Dallas/Fort Worth Is ‘America’s Happiest City’

That’s according to a poll out today by Harris Interactive. They surveyed adults in America’s top 10 markets and Dallas-Fort Worth came out on top because 38% of us defined ourselves as “very happy,” compared to an average of 33% among all the markets.

• On the positive side, they are among the Americans most likely to say their spiritual beliefs are a positive guiding force to them (75%) and that they rarely worry about their health (59%), as well as being among the least likely to feel their voices are not heard in national decisions that affect them (67%).
• But even America’s happiest city shows room for improvement. Dallas/Fort Worth residents are among the Americans least likely to agree that they have positive relationships with their family members (though it’s worth noting that 83% do agree with this sentiment) and among the most likely to agree that they rarely engage in hobbies and pastimes they enjoy (34%)

So more of us could stand to join a bowling league, or take up knitting, I guess.

And who came in at No. 2? Our poor pals down in Houston. They’re only 36% “very happy.” San Franciscans were dead last in the poll, only 28% “very happy.” Which leads me to believe that happiness has a greater correlation to economic conditions than the aesthetic beauty of a place.

Or are self-identifying surveys like this more about a people’s capacity for self-delusion more than anything else?