The cities with the happiest (and unhappiest) workers in the U.S.

Some cities have it better when it comes to work. Workplace insights platform Kununu came up with a study of the happiest (and least happy) cities for people to work, based on 87,000 workplace reviews uploaded to kununu in 2018.

“Happiness” was based on four things: interaction with their coworkers, to what extent they are trusted to work independently, support from management, and overall company culture.

Miami, Los Angeles, and Raleigh, North Carolina were the top three places to work – and New York City was dead last.

“Some of the top-rated cities are dominated by high wage industries like tech and finance – and therefore tend to receive high satisfaction ratings too,” kununu Director of Global Communications Johannes Prüller told Ladders. “However, while a competitive pay rate is a great way to attract new talent, you cannot buy employee motivation.

“Creating a strong culture with good teamwork, offering a challenging work with a purpose and giving employees autonomy is equally important to retain your best talent in the long-run. And of course, high quality of living with nice weather and beaches certainly doesn’t hurt either.”

The happiest cities for workers in the U.S.

1. Miami, Florida: 3.99

2. Los Angeles, California: 3.95

3. Raleigh, North Carolina: 3.90

4. Louisville, Kentucky: 3.88

5. Omaha, Nebraska: 3.86

6. San Jose, California: 3.85

7. Sacramento, California: 3.85

8. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: 3.84

9. Seattle, Washington: 3.83

10. Fresno, California: 3.82

The unhappiness cities for workers in the U.S.:

50. New York City, New York: 3.53

49. Oakland, California: 3.60

48. Memphis, Tennessee: 3.63

47. Houston, Texas: 3.64

46. Dallas, Texas: 3.67

45. El Paso, Texas: 3.67

44. Colorado Springs, Colorado: 3.70

43. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: 3.70

42. Albuquerque, New Mexico: 3.71

41. Charlotte, North Carolina: 3.71