltimore ranked No. 57 and Washington, D.C. ranked No. 85 on the silver list, and the bronze lists includes the following six spots: San Francisco at No. 114; Salt Lake City at No. 145; Madison, Wis. at No. 167; Pittsburgh at No. 190; Rochester, N.Y. at No. 214; and Portland, Ore. at No. 237.

Check out the entire ranking of happiest cities.