Minneapolis has been named the happiest city in the country, according to a new ranking.
The Midwestern city in Minnesota was the only one in the United States to be ranked ‘gold’ among a list of 250 cities around the world.
The research company Institute for Quality of Life, which conducts the survey, classifies cities into five categories: citizens, governance, economy, environment and mobility.
The city was one of 37 cities in the world that the London-based firm deemed worthy of its gold status.
The city, home to more than 425,000 people, scored highly in the citizen and economy categories, ranking 18th overall, making it one of four U.S. cities in the top 100.
The Midwestern city in Minnesota was the only one in the US to be ranked ‘gold’ among a list of 250 cities around the world
The city, home to more than 425,000 people, scored highly in the citizen and economy categories, ranking 18th overall, making it one of four U.S. cities in the top 100.
Minneapolis earned high marks for having plenty of outdoor space within the city, including 180 parks, 55 miles of walking and biking trails, 22 lakes, and 12 gardens.
It also scored highly for mobility due to ease of access for buses and light rail, and the study notes that it is a relatively affordable city.
Elsewhere, it ranked low among top cities in the environment category, but among top cities in terms of economy and citizen happiness.
Despite this, the city is known for serious crime that erupted after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.
Violent crime had already been trending upward in the first half of 2020, but it really spiked following Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
In 2020, 5,426 violent crimes were recorded in the city, 83 of which were homicides.
This number rose to 97 homicides in 2021, the same as a record number in 1995, when national media dubbed the city “Murderapolis.”
In 2022, the number of homicides began to fall slightly to 80 throughout the year before reaching 72 last year.
So far this year, 4,101 assault crimes have been committed in the city, which appears to be on track to surpass last year’s 4,154.
Two weeks ago, a police officer and two people were killed in a horrific mass shooting in the city.
Violent crime had already been trending upward in the first half of 2020, but it really spiked after Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, seen here.
Overall, crime has decreased in the city, but still remains above levels after the surge that followed Floyd’s death.
Last December, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said: ‘The trend is going in the right direction. But it is nowhere near what it was before 2020.”
Chief O’Hara said that while it was encouraging to see a drop, it was a tough job for his department due to staffing shortages.
He told reports last December that 40 percent of the department left from 2020 to 2023.
In March of this year, Chief O’Hara said Harper Magazine that your department is so understaffed that you may have to stop investigating property crimes.
Two weeks ago, a police officer and two people were killed in a horrific mass shooting in the city.
Police identified the deceased officer as 28-year-old Jamal Mitchell. Another officer was hospitalized and several others were injured.
While the city was the only one to earn gold status, several other U.S. cities were named to the silver and bronze lists, including another location in the Midwest.
These included Boston, Baltimore, Washington, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Madison, Pittsburgh, Rochester and Portland.
The overall spot was taken by Aarhus in Denmark, followed by Zurich, Switzerland and Berlin, Germany.