It’s another sad story for Detroit in a new analysis of the Happiest Cities in America for 2025.

“Research shows that having more money only increases your happiness until you’re making at least $75,000 per year – anything more you earn likely won’t have an impact,” said Chip Lupo, analyst for the personal finance website WalletHub.

“Therefore, when deciding where to live to maximize your happiness, you’ll want to pick a city that offers more than just a decent income,” he said. “The ideal city provides conditions that foster good mental and physical health, like reasonable work hours, short commutes, good weather, and caring neighbors.”

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To home in on those places, analysts examined 182 of the largest U.S. cities based on 29 key indicators of happiness tied to positive-psychology research, from the rate of depression, to income growth, to average leisure time per day.

The results provided an overall ranking, as well as sub rankings for emotional and physical well-being, income and employment, and community and environment.

For the Motor City, Michigan’s largest, it was a sad state of affairs.

Detroit ranked 181^st overall, just ahead of last place Cleveland. For emotional and physical well-being, the city ranked 177^th, while it was 181^st for income and employment, and 159^th for community and environment.

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A breakdown of the metrics showed Detroit ranked dead last for separation and divorce rate, as well as adequate sleep rate.

Michigan’s only other city on the list, Grand Rapids, fared much better in 55^th overall. WalletHub researchers ranked the state’s second-largest city 83^rd for physical well-being, 19^th for income and employment, and 19^th for community and environment.

The happiest city was Fremont, Calif.; followed by San Jose and Irvine, Calif.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Overland Park, Kan.; Lincoln, Neb.; Madison, Wisc.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; San Francisco, Calif.; and Huntington Beach, Calif.

The study provides the latest in a long line of research illustrating the continued struggles for folks in the city that put the country on wheels.

Detroit has also ranked second to last in a study of the Hardest-Working Cities in America, last in a look at student assessments in urban schools, second to last among the best cities for jobs, second to last in analysis of the Safest Cities in America, third in a study of “cities with the biggest inflation problems,” and third among 148 cities for the percentage of the population living in poverty.

Many of the results are tied to financial struggles.

In Detroit, a staggering 69% of residents are either in poverty or considered Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, which means  their “wages fail to keep pace with the rising cost of household essentials (housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and a basic smartphone plan),” according to the United Way’s United for ALICE report.

The 69% figure equates to 171,907 out of 249,518 households in the city.

A mere 5% of the fourth-graders who actually attend school can read at grade level, a startling statistic that has remained virtually unchanged since 2009, according to data from The Nation’s Report Card.

Despite the serious ongoing problems, Mayor Mike Duggan declared his decision to ditch the Democratic Party to run for Michigan governor as an Independent in 2026, pitching himself as a problem solver and a unifier.

“If you think the two-party system is serving you well, you can vote for your Republican or Democratic candidate,” Duggan said. “But if you think the only way we can really change the quality of life in Michigan is a different way, I’m going to give people the alternative, an independent who is going to go to Lansing and work with responsible leadership in both parties.”

In Michigan, the last governor who wasn’t a Republican or Democrat was James Wright Gordon, a member of the Whig party who served one year as governor in 1841.