California ranks 24th happiest state, as NY lags behind and a surprising state snags top

The Golden State is far from first place when it comes to happiness.

In a recent ranking of the happiest states in the country, California didn’t manage to crack the top twenty for gladness, let alone the top 10.

The study, conducted by Manhattan Mental Health Counseling, factored in work-life balance, economic stability, health, environment, and safety as predictors of overall happiness and well-being.

California scored in the fair-to-middling range, coming in at 24 for overall happiness.

New York fared even worse, ranking near the bottom at 41.

Meanwhile, the top five was dominated by some surprising contenders for contentment: Utah took the top spot, followed by Nebraska, Vermont, Minnesota, and Idaho.

Drawing from data from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the CDC, the study used 20 metrics for each state, including physical activity rate, violent crime rates, depression rates, and income-to-cost-of-living ratio.

Because California is among the priciest places to live, experts maintain that economic insecurity negatively affected the state’s happiness rating.

California is the most expensive state in the nation in terms of rental costs, with residents needing to earn $52.79 per hour to afford a typical two-bedroom home at $2,745 per month, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

In expensive areas like Santa Cruz, the hourly wage needed to rent a 2-bedroom apartment runs as high as $81 per hour.

The costs of homeownership are even further out of reach for many, with California median home prices exceeding $930,000 in May, according to the California Association of Realtors.

Moreover, the Golden State boasts nine of the 10 most expensive metropolitan areas in the US for homeowners.

Meanwhile, statistics provided by the California Poverty Measure (CPM) reveal that nearly 744,000 young adults in California are experiencing food insecurity, housing instability, and poverty, an unholy trinity for unhappiness.

While the state as a whole may be far behind in economic stability and bliss, certain pockets remain high on happiness.

Fremont, California, was recently named the happiest city in the United States for the seventh year in a row.

One contributing factor to its ranking is that the city has the highest share of households — nearly 80% — with an income above $75,000.

Five other California cities made the top 25 happiest: Irvine (No. 8), San Jose (No. 10), San Francisco (No. 17), San Diego (No. 21) and Huntington Beach (No. 25).