2026 Happiest Cities in the World
Happiness can be difficult to quantify. Despite this, researchers have endeavored to identify the top happiest cities in the world. The results for 2026 were announced earlier this month in the annual Happy City Index.
To create the Index, researchers focused on conditions that typically foster happiness instead of asking residents if they are happy or not. Over 450 researchers analyzed 150,000 data points across 64 indicators of happiness (including sustainability, resilience, and mobility, among others). The culmination of this work is a list of 251 of the happiest cities in the world.
The intent of the Index is not to designate a “best city.” Instead, it aims to identify which cities offer a good balance of fair governance, sustainability, resilience, and quality of life.
Copenhagen, Denmark scored number 1 on the list, followed by Helsinki, Finland, and Geneva, Switzerland.
Sweden had the most cities within the top 50 (Uppsala, Malmö, Jönköping, Stockholm, and Gothenburg).
Only one US city made it into the top 50 list for 2026. San Francisco was ranked 45th on the list, sandwiched between New Taipei City (44th) and Taipei City (46th).
Outside of the top 50, the US fared slightly better. Cities like San Diego (155th), Austin (209th), and Milwaukee (239th) made the cut for the top 250 happiest cities in the world. Our beloved Minneapolis placed 210th, outranking both Denver (228th) and Chicago (243rd).
Again, happiness is somewhat subjective. But, when considering which factors tend to foster happiness, some cities may be more successful than others. Given the results of the 2026 Happy City Index, the US has a lot to learn; however, some cities are well on their way to becoming happier places to live.