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Times Square isn’t just the crossroads of the world — it’s the happiest spot in the Big Apple.
The flashy strip and its surrounding streets — along with Midtown in general — host the most satisfied people in the city, according to a study of Twitter messages sent from the area.
Times Square visitors think they know why.
“We’re wonderfully happy — but we’re on vacation,” said Anthony Blair, 30, who was hanging out in Times Square yesterday.
Researchers from the University of Vermont mapped out the city’s happiest areas using a complex formula that can pinpoint tweet locations and rate their relative “happiness” and “sadness” based on certain key words.
While it did not rank neighborhoods in order of happiness, the data made clear that the biggest concentration of happy tweets came from Times Square and the surrounding area.
The study also found that the Upper West Side is happier than the Upper East Side.
West Side residents chalked that up to their views of the Hudson River and subtle cultural differences.
“I think there’s more of a sense of community here. It’s not only wealthy people — it’s a different kind of money,” said Gail Russell, a 33-year-old student who lives in the neighborhood.
Residents from the Upper East Side disagreed, claiming people on the East Side smile more.
“I really enjoy this area. People tend to smile and be more friendly,” said Kathryn Kucharski, 50.
The national study scanned 10 million tweets for “happy” words such as “sun” and “yoga,” and “sad” words such as “hate” and “hell.”
While most of Manhattan south of Central Park had people tweeting happily, there were pockets of unhappiness in the East Village, Chelsea and the area around City Hall. There were also a large number of sad tweets coming from the area around the United Nations.
Understandably, there also was a clear pocket of unhappy tweets sent from the area surrounding Ground Zero.
Manhattan is also happier than the outer boroughs, said researcher Lewis Mitchell.
Mitchell noted tourism likely plays a role.
“We know people who travel are generally happier, so that could play a role, people tweeting, ‘Oh, Times Square!’ ” Mitchell said.
The study also ranked the Twitter “happiness” state-by-state. New York came in 15th happiest, while Hawaii was first and Louisiana last.