HUNTINGTON BEACH and Garden Grove are among the happiest cities in the U.S, according to a new study (Pexels/Jill Wellington).

Disneyland in Anaheim is not only the “Happiest Place on Earth,” but it’s also surrounded by some of the happiest cities in the United States.

That’s the judgment of Wallethub.com, a financial services company seeking to identify the various “bests” across the nation. Last week the firm released its rankings of “2021’s Happiest Cities in America.”

The rankings are based on three major categories:

• emotional and physical well-being
• income and employment
• community and environment .

Huntington Beach came in at 33rd in the nation (among 182 cities evaluated), with Garden Grove in 40th. Irvine was ranked 12th and Anaheim 41st. Santa Ana landed in the 66th spot.

The top-ranked city was Fremont, California. Other high-scoring cities from the Golden State were San Jose (fifth), Santa Rosa (10th) and San Francisco (13th).

Factors influencing ratings included such things as suicide rate, life expectancy, income growth, job security, ideal weather and commute time.

Most of the cities evaluated had a population of 150,000 or more, making just five Orange County cities (Santa Ana, Anaheim, Irvine, Huntington Beach and Garden Grove) eligible for the list.

For the complete report, go to: https://wallethub.com/edu/happiest-places-to-live/32619 .