Madison, Wisconsin is the seventh happiest city in the United States, according to a new study released on March 11 by personal finance company WalletHub.
The study was based on research suggesting that having more money increases happiness until a person earns about $75,000 per year — a threshold known as ‘income satiation.’ Earnings beyond that are unlikely to significantly impact happiness.
Some of the cities joining Madison in the top 10 include Fremont, California, Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona. Studies have shown that where a person lives can impact the income needed to reach that level of happiness.
WalletHub evaluated 182 cities across three dimensions: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment and community and environment.
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said a happy city should offer more than just a livable income — it should also “provide conditions that foster good mental and physical health, like reasonable work hours, short commutes, good weather, and caring neighbors.”
Elianna Ig-Izevbekhai, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, moved to Madison from Woodbury, Minnesota. She thought it was a good idea to relocate even though she knew very little about Madison.
“I feel like my only impression of Madison was like corn, cheese, fields, cows, just like Midwestern stereotypes,” Ig-Izevbekhai told The Daily Cardinal.
Now in her fourth year in Madison, Ig-Izevbekhai said Madison both meets and falls short of the conditions for ideal cities. She pointed out how difficult it is to reach the income level associated with higher happiness.
“So it's really hard to consider a good family life, a good social life, or nightlife or weather and all those things when you're making $30,000 a year,” Ig-Izevbekhai said.
Madison was also placed ninth in the community and environment category. That category included data from a December 2024 WalletHub study ranking the most caring cities in the country, in which Madison placed eighth.
Ig-Izevbekhai was surprised when she learned Madison outranked Minneapolis, a city she praised for its opportunities for younger adults.
“I have just observed that everyone there, young adults especially, seem to be a lot happier with their experience,” Ig-Izevbekhai said. “Like nightlife, housing especially, it's a lot easier there than it is in Madison.”
Although Ig-Izevbekhai loves Madison’s natural environment, especially in the summertime, she says it is not a place she sees herself living in the next five years.
“If I am to make the most out of my 20s and to be able to experience life and also have a good prospect and a future, I think that I would be better served elsewhere,” she said. “Probably still in the Midwest.”
As more students and young adults flock to Madison for school and work, the tightening housing supply is contributing to financial stress. The City of Madison aims to build 15,000 new homes by 2030, with a quarter of those homes having below-market rates.
For Madison native and UW-Madison student Travona Jordan, issues including health care, education and the cost of living come first to mind when thinking about her experience.
“I think the cost of living here just sucks — and for people to only be making $11 an hour or $15 an hour is still not sufficient in this economy,” Jordan said. “It’s honestly a slap in the face to us Wisconsin residents.”
Jordan, a graduate of Memorial High School, applauded programs like IEP and early college academies in Madison helping high school students succeed. She thinks Madison has shown good improvement in the education sector, but said it still has a way to go.
“I think that people are just genuinely happy here,” Jordan said. “It’s just a happy city, but it’s not the happiest city.”
