People living in the Big Apple are in rotten moods more often than people in other cities, according to a new study.
New York City was ranked the least happy city in America when adjusted for income, according to a working study, titled “Unhappy Cities,” released by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The study leaned on a questionnaire that has been administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the last several years and asks respondents: “In general, how satisfied are you with your life?”
The study ranked those self-reported answers and adjusted them for income, housing prices, age and other factors that might influence how happy a place could be.
It was also found that new residents were just as happy – or unhappy – as older respondents, which the study’s authors said suggested that happiness trends are sustained over time.
It also found that people were willing to trade happiness for better wages or lower housing costs.
“One interpretation of these facts is that individuals do not aim to maximize self-reported well-being, or happiness, as measured in surveys, and they willingly endure less happiness in exchange for higher incomes or lower housing costs,” the study said.
Jersey City was also one of the 10 least happy cities, according to a full data set obtained by Market Watch.
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Lafayette, Louisiana, was ranked the happiest city in the study, with four other Bayou State metropolitan regions rounding out the top five.
