City Voted Iowa’s Happiest is an Interesting Choice

When you think about being happy, what comes to mind? I guess I'm asking, what makes you happy? Family, friends, and health are likely near the top. But, what about your happiness with where you live? That has to be a major component of happiness, right?

Well, there is a new study from the website Credit Donkey that aims to find Iowa's happiest city, and they claim they have the 2022 winner.

Get our free mobile app

Before I get into their top 10, which features a couple of pretty major eastern Iowa cities, I'll share the metrics they used:

To be considered, the city must have a population of 15,000

1. Restaurants
2. Crime rate
3. Commute
4. Departure time
5. Income
6. Divorce rate
7. Housing

With those metrics in mind, Iowa's happiest city is...

Clive, Iowa is, according to this study, Iowa's happiest city. Sporting a population of 18,814, and nestled in central Iowa, pretty much on top of Des Moines, Clive takes the cake.

Clive has many restaurants, very low commute time (likely due to its proximity to Des Moines), and low crime. That said, it's an interesting pick because of its proximity to Des Moines.

Things get even more... dicey when you look at the top 10 picks for the happiest city. A number of them are, essentially, Des Moines suburbs. Number 2 is Johnston, number 4 on the list is West Des Moines, number 6 is Urbandale, and number 8 is Ankeny. All of these cities are situated around Des Moines.

Here are the full top 10:

10. Cedar Rapids
9. Ottumwa
8. Ankeny
7. Cedar Falls
6. Urbandale
5. Muscatine
4. West Des Moines
3. Bettendorf
2. Johnston
1. Clive

Interestingly enough, Iowa's largest city and capital Des Moines is absent, despite the numerous cities that orbit it.