The Happiest City In The Eastern US Is A New England Gem Filled With Endless Outdoor Fun

When you're looking at reasons to visit a place, top-of-mind considerations probably focus on what you can do, see, and eat while you're there. You might not consider how happy a place is, but maybe you should. If you're in a city where the people who live there are happy and have a high quality of life, that can have an impact on the overall vibe of the destination — it's like the saying "a rising tide lifts all boats." If you're looking for a happy city with New England charm, head to South Burlington, Vermont. It is the happiest city in the Eastern part of the country for 2026, according to WalletHub.

WalletHub looked at 150 major U.S. cities for three different factors related to happiness: emotional and physical well-being (which included things like depression rate, life expectancy, and food insecurity), income and employment (job security, unemployment rate, and commute time), and community and environment (hate crime incidents, acres of parkland per 1,000 residents, ideal weather). The No. 1 ranked city in the U.S. is Fremont, California, one of the least-stressed cities in America. Fremont was followed by Bismarck, North Dakota, then Scottsdale, Arizona. South Burlington came in at No. 4 with a score of 70.15, about four points behind Fremont.

South Burlington is one of the safest cities in America, with tasty eateries and shopping, which likely contributed to its overall happiness score. The city's local vibes and easy acces to green spaces there and nearby make it an ideal base for exploring the Northwest corner of the New England region. 

Red Rocks Park is a popular South Burlington, Vermont, destination for outdoor fun. This 100-acre park is right on Lake Champlain, complete with a swimming beach. It has several miles of trails through the forest that are open for hiking and cross-country skiing, depending on the season. Being in the woods lets you feel away from it all, even though you're only a few miles from downtown. One person on Google Maps says it is "beautiful and very accessible. There are many routes to choose from, and the view of the lake is gorgeous!"

The Centennial Woods Natural Area is a part of the University of Vermont, boasting more than 70 acres of forest and wetlands. It sits on the border between South Burlington and Burlington, a top college city with indie shops and local eats. For even more perspectives of the area's natural beauty, visit the small Overlook Park, where you'll get views out over the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain. Then in Winooski Gorge Park, within the larger Winooski Gorge Natural Area, there's a short trail down to a river overlook near the Lime Kiln Bridge, offering scenic views of the forest-lined gorge. For those who like to fish, the Winooski River Reservoir is a good spot to catch smallmouth bass.

If you like to ski or snowboard, there's nothing directly in South Burlington, but Cochran's Ski Area is an affordable small ski hill about 15 miles away, where kids can learn to ride the slopes. The larger Stowe Mountain Resort is around 40 miles away if you want to ski down Vermont's highest peak. And for climbers, Bolton Quarry has a mix of trad and sport climbing in a variety of grades, and it's less than 30 minutes from downtown South Burlington.