This may be Florida’s unhappiest city, study says. Do you agree?
JJacksonville

This may be Florida’s unhappiest city, study says. Do you agree?

  • August 27, 2025

WalletHub has released its list of the “Happiest Cities in America,” examining which places in the country are getting the most out of life.

The study examines factors like mental health, physical health, social connections and job satisfaction to determine how these cities fared. This means that money isn’t the only thing that WalletHub considered.

“Money can only make you so happy — people who make $75,000 a year won’t get any higher satisfaction from more money. Consider also the fact that while the U.S. is one of the richest countries, it ranks only 23rd on the World Happiness Report,” the study reads. “But not everywhere in the U.S. experiences a uniform level of happiness. As this study aims to illustrate, moving to a certain city may help you be more content.”

In crafting this ranking, WalletHub looked at over 180 of the country’s largest cities, using the following metrics to figure out their placements:

  • Emotional and Physical Well-Being: Includes rates of depression, suicide, adequate sleep, sports participation, marijuana users, retail opioid prescriptions, “not good” mental health, food insecurity, and life expectancy

  • Income and Employment: Includes rates of income growth, households earning annual incomes over $75,000, poverty, job satisfaction, unemployment, underemployment, bankruptcy, weekly work hours, commute time, and job security

  • Community and Environment: Includes rates of separation/divorce, hate crimes, ideal weather, acres of parkland, leisure time, and “community” well-being

When it comes to the Sunshine State as a whole, Florida placed No. 14, ranking particularly high for emotion and physical well-being.

However, the highest-ranking Florida city on the list was all the way down at No. 39: Pembroke Pines in Broward County. The South Florida city scored relatively well in terms of health and community, though it floundered when it came to income and employment.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Jacksonville scored as Florida’s least happy city on the list, scoring just under 50 points and closing in at No. 119.

Like Pembroke Pines, Jacksonville managed to garner a solid rank when it came to its community and overall environment, though it lagged behind in virtually all other categories.

Meanwhile, the full WalletHub ranking is as follows:

RankCityStateTotal ScoreWell-Being RankIncome RankCommunity Rank 1 Fremont CA 73.54 1 93 4 2 San Jose CA 69.34 3 45 10 3 Irvine CA 69.32 2 62 14 4 Sioux Falls SD 68.66 9 53 5 5 Overland Park KS 66.93 4 59 47 6 Lincoln NE 66.59 25 51 1 7 Madison WI 65.83 15 24 9 8 Scottsdale AZ 65.17 22 10 15 9 San Francisco CA 64.96 6 68 43 10 Huntington Beach CA 64.70 11 80 39 11 Bismarck ND 64.34 36 89 2 12 Omaha NE 64.34 36 89 2 13 Seattle WA 64.13 5 4 135 14 Charleston SC 63.93 20 9 48 15 San Diego CA 63.79 21 27 23 16 Columbia MD 63.45 7 162 83 17 Plano TX 62.78 13 66 51 18 Honolulu HI 62.47 26 52 29 19 South Burlington VT 62.47 8 7 174 20 Garden Grove CA 62.36 32 61 13 21 Nashua NH 61.99 50 105 3 22 Raleigh NC 61.59 16 88 60 23 Burlington VT 61.36 27 1 152 24 Portland ME 61.22 30 6 94 25 Pearl City HI 61.20 14 144 112 26 Gilbert AZ 61.20 33 26 38 27 Chula Vista CA 61.17 35 77 22 28 Fargo ND 60.85 24 32 107 29 Durham NC 60.51 28 28 75 30 Anaheim CA 60.42 38 70 32 31 Santa Clarita CA 60.15 31 145 28 32 Santa Rosa CA 60.11 47 38 35 33 Rapid City SD 60.05 66 21 11 34 Minneapolis MN 59.87 18 36 127 35 Oakland CA 59.87 18 36 127 36 Jersey City NJ 59.82 17 154 67 37 Cedar Rapids IA 59.73 48 126 12 38 Glendale CA 59.66 41 121 26 39 Pembroke Pines FL 59.53 37 147 27 40 Chandler AZ 59.47 43 43 49 41 Yonkers NY 59.28 23 141 90 42 Rancho Cucamonga CA 59.28 56 79 24 43 Oceanside CA 59.12 39 104 58 44 Chesapeake VA 58.95 55 86 31 45 Boston MA 58.91 40 18 97 46 Fort Lauderdale FL 58.74 46 78 54 47 Manchester NH 58.60 77 81 6 48 Santa Ana CA 58.50 34 155 40 49 Aurora IL 58.50 34 155 40 50 Cape Coral FL 58.27 72 83 8 51 Boise ID 58.16 51 8 114 52 Charlotte NC 58.08 42 102 61 53 Cheyenne WY 58.08 73 39 25 54 Washington DC 58.05 12 94 173 55 Grand Rapids MI 57.65 83 19 19 56 Missoula MT 57.42 62 16 109 57 Juneau AK 57.42 29 35 178 58 Anchorage AK 57.01 63 71 63 59 Austin TX 56.94 44 22 142 60 Virginia Beach VA 56.90 59 92 57 61 Pittsburgh PA 56.64 80 12 56 62 Warwick RI 56.52 57 129 59 63 Oxnard CA 56.33 79 122 16 64 Peoria AZ 56.07 67 91 70 65 Des Moines IA 55.89 70 112 45 66 Orlando FL 55.82 78 5 102 67 Nampa ID 55.57 75 20 111 68 New York NY 55.52 54 156 64 69 St. Petersburg FL 55.29 82 25 69 70 Tampa FL 55.24 87 46 46 71 Tempe AZ 55.18 61 17 167 72 Fontana CA 55.09 99 72 17 73 Port St. Lucie FL 54.86 96 49 36 74 Atlanta GA 54.81 58 90 129 75 Portland OR 54.76 49 96 148 76 Riverside CA 54.62 88 41 65 77 Los Angeles CA 54.49 71 107 81 78 St. Paul MN 54.45 60 127 113 79 Colorado Springs CO 54.30 81 60 77 80 Casper WY 54.08 116 84 7 81 Irving TX 54.02 76 69 106 82 Miami FL 54.01 74 13 151 83 Mesa AZ 53.98 84 40 93 84 Worcester MA 53.98 90 99 53 85 Salt Lake City UT 53.89 65 37 169 86 Ontario CA 53.86 108 65 30 87 Long Beach CA 53.61 69 148 87 88 Aurora CO 53.60 52 158 140 89 Moreno Valley CA 53.59 104 110 20 90 Providence RI 53.51 120 11 52 91 Bridgeport CT 53.38 86 170 18 92 Sacramento CA 53.31 91 31 110 93 Chicago IL 53.03 53 179 99 94 Henderson NV 52.88 92 128 55 95 Billings MT 52.88 101 56 86 96 Denver CO 52.76 45 136 171 97 New Haven CT 52.74 126 47 34 98 Tallahassee FL 52.59 111 33 78 99 Albuquerque NM 52.40 89 64 120 100 Vancouver WA 52.26 64 117 172 101 Garland TX 52.16 93 115 85 102 Columbia SC 51.90 107 67 80 103 Modesto CA 51.66 122 74 50 104 Reno NV 51.53 103 44 116 105 Hialeah FL 51.53 94 101 104 106 Phoenix AZ 51.13 97 85 128 107 Wilmington DE 51.10 102 125 92 108 Huntsville AL 51.02 124 48 91 109 Las Cruces NM 50.89 129 42 72 110 Winston-Salem NC 50.70 114 58 123 111 West Valley City UT 50.70 114 58 123 112 Stockton CA 50.61 110 103 95 113 Grand Prairie TX 50.44 106 146 82 114 Lexington-Fayette KY 50.43 98 151 101 115 Tacoma WA 50.22 85 133 161 116 Greensboro NC 50.08 100 109 138 117 Oklahoma City OK 49.32 145 130 21 118 Nashville TN 49.25 133 113 74 119 Jacksonville FL 49.17 139 123 41 120 Glendale AZ 49.14 115 97 131 121 Kansas City MO 48.90 113 134 124 122 Spokane WA 48.81 135 14 150 123 Columbus OH 48.77 127 157 73 124 Dallas TX 48.74 95 119 163 125 Fort Worth TX 48.49 121 138 117 126 Fresno CA 48.33 134 73 115 127 Bakersfield CA 48.00 137 135 68 128 Arlington TX 47.93 118 137 136 129 Newport News VA 47.92 123 143 139 130 Fort Wayne IN 47.80 132 153 89 131 Milwaukee WI 47.78 125 163 103 132 Wichita KS 47.76 119 118 149 133 Richmond VA 47.38 109 150 162 134 Salem OR 47.31 117 87 177 135 San Bernardino CA 47.23 149 76 79 136 Rochester NY 47.12 136 95 145 137 Lewiston ME 46.75 163 2 134 138 Newark NJ 46.67 112 174 143 139 New Orleans LA 46.61 148 106 88 140 Philadelphia PA 46.42 140 114 122 141 Norfolk VA 46.33 130 131 153 142 Tulsa OK 46.12 167 82 37 143 Dover DE 45.72 142 116 141 144 Springfield MO 45.70 165 63 62 145 North Las Vegas NV 45.62 151 160 66 146 Las Vegas NV 45.40 140 159 118 147 Indianapolis IN 45.28 138 173 98 148 Louisville KY 45.20 131 177 126 149 Chattanooga TN 44.88 160 124 71 150 Fayetteville NC 44.74 152 132 119 151 Houston TX 44.67 128 152 170 152 Laredo TX 44.62 164 3 155 153 Buffalo NY 44.53 143 100 164 154 Cincinnati OH 44.33 156 140 108 155 Lubbock TX 44.14 147 54 168 156 Amarillo TX 44.08 157 98 133 157 Charleston WV 43.93 171 15 132 158 El Paso TX 43.90 150 139 144 159 Knoxville TN 43.52 172 50 100 160 Little Rock AR 43.05 153 149 154 161 Tucson AZ 42.42 159 75 165 162 Baltimore MD 42.31 144 172 158 163 St. Louis MO 42.14 146 168 156 164 San Antonio TX 42.05 154 111 175 165 Columbus GA 41.92 162 161 125 166 Baton Rouge LA 41.71 169 142 121 167 Corpus Christi TX 41.48 168 55 166 168 Shreveport LA 40.77 173 178 42 169 Akron OH 40.02 174 164 105 170 Brownsville TX 39.51 179 57 130 171 Augusta GA 39.32 161 167 176 172 Jackson MS 39.16 155 180 180 173 Mobile AL 39.11 170 176 137 174 Montgomery AL 38.49 158 175 181 175 Huntington WV 37.84 182 29 44 176 Birmingham AL 37.29 166 171 179 177 Toledo OH 36.30 180 165 146 178 Gulfport MS 35.89 178 169 147 179 Fort Smith AR 35.61 181 34 157 180 Memphis TN 34.88 175 182 160 181 Detroit MI 34.18 177 181 159 182 Cleveland OH 34.01 176 166 182

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