New York City is known for its Michelin-starred cuisine, as well as its excellent inexpensive meals, dynamic art and culture scenes, soaring skyscrapers, sweep green spaces and robust nightlife named “The City Who Never Sleeps.” But what truly defines the Big Apple is the diverse international population that leaves unique traces in this bustling metropolitan city.
Still, it may be a bit surprising that New York City is the happiest city in the United States, according to the London-based quality of life 2025 Happy City Index. After all, the city has a reputation for being crowded, noisy and chaotic, and it’s also very expensive to live there. But obviously the good outweighs the more challenging. New York has landed at the top of the US, ranked 17th on the list of the happiest cities in the world.
Why is New York City the happiest city in the United States?
The Institute for Quality of Life has identified six key categories that it considers to have the most direct impact on citizenship, governance, the environment, economy, health, mobility, or happiness. Among them are 26 subcategories, including green space availability, education systems, comprehensive policies, and access to culture, including libraries. The organization used open data and interviews with residents to rank cities in a point system, combining qualitative and quantitative information.
Based on this, it was discovered that the world’s happiest cities are “working on education, inclusive policy, economy, mobility, environmental protection, access to green areas, innovation, innovation, and fostering and growing innovation.”
New York City achieved the highest score among the US cities that created the list. It excels in the Governance, Economic, Environment and Civic categories with a total of 902 points. For comparison, Copenhagen, Denmark’s highest city, the world’s highest city, scored a total of 1039.
Of course, the methodology is not perfect. The Institute for Quality of Life acknowledges that there is no all-size approach to happiness and that cities are constantly changing. Furthermore, only cities with reliable, measurable, comparable data were considered. “We’re sure there are many beautiful places around the world and cities worthy of being part of the analysis. But in some cases we couldn’t find enough information about their results and performance.”
The happiest cities in the US are ranked
Here’s how the 10 happiest cities in the United States were ranked: The numbers in parentheses are global rankings of cities.
- New York, New York (17)
- Minneapolis, Minnesota (30)
- San Diego, California (34)
- Washington DC (43)
- Salt Lake City, Utah (56)
- Columbus, Ohio (63)
- Los Angeles, California (70)
- Seattle, Washington (80)
- Baltimore, Maryland (84)
- San Antonio, Texas (89)
Furthermore, below the list is Boston, Massachusetts. Houston, Texas. Indiana, Indiana. Orlando, Florida. Phoenix, Arizona; Portland, Oregon. San Jose, California.
Why is it time to visit New York City?
New York City is one of the most vibrant and energetic cities in the world. It is also one of the most connected cities in the world, with three area airports that receive thousands of flights per day to around 100 international airlines from all six continents, making it easy to visit from basically anywhere.
Things to do
New York City is home to approximately 8 million people and is divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. It is located on the US East Coast, with parts of the city on the Atlantic coast, with other parts surrounded by the Hudson River and the East Rivers, so it often has waters within reach. The best activities include a day at Coney Island or Rockaway Beach, taking pictures of skyline and Liberty View statues along the Hudson River on cruises and yachts, and relaxing at one of the waterfront parks that host free events such as Little Island and Brooklyn Bridge Park.
New York City has over 170 museums in a variety of sizes, fields and experience. The Metropolitan Museum of Art reopened the wings of Michael C. Rockefeller on May 31, 2025, after four years of closure. It has a collection of Mets from Africa, Ancient America and Oceania. In April, the beloved flick collection reopened after a five-year, $220 million renovation. The American Museum of Natural History opened its new Richard Guilder Center Wing in 2023.
Other favorite museums include MoMa: The Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Guggenheim New York and The Brooklyn Museum. History enthusiasts visit New York City and the Museums of the New York Historical Society and dive deep into New York’s origins and evolution. The Tenement Museum consists of two preserved tenements on the Lower East Side.
New York is also packed with unique museums that share the city’s character and history, including the Morgan Library Museum, the El Museum Del Barrio, the Noguchi Museum and the Broadway Museum, which debuted at the end of 2022.
Watching shows on Broadway is on the bucket list of many travelers. Aside from dozens of must-see Broadway musicals and plays, the city has burst into cultural institutions such as the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Carnegie Hall, in addition to many other theatres of various sizes. This summer will prevent Shakespeare from a star-studded return in the park after the program was suspended in 2024 while the Dela Corte Theater is being renovated. Performance of Twelfth night From August 7th to September 4th, Lupita Nyong’o and her brother Junior Nyong’o will play twins Viola and Sebastian. They will be joined by Peter Dinklege, Sandra O’Ha, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Bill Camp.
New York City is home to Central Park, one of the most famous parks in the world. Central Park is 843 acres blocked by 51 city of Manhattan from north to south. Famously designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, it is surrounded by carefully maintained rolling hills and protruding rocks surrounding several lakes and ponds. Highlights within the park include Central Park Zoo, Walman Rink and a gorgeous conservatory garden. This spring, the park unveiled the Davis Centre with a brand new pool and skating rink. The city is packed with dozens of other parks and green spaces. If you’re in Brooklyn, stop by Prospect Park. In Queens, Flushing Meadows Corona Park still has glove sculptures and other structures since its World Fairs in 1939 and 1964.
Where to eat
The New York City food scene is legendary, ranging from fine Michelin-star restaurants to slice joints and hot dog carts and everything in between. While it’s impossible to narrow down your dining options, to remember fine dining, Le Bernardine, starring Eric Ripert’s three Michelins, is hard to beat with sophisticated French cuisine, while Tatiana from Lincoln Center brings a modern twist to Caribbean cuisine. For evidence of the city’s impressive international flavour, try places like Thai diners, Indian hot spot SEMMA, AGI counters in Hungarian cafe menu, high-end Korean Oijimi, street-style tacos No. 1, and Naminoli in hand rolls of sushi. The Italian cuisine is huge here, with Lesdora, Cucinna Alba and Anton all serving incredible pasta and local cuisine.
I recommend eating at least a few, if not at least some, New York pizza. Some favourites include Lucali, Scarr’s, Una Pizza Napoletana, and longtime Bronx Louie & Ernie’s. The bakery scene also exploded in New York recently. Get ready to wait in line at Cult Hit Radio Bakery, Honey, Birdie, L’Appartment 4F, and Inventor of the Cronut Dominque Ansel’s latest Papa D’Amour, which opened last week.
Where to stay
Choosing a hotel in such a big city can be difficult, but Surrey, a Corinthian hotel that opened late last year after 14 months of renovations, is an stunning Upper East Side address. The Ritz-Carlton New York nomad is on the edge of midtown and has been removed from the conflict a bit. For smaller and more boutiques, consider the Warren Street Hotel in Downtown. Made is a solid affordable option, as well as the options on the city’s list of the best 4-star hotels.
