The Inland Empire is home to some of the nation’s unhappiest and most stressed cities, according to a pair of rankings.
In the past year, the financial information website WalletHub has twice ranked 182 big U.S. cities — including 29 in California — for measures of what I’ll call “serenity.”
One measure tracks happiness while the other gauges stressful living. Happiness was defined by 29 metrics to score well-being, economics and community while 39 data points graded key stresses — work, financial, family, health and safety.
My trusty spreadsheet averaged those grades to rank the cities for an overall sense of serenity. And San Bernardino got the Inland Empire’s worst grades, ranking a combined 151st out of the 182 U.S. cities. It ranked separately as the 135th happiest city and 164th when it came to low-stress living.
Two other I.E. cities in this bottom half of the serenity grades were Ontario (No. 101 overall, with a ranking of No. 86 for happiness and No. 119 for stress) and Moreno Valley (No. 102, with a No. 89 ranking for happiest city and No. 117 for stress).
Rancho Cucamonga got the region’s top score, an overall No. 48 ranking. That came from 42nd best in terms of happiness and No. 56 for stress. Other local cities ranked were Fontana (No. 80, with a ranking of No. 72 happiest city and No. 88 for stress) and Riverside (No. 81, with a ranking of No. 76 happiest city and No. 85 for stress).
California dreamin’
The California cities that got better serenity grades were often closer to the water.
Irvine ranked No. 7 in the combined scorecard from a No. 3 grade for happiness and a No. 16 score for low stress. Huntington Beach was No. 18 for serenity — No. 10 happiest and No. 34 least stressed.
And the most serene city was the Bay Area’s Fremont, which took the top honor in both rankings. Others in the serenity top five were Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Lincoln, Nebraska; Overland Park, Kansas; and Bismarck, North Dakota.
The Bay Area also had high on the serenity scorecard: No. 6 San Jose — from a No. 2 happiest grade and a No. 15 for stress — and No. 24 San Francisco — No. 9 happiest and No. 43 for stress.
Top half scores
Other California cities with above-par grades in the serenity rankings included:
San Diego: No. 32 combined serenity ranking among 182 U.S. cities — from 15th happiest ranking and 53rd lowest stress.
Chula Vista: No. 35 — No. 27 happiest, No. 52 low stress.
Garden Grove: No. 36 — No. 20 happiest, No. 60 low stress.
Santa Rosa: No. 38 — No. 32 happiest, No. 49 low stress.
Anaheim: No. 45 — No. 30 happiest, No. 61 low stress.
Santa Clarita: No. 51 — No. 31 happiest, No. 73 low stress.
Glendale: No. 60 — No. 38 happiest, No. 81 low stress.
Santa Ana: No. 61 — No. 48 happiest, No. 72 low stress.
Oakland: No. 62 — No. 35 happiest, No. 87 low stress.
Oceanside: No. 67 — No. 43 happiest, No. 90 low stress.
Oxnard: No. 72 — No. 63 happiest, No. 84 low stress.
Long Beach: No. 89 — No. 87 happiest, No. 102 low stress.
Sad and stressed
Other California cities in the bottom half of the combined happy/stress rankings included:
Sacramento: No. 99 for serenity among 182 cities — the 92nd happiest and 109th with the lowest stress.
Stockton: No. 103 — No. 112 happiest, No. 96 low stress.
Los Angeles: No. 110 — No. 77 happiest, No. 141 low stress.
Modesto: No. 127— No. 103 happiest, No. 143 low stress.
Bakersfield: No. 128 — No. 127 happiest, No. 120 low stress.
Fresno: No. 140 — No. 126 happiest, No. 154 low stress.
The least serene of the 182 cities, by this math, were Cleveland, Detroit, Memphis, Gulfport, Mississippi, and Birmingham, Alabama.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
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