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Published June 22, 2024, 6:03 p.m. ET
Oh, joy.
A list of the happiest cities in the world has just been published —and New Yorkers will have to travel awfully far to get a taste of the good life.
Denmark’s second city, Aarhus, took top honors, with nine other lucky northern European spots snagging top 10 status. The United States and Canada were all but ignored in this year’s ranking of 250 global population centers.
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Aarhus is known for its “quaint cobbled streets, winding waterways and cosy independent shops, which make it both easy-going and vibrant,” according to a travel writer for The Sun, who reported not being able “to help but smile” during a recent visit.
The Happy City Index 2024 scores cities around the world based on how hard local governments work to create a place where residents feel good about life, through sound, strategic policymaking, as well as issues like the environment, social mobility and the local economy, said the list’s U.K.-based creators, The Institute for Quality of Life.
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Out of the worldwide selection, roughly 40 of the best burgs are awarded Gold status based on their scores, which then triggers a more in-depth audit of the destination, according to the organization, which exists to “improve the quality of life by providing and popularizing reliable research on human well-being in a given environment.”
“Since every city is a moving landscape, their activity must be periodically verified, especially with regard to the quality of public services provided and place-based knowledge, in response to new challenges that arise. We do that every day and publish once a year,” the Institute explained on their web site.
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Thirty-seven cities were awarded Gold status in 2024, and while each one in the category is considered to be the best by the list creators, Aarhus was the absolute top scorer, beating out perennial good life list topper Copenhagen.
Zurich, Berlin, Gothenburg —Sweden’s second largest city —and Amsterdam finished out the top five, with Helsinki, artsy English city Bristol, Copenhagen, Geneva and Munich all squeezing into the top ten.
A lone American city —Minneapolis — eked its way onto the Gold list, along with one other North American city, Ottawa —Canada’s capital city.
