For some people, happiness is spending an afternoon with the ones you love. For others, it is diving into a good book, exploring new worlds, and for others still, it is simply a delicious piece of chocolate.
Okay, all of these things sound pretty good—and pretty unmeasurable. If there are just a couple of things you should know about us here at the
Movoto Real Estate Blog, they are: 1) We sell houses, 2) We like to measure things, and 3) We really do love chocolate. Okay, three things.
In keeping with this theme, we decided to create a numbered list of just which places in each state are the happiest. Today we’re heading to Arizona, where the winner was Gilbert, happily followed by nine other great places:
1.
City of Gilbert
2.
City of Sahuarita
3.
City of Marana
4.
City of Chandler
5.
Town of Oro Valley
6.
City of Scottsdale
7.
City of Maricopa
8.
City of Goodyear
9.
City of Peoria
10.
City of Surprise
It’s bound to be no Surprise that residents in these cities are having a particularly Goodyear, especially once you see how we created this list. Then, at the end of the post we’ll show you a complete table of all the cities we ranked.
Our Methodology
We started this happy journey by making a list of all the places in Arizona with populations of 25,000 people or more. We then used sources like the 2010 U.S. Census, the 2012 FBI Uniform Crime Report, and WalkScore.com, to collect data in the following smile-inducing criteria:
- Stress factors (including unemployment, commutes, and cost of living)
- Personal safety (violent crimes per 100,000 people)
- Percent of residents making greater than $25,000/year
- Percent of married residents
- Home ownership
- Percent of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher
- Walkability score
Once we omitted the cities and towns that didn’t have complete data, we had a list of 30 places to look at. We ranked each place in each category from one to 30 with scores closer to one being better.
Finally, we averaged each place’s rankings into an overall
Big Deal Score, where the lowest score went to our happiest place, Gilbert.
So now that you know the method behind this list, put on your Happy Pants (yes, those purple ones we know are stashed in your closet) and let’s take a look at what makes each of these places happier than the rest.
1. Gilbert
Fun fact: the population of Gilbert went from a mere 5,717 in 1980 to 208,453 in 2010, according to the U.S. Census. That’s…well, that’s a pretty big leap. So why is everybody flocking to Gilbert?
It might have a little something to do with the fact that during the whole year of 2012, there were just 98 violent crimes per 100,000 people here. Or perhaps that fewer than 8 percent of the population in Gilbert made less than 20K a year. Or—I know—how about the fact that 66.73 percent of residents owned their homes?
Whatever the initial draw, if you’re lucky enough to live in Gilbert, you’ve got plenty of reasons to smile.
2. Sahuarita
With just over 25,000 residents, Sahuarita was certainly the smallest place in our top 10, and it definitely really exemplified certain small town values. The good ones, of course.
For example, out of all of the places we looked at, Sahuarita had the very lowest number of violent crimes—just 44 per 100,000 people. With 66.2 percent of its residents being married, it also had the very highest number here.
Something else to make you smile: it looks like most of those married couples are homeowners, as nearly 70 percent of residents owned homes, and it also looks like they’re probably pulling in some pretty good money, as nearly 93 percent of folks here earned a minimum of $20,000 per year.
3. Marana
If the nearby Saguaro National Park and the Tortolita Mountains’ hiking trails aren’t enough to make you happy in this city, you should probably just move. No we’re just messing with you—there are plenty of other reasons to smile here.
For example, just a tiny percent of the population in Marana made less than $20,000 per year (6.91 percent). A generally high income most definitely contributed to the fact that most residents were homeowners here, and may even have had something to do with most residents (62.2 percent) being married.
(Security + Financial stability = A good time to pop the question.) (Take notes, gentlemen.)
4. Chandler
This city may be a suburb of Phoenix, but when it comes to each place’s happiness, they’re worlds apart. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Whereas Chandler had one of the highest percentages of residents with bachelor’s degrees or higher (39.71 percent), Phoenix…didn’t exactly get an A+ in that category. Just 25.88 percent of residents had at least a bachelor’s degree.
Another thing, just 8.7 percent of people in Chandler made less than $20,000 per year, whereas in Phoenix, 19.56 percent did.
Phoenix may be a good place to work and all, but it looks like for real happiness, you might want to head home to the ‘burbs.
5. Oro Valley
This ain’t the first rodeo for this Tucson suburb—and by rodeo, we mean awesome award. This city has been awarded everything from No. 44 on Fortune’s “Best Places to Live and Launch” list to one of the “Ten most Playful Towns in America” by Nick Jr. Family Magazine.
So if you’re not already smiling from ear to ear, here are some other reasons Oro Valley residents are so happy. This city had just 51 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2012, ranking it the second safest in this category, and it was also the second best educated place in the state with 49.23 percent of residents holding at least a bachelor’s degree.
Sure, it may have scored a little high in the stress factors category (mostly due to its high cost of living of 105), but hey, over 90 percent of residents made $20,000 or more, so it certainly seems like they can afford it.
6. Scottsdale
Scottsdale is a true rarity among Arizona cities in that you can actually walk around here! Yep, according to walkscore.com, this city had a walkability score of 83; something that you hardly ever see in Arizona, land of driving.
To put that into perspective, just compare it to two of our other top 10 spots, Sahuarita and Marana, which earned a 15 and 17 respectively.
Scottsdale also earned top marks for education—more people in this city had a bachelor’s degree or higher than anywhere else in the entire state. (No wonder the city is so well planned…)
7. Maricopa
Here’s a fact that’ll make you smile: Legendary actor John Wayne once lived in Maricopa. That fella knew what he was talking about when he said “Life’s hard; even harder when you’re stupid.” Case in point: Maricopa’s high percentage of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher meant a happier population. Sorry, it’s just science.
Not only do Maricopa residents seem to be smarter than your average ringtail, but they’re also making more money. Only 5.86 percent of residents made less than $20,000 per year; that’s the lowest percentage in the state.
8. Goodyear
Okay, the name pretty much says it all. So, why are residents here having such a Goodyear? Well for starters, with just 158 violent crimes per 100,000 people, it’s not likely that they were assaulted, robbed, or otherwise harmed.
The chances are also pretty slim that they’re earning anything less than 20K a year, since just 7.25 percent of residents here did. Finally, a majority of the population here was both married (58.41 percent) and/or owned their homes (60.59 percent).
So don’t feel bad if it sounds like these folks are having a Betteryear than you are; you can always just move there.
9. Peoria
If home is where the heart is, it’s no wonder people in Peoria are so happy. After all, 65.07 percent of them were homeowners.
Of course, this makes perfect sense when you take into consideration that almost 90 percent of residents earned over $20,000 per year and 54.42 percent were married.
It’s no wonder, then, Peoria has been listed as one of Money Magazine’s Top 100 Places to Live!
10. Surprise
Surprise! Or, actually, probably not if you’re one of the lucky residents of this city. That’s because residents know what a happy place this is first hand—they know how fast this city has grown in the past decade and they know how much it has improved, what with the giant Aquatics Center and Maricopa County’s northwest regional library.
Some of the happiest things about Surprise are those you can’t see, though. For example, in 2012 there were just 139 violent crimes per 100,000 people. It also had a high percentage of homeowners, 62.88, and the second highest percentage of married folks in the state, 63.63 percent.
If It Makes You Happy
Whatever it is that makes you happiest—whether it’s being with the one you love, feeling safe and secure, or just walking around—these 10 cities are the most smile-inducing, euphoria-making, and all around blissful in Arizona. Chocolate not included.
(click to enlarge table)
