Minneapolis: The Happiest City in the Midwest, According to New Study

In the Midwest, there lies a city that has been recognized as one of the happiest places in the world. That city is none other than Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to the Institute for Quality of Life, which creates the “Happy City Index” annually, Minneapolis has earned this distinction as the only U.S. city to achieve gold status.

The ranking was based on several indicators that evaluated residents’ quality of life and overall happiness in various categories such as citizens, governance, environment, economy, and mobility. Despite being one of only two U.S. cities to make it into the gold category, Minneapolis came in at number 17 out of 37 total cities on the list.

Aarhus, Denmark was ranked as the happiest city in the world by the same institute. While Minneapolis did not rank as highly in this category, it still managed to score well enough to earn its place among the top ten cities globally. The citizens and economy categories were particularly strong for Minneapolis, contributing to its impressive rankings.

Several other U.S cities were listed in silver and bronze categories including Boston, Baltimore, Washington DC., San Francisco and Salt Lake City among others like Madison Wisconsin and Pittsburgh also received recognition in several happiness rankings solidifying their reputation as a city with high levels of happiness and quality of life