According to a recent study, Plano, a sprawling suburb of Dallas, ranks as one of the happiest places in the United States.
SmartAsset, a financial technology firm, conducted a study to determine the happiest cities across the country and found Plano to be the second happiest, trailing just behind Arlington, Virginia.
Interestingly, no other Texas cities made it to the top 25. Fort Worth came closest at number 38, while Arlington landed at the 47th spot.
However, Dallas didn’t fare as well, ranking as the 11th least happy city in the nation, with Houston trailing closely behind as the 10th least happy.
The study evaluated various factors related to personal finance, well-being, and quality of life across different cities.
These factors included the marriage rate, average traffic volume, percentage of households earning over $100,000, proportion of residents below the poverty line, life expectancy, and the number of physically inactive residents.
Plano stood out with exceptional scores across multiple metrics. Over 52% of its households earn more than $100,000 annually, while only 4.9% live below the poverty line.
In 2022, the median household income in Plano was around $105,000, as the U.S. Census Bureau reported.
Comparatively, cities like Laredo ranked as the second least happy city, have significantly lower household incomes and higher poverty rates.
Plano boasts a life expectancy of 82.2 years, a marriage rate of 56%, and a high percentage of residents with health insurance.
This isn’t the first time Plano has gained recognition for its high level of happiness.
In 2022, it was named the sixth happiest city in the U.S. and recognized as one of the safest and best places to raise a family.
Interestingly, California emerged as the happiest state overall, with three cities making it to the top 10 in the study.