Americans searching for a happier place to live may want to look beyond the country’s biggest and most well-known cities.

A new WalletHub study analyzing more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities found that overall happiness is driven by more than just income, factoring in mental health, physical well-being and community environment.

Instead of major hubs like New York or Los Angeles topping the list, smaller and mid-sized cities dominated the rankings.

MORE AMERICANS LEAVE BIG CITIES FOR RURAL STATES AS MIGRATION PATTERNS SHIFT IN 2026

Fremont, California, ranked as the happiest city in America. It was followed by Bismarck, North Dakota, Scottsdale, Arizona, South Burlington, Vermont and Fargo, North Dakota.

Rounding out the top 10 were Overland Park, Kansas, Charleston, South Carolina, Irvine, California, Gilbert, Arizona and San Jose, California.

Higher salaries in large metro areas don’t necessarily lead to greater happiness, the results suggest. Instead, quality of life appears to play a larger role.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

“Research shows that having more money only increases your happiness until you’re making at least $75,000 per year — anything more you earn likely won’t have an impact,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in a statement.

“Therefore, when deciding where to live to maximize your happiness, you’ll want to pick a city that offers more than just a decent average income,” he added.

Cities that ranked highest tended to perform well in areas such as emotional and physical well-being, job satisfaction and strong community ties.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES

Fremont stood out in particular, ranking first in emotional and physical well-being and fourth in community environment.

The city also has one of the lowest separation and divorce rates in the country, along with a low depression rate and high life expectancy, the study noted.

Nearly 80% of Fremont households earn more than $75,000 annually, a key benchmark tied to happiness levels, according to the report.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

Fremont also ranks fifth among the most caring cities in America, WalletHub noted.

Together, those factors highlight what separates the happiest cities from the rest.

“The ideal city provides conditions that foster good mental and physical health, like reasonable work hours, short commutes, good weather and caring neighbors,” Lupo said.

Nick Cannon is getting real about his political stance. 

During Friday’s episode of Cannon’s “Big Drive” online talk show, the “Masked Singer” host had an open conversation with model Amber Rose about President Donald Trump and the political parties.

“Democrats don’t care about Black people, and they don’t care about people of color, and the Republicans do, and that’s the misconception,” Rose said. 

“I agree with you 100 percent,” Cannon replied. “People don’t know that the Democrats are the party of the KKK. People don’t know that the Republicans are the party that freed the slaves.”

JOY REID SAYS GOP USING NICKI MINAJ AS A ‘HOUSE PET’ TO PUT ‘BLACKFACE’ ON MAGA

“I mean, both you and I have some conservative views,” he continued. “You just a little bit more outspoken than I am. And honestly, I don’t subscribe to either party. I rock with W. E. B. Du Bois, when he said there’s no such thing as two parties. It’s just one evil party with two different names.”

When the topic of conversation turned to Trump, Cannon said, “Motherf—er’s cleaning house,” and is “doing what he said he was gonna do.”

“We got the Gulf of America now. [Trump is] like the club. He’s charging a $5 million bottle service fee to get into the country. I f— with Trump,” he added.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

While Cannon has been more reserved about discussing his political beliefs, Rose has been open about how her support for Trump has impacted her career. 

“During the election, I was ‘canceled,’” Rose told Maxim, as the magazine’s February cover star. “Now? All the naysayers are quiet. They see he’s already changing our country for the better.”

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

At the Republican National Convention in 2024 in 2024, Rose said she would not be silenced.

“I let go of my fear or judgment of being misunderstood, of getting attacked by the left, and I put the red hat on,” she told attendees. “The left told me to hate Trump. And even worse, to hate the other side: the people who support him.”

“Unfortunately, the ‘woke’ left cancels people for having a different ideology,” she told Maxim. “Fortunately for me, I don’t give a f— and will always stand 10 toes down until the wheels fall off, regardless of what my beliefs may be. I used to be on the left and thought I was doing the right thing. That’s why it’s so important to have open conversations.”

“On the left, there’s no objective truth. It’s only about feelings,” she stated. “As a society, we all need to get back to reality and have these difficult conversations to bring us all back to a better place.”

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said Republicans should move toward ending the Senate filibuster on “Sunday Morning Futures” as lawmakers battle over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding, arguing the chamber’s 60-vote threshold to end a filibuster is preventing action on border and homeland security priorities.

Johnson called Democrats “obnoxious” and “obstructionist,” blaming them for the current government shutdown as the congressional stalemate over funding DHS continues. Democrats are refusing to allocate money to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which falls under DHS, unless their proposed reforms to the agency are accepted.

The Wisconsin Republican said Democrats would continue to obstruct budgetary votes under the current administration and predicted that, when they reclaimed the majority, they would get rid of the filibuster anyway.

“The split in the Senate, in terms of a filibuster, is [between] those of us who believe that Democrats will [get rid of] it next time they have the power, and those who are hoping beyond hope that they won’t.”

In practice, most major legislation in the Senate can be delayed or blocked by a filibuster unless 60 senators vote to end debate. As long as this is the case, Johnson argued, the deadlock will persist.

REPUBLICANS CAN FUND ICE FOR AN ENTIRE DECADE WITHOUT A SINGLE DEM VOTE: SEN CRUZ

He recommended moving toward a reconciliation process, a special budget procedure Congress can use to get around the filibuster and pass certain changes more quickly than ordinary legislation.

“Let’s get as much DHS funding as possible, move to reconciliation, pass a reconciliation bill focused on DHS funding through fiscal year 2029, and then be ready for another reconciliation to fund the rest of government, starting in October, when Democrats obstruct the regular order appropriation process,” he said.

SEN KENNEDY SAYS HE WOULD ACCEPT DEMOCRATS’ OFFER TO ‘OPEN UP EVERYTHING’ BUT ICE

Johnson admitted that he didn’t yet have a sufficient number of Republicans on his side to pass a vote dispensing with the filibuster, but argued that the U.S. Senate was “broken” due to overly complex rules impeding progress.

“My colleagues [say] ‘We don’t want to be responsible for breaking the Senate.’ How could it be much more broken?” he asked.

“When we’re at war with Iran… They might possibly have sleeper cells here in this country. We can’t even fund the very agency designed to keep our homeland safe. I don’t see how it could get much worse. So I’m for ending the 60-vote threshold and ending the filibuster.”