Shocking? 6 Valley cities rank among America’s happiest

If you really live in Maricopa County, there are only two places where you could be reading this story. You’re either in a Dutch Bros. drive thru with blisters forming on your palms from the 200-degree steering wheel you grabbed 10 minutes ago. Or you’re ensconced on your couch, turning vampire-pale behind blackout shades, screwing around on your phone while you wait for someone to come back from the bathroom to finish bingeing Netflix’s latest true crime documentary.

In either case, we have good news. You’re pretty much the happiest person in America.

A whopping six Valley cities ranked among America’s 30 happiest cities in a personal finance company’s study of joy levels nationwide. Tops among them was Scottsdale, which places third nationally, a five-spot jump in the rankings from last year. Congratulations to y’all, as well as the bachelorette trailing a margarita-splattered sash past your favorite bar.

Only California, with seven, beat out Arizona as the state with the most cities among the study’s top 30. America wishes they were part of the greater Phoenix metro! Go swimming in January. Get a tan and cheers a bridesmaid on some patio in February. Except for, um, Phoenix itself. Fifty-sixth place, just behind Anaheim, California.

Of course, when it’s 115 degrees, and your soul is pooling in your socks, it’s hard to imagine the Valley as the happy-go-lucky paradise WalletHub paints. You sweat just walking to get the mail. You count down the days to October. You dodge road-raging F-150s on their way to fill up at Buc-ee’s, fret for your neighbors who’ve been thrown off SNAP, and browse cookie-cutter suburban neighborhoods with bottom-tier public schools. But who knows? Maybe unshaded parking lots raise endorphins.

Whatever we’re doing right, we might as well celebrate it. For this study, WalletHub compared 182 of the country’s largest cities across three broad categories: emotional and physical well-being, income and employment, and community and environment. The site analyzed each city on more than 30 metrics, including residents’ rates of depression and suicide, divorce, unemployment, participation in sports, and income growth. 

If you’re feeling glum and looking to relocate outside of Phoenix, you may want to consider a short move. Just not to Glendale (No. 75).

You’ve been to Scottsdale to partake in its wide range of nightlife, luxury shopping, high-quality resorts and beautiful mountainous scenery. The only people sad in Scottsdale either have been punched by a frat guy in Old Town or gotten dangerously lost in Fashion Square.

In these rankings, Scottsdale trails only Bismarck, North Dakota, and Fremont, California. The study made special note of Scottsdale’s healthy residents. Almost 90% of adults there report being in good health and physically active.

It also doesn’t hurt that the city’s residents make bank. Fewer than 7% of residents are below the poverty line while more than 65% of Scottsdale households bring in more than $75,000 annually, the income level “demonstrated to maximize happiness,” WalletHub writes, apparently never having shopped for groceries in 2026.

Gilbert

National ranking: 9

Household income: $124,968

People below the poverty line: 5.2%

Do you prefer 9:45 bedtimes to Old Town carousing? Maybe you belong in this quiet, fast-growing East Valley city. Known for its iconic water tower — and perhaps the goons — this city is sandwiched between two California cities on the list. It trails Irvine in the happiness rankings, but beat out San Jose.

Chandler

National ranking: 14

Household income: $110,284

People below the poverty line: 7.6%

Gilbert’s neighbor to the West, this city brings a similar suburban, rich vibe as Gilbert to the East Valley, except without the child gangs. This booming tech center has great parks — Desert Breeze, Veterans Oasis — in which to chill out. It ranks behind Columbia, Maryland, in WalletHub’s rankings. 

Some parts of Tempe are a carefree college-kid haven. Others rock quirky, old-school bars, restaurants and bookstores. You get parks, you get Tempe Town Lake, and you’re around the corner from the airport. Be happy: You beat gorgeous Portland, Maine, in WalletHub’s rankings. 

Peoria is the highest West Valley city on the list. Nestled among rolling hills, mountains and the spacious desert, it’s a family-friendly suburban city with great access to nature. It ranks behind Raleigh, North Carolina, in WalletHub’s rankings. 

Fun trivia: With more than 515,000 residents, Mesa is Arizona’s third-largest city, yet boasts only three buildings taller than 100 feet. Stroll the quaint, antique-filled downtown area, hike the Superstition Mountains, look at dinosaur bones, prop your feet up at a spring training game. Truly, life may not get better than this … unless of course you move to Honolulu, just ahead of it in WalletHub’s rankings.