It started during the pandemic, with the trend to seek out less crowded destinations where it might be easier to breathe.

But there are other important considerations, like crime rate, unemployment and poverty levels.

And the latest research is out: the happiest small towns in America range from Bisbee, Arizona to Apalachicola in Florida, from Silverton, Colorado to Caribou, Maine, from Makanda, Illinois and New Harmony, Indiana to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

In Eureka Springs, the poverty rate is under 10% in this small town of just over 2,000 residents.