St. Pete named one of the happiest towns in America
St. Pete Pride is one of the largest Pride celebrations in the country, attracting over 300,000 visitors in 2023 | City of St. Pete
St. Petersburg is known as the Sunshine City for its average temperature of 74 degrees and an average of 361 days of sunshine per year, but could it also be the Happiest City?
According to Outside Magazine, St. Pete made the list of The Happiest Towns in America.
To create the list, Outside Magazine looked at things like outdoor access, affordability, a safe environment, diversity, and freedom for residents to be who they are.
These happy lifestyle traits were boiled down into technical metrics such as percentage of parkland, percentage of residents who live within a ten-minute walk of a park, and Municipal Equality Index Score, among other factors.
“With those criteria in mind—and an obsessive amount of research—we whittled a preliminary list of 300 contenders down to 15 winners,” says Outside’s Travel Director Mary Turner.
And St. Petersburg was crowned a winner!
USA Today named the new St. pete Pier the 2nd best new attraction in the UNited States in 2020 | City of St. Pete
Other cities that made the list include Tacoma, Washington; Wilmington, Delaware; Madison, Wisconsin; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Glenwood Springs, Colorado; and Charlottesville, Virginia; among others.
St. Pete was the only city in Florida to make the list.
“Set on the southern end of the Pinellas Peninsula, Saint Petersburg is a paradise for those who love beaches, sports, arts, and getting outdoors year-round. The Sunshine City boasts 244 miles of shoreline,” states the report. “Downtown’s urban waterfront is regularly filled with paddleboarders, rollerbladers, and volleyball players. Just south of the city, the world’s longest fishing pier runs over four miles along the iconic Sunshine Skyway Bridge.”
The magazine was also impressed by Tampa Bay’s professional sports teams, noting that, “fans can make a quick drive to see football, baseball, and hockey.”
St. Petersburg is home to over 600 murals by artists from all over the world. Pictured is “Sunshine on my Mind” by Leo Gomez | Leo Gomez
Additionally, our city’s murals, museums, and seven distinct arts districts were cited as contributing to what makes our residents and visitors so happy.
However, Outside Magazine also notes some areas of improvement for St. Pete: “Of utmost importance are the state laws affecting LGBTQ+ people and communities of color. Saint Petersburg’s local government has long presented the city as a safe and welcoming destination, and the mayor has publicly spoken out against Florida’s new laws.”
The magazine also says climate resiliency projects are also of concern.
Despite this, St. Pete remains and incredible place to live and visit for people from all walks of life and, according to Outside Magazine, is one of the happiest places in the nation!