Lancaster named one of the happiest cities in the country

How happy are you?

According to the General Social Survey, 85% of Americans said they are very happy or pretty happy. Do you fall into that percentile? If you live in Lancaster, you probably do. The city was recently named the fourth happiest U.S. city by Senior Living.

In Lancaster, the median income in households is $61,492, slightly above the national median income, and residents spend less than 25% of their income on rent, below the national percentage of 31.6%. Commutes in Lancaster are under a half hour (only 23 minutes) and the unemployment rate is 3.8%, only 0.1% above the national average. The life expectancy is 79.8 years old, slightly more than a year longer than the national expectancy.

“Being ranked as the fourth happiest city in the U.S. is quite awesome,” said Lancaster Association of Realtors® President Richard Boas Jr. “It’s been amazing to see the positive changes in Lancaster city from when I was first licensed in 1994. Today, Lancaster city is so vibrant and you can just feel the energy. Lancaster city has a diverse economy with new businesses openings, historic architecture and landmarks like the Fulton Theatre and Central Market, walkable neighborhoods and lots of special events, like Roots & Blues and First Fridays. It’s a lot of fun living in Lancaster city.”

The site also found that more than three-quarters of residents live in households with two or more people, and the crime rate is 219.2 per 100,0000 people, which is one of the lowest in the country.. The city also has a low suicide rate, at 9.6 per 100,000 people.

Ahead of Lancaster on the list were Provo, Utah, Manchester, New Hampshire and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

To determine levels of happiness, the study considered income, housing affordability, life expectancy, commute length, suicide rate, crime rate, unemployment and household size.