Scientists find New York to be the most unhappy major city in the United States. But cheer up, New Yorkers, your hometown is also pretty great.
The research — done by Edward Glaeser of Harvard and Joshua Gottlieb of the University of British Columbia — is based on a big study by the Centers for Disease Control. Overall, the study found that Scranton, Pa., had the lowest reported rate of happiness, and Charlottesville, Va., had the highest.
But among big metropolitan areas, New York took the top — or bottom — spot for unhappiness.
The research is based on a survey asking about respondents' satisfaction with life. It ultimately points out that, in some cases, people are willing to trade happiness for things like greater opportunities and higher wages.
A trip through the vast data archives of New York City offers insights into those trade-offs.
This data is well beyond the scope of the study — and was not included in it — but certainly reveals some of specific things that might make New Yorkers so unhappy.
Jim Dalrymple II
