A lot of things can affect an employee’s happiness, but some cities just seem to have happier employees than others.

CareerBliss recently unveiled its list of the “Top 20 Happiest U.S. Cities for Young Professionals for 2012.” This year, six California cities appeared on the list, with three taking hold of the top spots.

The list is based on data from more than 38,000 employee reviews completed between 2011 and 2012 by young professionals, or those with less than 10 years of experience, throughout the country.

Employees were asked to rate 10 key factors that affect workplace happiness (including: work-life balance, compensation, company culture, overall work environment, company reputation, relationships with managers and co-workers, opportunities for growth, job resources, daily tasks, and job autonomy) on a scale of one to five.

The 20 happiest cities include:

  1. Los Angeles, Calif.: 3.952
  2. San Jose, Calif.: 3.951
  3. Sunnyvale, Calif.: 3.950
  4. Indianapolis, Ind.: 3.942
  5. San Diego, Calif.: 3.884
  6. Irvine, Calif.: 3.866
  7. Atlanta, Ga.: 3.857
  8. Boston, Mass.: 3.845
  9. San Francisco, Calif.: 3.833
  10. San Antonio, Texas: 3.828
  11. Las Vegas, Nev.: 3.820
  12. Seattle, Wash.: 3.784
  13. Irving, Texas: 3.783
  14. Philadelphia, Penn.: 3.779
  15. Orlando, Fla.: 3.763
  16. Pittsburgh, Penn.: 3.743
  17. New York, N.Y.: 3.716
  18. Plano, Texas: 3.705
  19. Miami, Fla.: 3.679
  20. Houston, Texas: 3.679

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