For Coastal Living's special 15th anniversary edition, the magazine scoured the U.S. for America's Happiest Seaside Towns.

Editors picked the seaside hamlets from Coastal Living's existing Dream Towns, featured in the magazine over the past 15 years. They also placed a call out for entries on social media channels and funneled the results through the Gallup-Healthways Index, which ranks towns based on percentage of sunny and clear days, average commute times, healthiness of beaches, crime, and diversity, among other factors.

By ranking the top 15 happiest seaside communities, we draw attention to places where life is good and the beach is close by, the magazine's editor-in-chief, Antonia van der Meer, said in a statement.

The 15th anniversary issue of Costal Living, a Time Inc. publication, hit newsstands Friday with the magazine's first-ever ranking of places to live and visit along the American coast.

With 840 miles of coastline, it's no surprise that California towns placed high on the list, taking four of the top 10 spots. Massachusetts also fared well with four towns in the top 15.

Just missing the top 10 were Marblehead, Mass.; Stinson Beach, Calif.; Cohasset, Mass.; Duxbury, Mass.; and Solomons Island, Md. Press Start for a look at the 10 seaside towns that topped the list as the happiest in America.

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