Remote Surveillance Trailer in Fremont, CA

A California city in the Bay Area was named the happiest place in the U.S. according to a recent ranking from WalletHub, while four other Golden State cities made the top 10 list.

Analysts compared 182 cities across the U.S. for the March 11 report using three criteria: emotional and physical well-being, income and employment as well as communities and environment. The criteria were evaluated using 29 metrics and graded on a 100-point scale, later used to create a weighted average and rank each city.

Fremont, arguably best known as home for a major Tesla manufacturing plant, ranked No. 1 on the personal finance website's list using these metrics.

Here's how some other California cites fared on the WalletHub list.

What California cities made the list of happiest places to live?

California cities dominated WalletHub's list, with 15 towns finishing in the country's top 50 happiest places to live. The top 10 California cities on the list (with their national rankings) were:

Los Angeles came in 77th place in the nation on the study. The lowest-rated California city was San Bernandino at 135th. Fresno and Bakersfield also finished in the bottom third of the study at 126th and 127th, respectively.

Why was Fremont named the happiest city in the nation and California?

One contributing factor helping Fremont finish No. 1 on the study is that the city has the highest share of households with an income above $75,000, at nearly 80%.

"Studies have shown that increasing your income up to $75,000 also increases your happiness, but making more than that does not," WalletHub wrote. "Therefore, cities where a lot of people make at least $75,000 per year are more likely to have maximized their happiness."

People in Fremont also have the highest rate of life satisfaction, the fifth-lowest depression rate, and the fourth-highest average life expectancy in the country.

Another contributing factor to Fremont’s happiness is that it has the lowest separation and divorce rate in the country, at only 8.9%. It also has the lowest share of adults who report having 14 or more mentally unhealthy days per month, so people in the city seem to be taking care of themselves psychologically.

Finally, Fremont also ranks sixth among the most caring cities in America, and when people care for each other, they boost each other’s happiness.

What are the top 10 happiest cities in the U.S., according to WalletHub?

Here are the top 10 happiest cities in America, per WalletHub:

To read the full 2025 "Happiest Cities in the America" list, you can visit WalletHub's website.

When it comes to the happiest cities in America, a Bay Area city can’t seem to be dethroned. WalletHub just released its annual Happiest Cities in America report and Fremont, California, was number one for the sixth year in a row.

Why Fremont? The pros seem to be endless. The city has the highest share of households (80%) with an income over $75,000. They say money can’t buy you happiness, but it sure does help. WalletHub cites studies that have shown increasing your income up to $75,000 can increase your happiness, but interestingly enough, making more than that does not.

The personal finance site also found that Fremont residents have the highest rate of life satisfaction, the fifth-lowest depression rate, fourth-highest average life expectancy in the country, the lowest separation and divorce rate in the country (8.9%), the lowest share of adults who report having 14 to more mentally unhealthy days per month, and it ranks sixth among the most caring cities in America.

Fremont wasn’t the only city in the West that topped the list. San Jose, California, ranked number two—a big part of that is due to its having the longest average life expectancy in the country. Additionally, it has the fourth-lowest separation and divorce rate, one of the best scores on Sharecare’s Community Well-Being Index, a high score on Sharecare’s Life-Satisfaction Index, and the third-highest share of households with an annual income over $75,000 (72%).

Third on the list was Irvine, California, mostly because its residents are healthy—more than 88% of adults in the city report having good or better health, which is the third-highest percentage in the country. Its residents are very active, with 84% participating in physical activities. Plus, the city has the seventh-highest life expectancy for residents, the third-lowest percentage of adults who report having 14 or more mentally unhealthy days per month, the eighth-lowest depression rate, and the third-lowest separation and divorce rate. On top of that, its residents are doing well financially—nearly 68% of households make over $75,000 per year.

Rounding out the top 10 list were other Western cities: Scottsdale, Arizona, ranked eighth, San Francisco, California, ranked ninth, and Huntington Beach, California, ranked tenth.

For the study, the WalletHub team “drew upon the various findings of positive-psychology research in order to determine which among more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities is home to the happiest people in America.” Each city was graded based on 29 key indicators of happiness, like depression rate, life expectancy, income-growth rate, and average leisure time spent per day.

Take a look at the top 20 cities below:

"We've listened to and empathized with a multitude of community members."

CalMatters, News Partner

By Richard Procter, CalMatters

FREMONT, CA — Fremont city council has revised a new city camping ordinance, removing what had become a controversial clause that could have punished those “aiding and abetting” encampments.

“We’ve listened to and empathized with a multitude of community members,” said Councilmember Kathy Kimberlin at Tuesday’s meeting, where the council voted 6-1 to jettison the clause. “Clarifying this ordinance is especially important for us. For decades, I think all of us… have worked with and supported the critical work of our non profits and our faith-based organizations, who often work with government and often do what government cannot do.”

The ordinance makes it illegal to camp on streets, sidewalks, parks, and other public property, part of a statewide shift in homelessness policy following a 2024 U.S. Supreme Court case. What separated it from other efforts was explicit language that would make anyone “causing, permitting, aiding, abetting or concealing” an illegal encampment guilty of a misdemeanor. Local homeless advocates feared this could be enforced against workers and volunteers providing aid to unhoused people in Fremont.

City officials said at multiple meetings, including Tuesday night, that the ordinance would not target advocates providing food and water, for example. But legal experts told CalMatters that because the text of the ordinance didn’t specify what constituted aiding and abetting, it could allow for that enforcement in the future.

Find out what's happening in Fremontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Fremont officials also told CalMatters that this legal language is not new and is included in many municipal codes in California. Legal experts said the decision to include such a clause in a camping ordinance like this was unusual.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics. Sign up for our newsletters and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bionova Scientific, an Asahi Kasei company and boutique commercial-scale biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has announced the opening of a new facility in Fremont, California. The 55,000 sq. ft. process development and pilot plant will significantly expand the company’s ability to advance early-stage biologics assets to first-in-human trials and facilitate the future expansion of its manufacturing capacity.

Bionova hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by approximately 150 industry and community leaders to mark the occasion. Darren Head, Chairman & President; Jesse McCool, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer; and James Glover II, Chief Operating Officer, were joined by The Honorable Raj Salwan, Mayor of the City of Fremont. Representatives were also in attendance from the Office of Congressman Ro Khanna and Congressman Eric Swallwell; the Office of State Senator Dr. Aisha Wahab; the Office of the Alameda County Assessor Phong La; and Cindy Bonior, CEO of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce.

“Many of our customers are early-stage biopharmaceutical innovators who need agile partners who can quickly provide process development and reliable manufacturing operations that are scaleable, without the need to tech transfer to another CDMO as their programs mature,” commented Darren Head, Chairman & President of Bionova. “This new facility enhances our capacity to serve early-stage clients while also providing overflow capacity for our larger biopharma customers.”

At the event, Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan commented, “Fremont has long been a leader in biopharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing. Being home to over 100 biomedical companies, Fremont has adopted the industry slogan of being the City where BioMed goes to scale. Having operated its entire existence in Fremont, Bionova is unique in being a 100% homegrown success story, and their growth has been remarkable. Fremont wholeheartedly congratulates Bionova on their new facility and expansion in our community and looks forward to our continued partnership for many years to come.”

Widely known as "Biotech Bay," the biopharma industry in the San Francisco Bay Area is considered one of the largest in the United States, generating more than $142 billion in economic activity and over 328,000 direct and indirect jobs. The region represents a substantial portion of U.S. biotech venture capital investment, positioning Bionova to help local innovators advance their assets to the clinic efficiently and cost-effectively.

“Bionova’s team of bioprocess experts has proven itself as a valuable partner for clients seeking to overcome challenging CMC issues, especially with complex modalities,” said Michelle Chen, Senior Vice President for Process Development and Manufacturing at Bionova. “With this new facility, all of our pre-GMP activities are co-located and integrated under one roof. We already see meaningful technical and efficiency gains as our PD teams can facilitate seamless technology transfer by scaling and training simultaneously.”

Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) commented, “Congratulations to Bionova Scientific on the opening of its new process development facility. Bionova is a native son of my hometown of Fremont and is now positioned to help biopharma drug makers move their innovations from early-stage compounds to commercial, life-saving drugs, including potential new cancer treatments.”

To learn more about Bionova, visit https://bionovascientific.com/

About Bionova Scientific

Bionova Scientific partners with innovators in the biologic industry to bring life-changing therapies to market. Founded in 2014 and acquired by Asahi Kasei Group in 2022, Bionova Scientific offers customers access to superior tools and technologies and an unwavering commitment to quality delivered with scientific excellence across the entire lifecycle. Bionova offers integrated CDMO services that span cell line development, process development to the cGMP manufacturing of complex proteins and antibodies. Our experienced Bay Area scientists bring proven expertise to overcoming discovery to first-in-human development challenges and scale-up. Bionova is a flexible and collaborative partner that has worked with leading biotechnology innovators from its new state-of-the-art facility in the San Francisco Bay Area.

About Asahi Kasei

The Asahi Kasei Group contributes to life and living for people around the world. Since its foundation in 1922 with ammonia and cellulose fiber businesses, Asahi Kasei has consistently grown through the proactive transformation of its business portfolio to meet the evolving needs of every age. With more than 49,000 employees worldwide, the company contributes to a sustainable society by providing solutions to the world’s challenges through its three business sectors of Material, Homes, and Health Care. Its health care operations include devices and systems for acute critical care, dialysis, therapeutic apheresis, and manufacture of biotherapeutics, as well as pharmaceuticals and diagnostic reagents. For more information, visit asahi-kasei.com and ak-bio.com.