Happiest Cities in WA State 2026: Can You Afford to Be Happy?

I certainly don't make more than $75,000 a year (except in my dreams), but Wallethub says that if we want to live somewhere in Washington that is truly happy, that's the magic annual salary number.

I would counterargue that even us "poors" can find happiness no matter which Washington city we end up landing, but I'm still searching for the perfect place that meets all the happiness criteria.

What Makes a City a the 'Happiest' Place to Live, Anyway?

In my opinion, happiness in any city is comprised of the following ingredients:

Affordable places to live
Great Shopping (living in close proximity to an IKEA store is top on my list, ha!)
Not too much traffic
Tons of things to do, from family-friendly stuff to things for seniors and single people to enjoy
Friendly people

A survey by SmartAsset.com says Seattle is the fourth happiest city in the USA, which begs the question, What are they smoking? Because in my observations over the past two decades, Seattle only has two of those things on this list: great shopping and tons of things to do. That means this survey is bupkis to me!

via GIPHY

Washington is now one of the most expensive states to live in America, and that is truly tragic. When I first moved here in 2002, all single and child-free, things were so affordable, I could rent a house for $500 a month, fill up my fridge with twice as many grocery bags of food, and fill up my gas tank for less than $2.55 a gallon!

These days, unless you bite the bullet and get a roommate, you are lucky if you can find a one-bedroom apartment for under $800 anymore, and finding a small house to rent for anything less than $1,000? Fuhgeddabout it! Also, for some ungodly reason Washington has the third highest price of gas in the country.

The Happiest City in Washington

I asked the internet for advice. Here's my wish list for the perfect city to live in Washington:

"A small to mid-size town that has a vibrant art scene, doesn't have a ton of traffic commutes, is located near cool wineries and breweries, and that is close enough to a beach or a big lake with affordable housing (less than $900 for a 2 bedroom) and more than 2 hours away from a major WA city."

The internet says that place is Bellingham, Washington.