Santa Monica using $1M to evaluate its happiness

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KABC) -- The city of Santa Monica has won a $1 million grant to find out what it can do to make residents feel less stressed.

The city of 92,000 beat out 300 other U.S. cities in securing the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge grant.

Despite its miles of ocean, clear skies and sandy beaches, the city ranked No. 2 on real estate blog Movoto's Top 10 list of America's most stressed-out suburbs due to its traffic, homelessness and high cost of living.

This week, officials will begin asking residents how involved they are in community activities, if they know who to turn to in times of crisis, if they know their neighbors, how healthy they are, how lonely they might be and how good an education they believe their kids are receiving. Then, they'll examine what changes are needed to make life better.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.