Portland, Maine, Ranked Among the Happiest Cities in the United States

Another national report is shining a light on our wonderful city of Portland.

However, this isn't about the wonderful food, incredible scenery, historic landmarks, or its very iconic radio stations. Nope, this one shines a light on how wonderful it is to live in this fine community, because folks around here are very happy.

WalletHub, a personal finance website, recently published its annual report on the happiest cities in America. Maine's largest city ranked quite high on the list.

How Happy are the People who Live in Portland, Maine?

Portland came in as the 19th happiest city in America, one of just three New England cities to crack the Top 20. There's clearly something good in the water up here.

The study included the two largest cities from each state, as well as the top 150 cities in the nation. Portland's actual happiness score was 64.59. The scoring was based on a 100-point system.

Three major categories were used: Emotional and Physical Well-Being, Income and Employment, and Community and Environment. These categories were broken down into 30 subcategories, making the analysis as detailed as possible. You can read about the methodology here.

READ MORE: Becky’s Diner in Portland Named Best Comfort Food in Maine

All three of Portland's rankings were in the Top 50. Portland really shined in Income & Employment, where Maine's largest city was ranked 3rd overall. This category included metrics like job security, job satisfaction, and commute time.

Portland's second-best score came in the Community & Environment category. The city nearly found itself in the Top 10, finishing 12th. This category is a perfect one for Portland, considering it includes quality of life, amount of green space, caring for your neighbor, and the amount of leisure time utilized per day. Talk about a great category to be ranked high in.

Portland's lowest score (if you can even call it that) was in Emotional and Physical Well-Being, where the city finished with a ranking of 42nd. This is still a solid score, especially considering the weight this category carries when it comes to happiness.

It's no surprise to see Portland finish so highly. I mean, who doesn't love this town? It's the perfect size and speed and is loaded with character… and delicious food.

While Portland scored very well, two New England cities did manage to have higher rankings, and they both came from the Green Mountain State. Congrats to both South Burlington and Burlington, Vermont, for finishing 4th and 11th, respectively.

Also, Portland wasn't the only Maine city represented in the report. Lewiston was also ranked, though slightly further down the list, finishing with a ranking of 145.

However, Lewiston did earn an incredible No. 1 ranking in the Income & Employment category. That means Maine's two cities finished 1st and 3rd in the most important category in the report. That's pretty darn impressive.

What are the Happiest Cities in New England?

So, how did the rest of New England score? Here are the results:

Nashua, NH - 27
Manchester, NH - 51
Boston, MA - 63
Warwick, RI - 66
New Haven, CT - 95
Bridgeport, CT - 96
Providence, RI - 98
Worcester, MA - 116

WalletHub's happiest city was Fremont, CA, followed by Bismarck, ND, and Scottsdale, AZ.

The most miserable city on the list was the fine hamlet of Detroit, MI. I mean, I feel like this is a pretty easy one to guess.

You can find the entire list here.