New Orleans named one of the 15 happiest places to live in the US!

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What constitutes a happy town? It comes down to things like ample outdoor access for all, affordability, a safe environment, diversity, and freedom for residents to be who they are. Let us know what you think of our choices. —Associate managing editor Tasha Zemke and deputy editor and travel director Mary Turner

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New Orleans, Louisiana
Population: 369,749
Median Home Price: $360,000
Median Rental Price: $1,878
Percentage Parkland: 23
Percentage of Residents Who Live Within a Ten-Minute Walk of a Park: 80
Walk Score: 58
Bike Score: 92
Municipal Equality Index Score: 100
Demographics: 58% Black; 31% white; 6% Latino; 5% other

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New Orleans may be called the Big Easy, but I resonate more with something I read on a chalkboard while wandering the city’s Lower Garden District: “People don’t live here because it’s easy…. They live here because they can’t live anywhere else in just the same way.”

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New Orleans is a majority-Black city, and its culture and cuisine, including gumbo, display strong Indigenous influences as well. It’s also a historic haven for LGBTQ+ people, with one of the country’s largest concentrations of gay bars, not to mention one of its oldest—the French Quarter’s Café Lafitte in Exile. I’m from California, but spending years living in colorful New Orleans made me the queer person I am today.

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New Orleanians participate in a wealth of artistic, political, and recreational groups, including urban farms like the Lower Ninth Ward’s Guerrilla Garden and mutual-aid collectives like Southern Solidarity, which supports the needs of unhoused residents. You’d be hard-pressed to find another city with such tightly woven communities—a key indicator of happiness. Aside from its underrated green spaces, “what makes New Orleans a happy place to live is the culture,” says West. “If you live here and you’re bored, that’s your own fault, because there’s so much to do.”

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Room for Improvement: Almost half of New Orleans sits below sea level. While the city has federal support and comprehensive plans to invest in clean energy and climate-adaptation projects, some question whether the area can handle rising seas and hurricanes. —Delilah Friedler

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