America Happiest Families

Posted by: Michael Arndt on July 18, 2009

We at BusinessWeek love lists, such as the World’s Happiest Countries or the Best Places toRaise Your Kids. Is McDonald’s copying us? To publicize the 30th anniversary of the Happy Meal, McDonald’s commissioned a study on the 10 Happiest Cities for Families in America, which it released on July 18.

No. 1 (drum roll please) is Minneapolis, followed by Atlanta and Virginia Beach, Va., according to the ranking by Sperling BestPlaces, which has made an industry out of making such lists. (Among its other recent compilations: America’s Manliest Cities and Best Places to Make a “Connection.”)

The full top 10:

1. Minneapolis
2. Atlanta
3. Virginia Beach, Va.
4. Washington
5. Portland
6. Denver
7. Baltimore
8. Seattle
9. Kansas City, Mo.
10. Austin

Smile on winners. As for the rest of America, maybe a Happy Meal with a limited edition Teenie Beanie Baby will turn that frown upside down.