SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Beaches and trails, great food, year-round sunshine. There are plenty of reasons to enjoy San Diego and appreciate the county.
The San Diego-Carlsbad metropolitan area ranked 23rd on National Geographic's "25 of the Happiest Cities in the U.S." report.
National Geographic author Dan Buettner and Gallup scientists developed an index measuring cities on an array 15 metrics, from dental checkups and healthy eating to finances and civic engagement.
"In happier places, according to Buettner, locals smile and laugh more often, socialize several hours a day, have access to green spaces, and feel that they are making purposeful progress toward achieving life goals," National Geographic wrote.
Half a million adults across the United States reveal who's happy and who's not https://t.co/0RFXT5HBon
— National Geographic (@NatGeo) October 18, 2017
Buettner added that quality of water and residents who visit their dentist more often tend to affect happiness.
There you go San Diego: Head to the beach and clean your teeth.
Cities that topped the list were Boulder, Colo., the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif. area, and Charlottesville, Va. Here's the full list:
- Boulder, Colorado
- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California
- Charlottesville, Virginia
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, California
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California
- Provo-Orem, Utah
- Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut
- Barnstable Town, Massachussetts
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Florida
- Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California
- Salinas, California
- North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida
- Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Manchester-Nashua
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC Metro Area
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota
- San Diego-Carlsbad, California
- Portland-South Portland, Maine
- Austin-Round Rock, Texas
Nearly 250,000 interviews were conducted between 2014 and 2015 as part of a well-being index.
