This Kansas City suburb is one of the happiest cities in America, report says

If you’re looking for a city with a little extra pep in its step, look no further than Overland Park, Kansas.

The Kansas City suburb ranked 15th on WalletHub’s list of the happiest cities in America.

Fremont, Calif., took the top spot with Plano, Texas; San Jose, Calif.; Irvine, Calif., and Madison, Wis., rounding out the top five.

So what makes a happy city?

The personal finance website assessed 182 cities on a number of factors that fall under three key categories: emotional and physical well-being, income and employment, and community and environment, the report said.

The report also drew upon happiness research including “Happiness from Ordinary and Extraordinary Experiences” and “Sports Participation and Happiness: Evidence from U.S. Micro Data.”

Overland Park’s highest ranking was among community and environment factors, where it landed in the eighth spot nationally. That category assesses factors like divorce and separation rates, hate-crime incidents per capita, weather and acres of parkland per 1,000 residents, the report said.

Overland Park ranked 35 in the emotional and physical well-being category— which looks at factors such as depression, sleep and sports participation rates — and saw its lowest ranking in income and employment: 48th, the report says.

Overland Park also had the highest adequate-sleep rate, with only 25.6 percent of adults sleeping less than seven hours a night, according to WalletHub. It also had the fourth lowest divorce and separation rate.

The unhappiest city on the list? That’d be Detroit, Mich., the report said, followed by Charleston, W. Va.; Toledo, Ohio; Huntington, W. Va., and Cleveland, Ohio.

This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 9:11 AM.