The 15 'Happiest Seaside Towns' in the USA

By Kitty Bean Yancey, USA TODAY

What would you say is the "Happiest Seaside Town" in the USA? Well, it's Kiawah Island, S.C., according to Coastal Living Magazine's new rankings.

The list was compiled using a complicated formula involving editors' picks, the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index, sunny days, beach quality, low crime, commute time, education of residents and other factors. The other waterfront places where life is supposedly a smiley face:

2. Naples, Fla.
3. Sausalito, Calif.
4. Lake Bluff, Ill.
5. Tiburon, Calif.
6. Laguna Beach, Calif.
7. Half Moon Bay, Calif.
8. Chatham, Mass.
9. Jupiter, Fla.
10. Lahaina, Hawaii
11. Marblehead, Mass.
12. Stinson Beach, Calif.
13. Cohasset, Mass.
14. Duxbury, Mass.
15. Solomons Island, Md.