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2017’s Happiest States in America

2:40 AM

Posted by: Richie Bernardo

People determine their own happiness. But how content we are with life is not only and always a matter of perspective. And it’s certainly not about beauty, power or wealth — at least, not beyond an annual income of $75,000. Where we choose to live can also influence our level of happiness.

In this study, WalletHub’s analysts drew upon the findings of “happiness” research to determine which environmental factors are linked to a person’s overall well-being and satisfaction with life. Previous studies have found that good economic, emotional, physical and social health are all key to a well-balanced and fulfilled life.

To determine where Americans exhibit the best combination of these factors, we examined the 50 states across 28 key metrics, ranging from depression rate to sports participation rate to income growth. Read on for our findings, additional insight from a panel of experts and a full description of our methodology.

  1. Main Findings
  2. Ask the Experts
  3. Methodology

Main Findings

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/6959/geochart-happy.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="http://ift.tt/2wTrdu9;  

Overall Rank

State

Total Score

‘Emotional & Physical Well-Being’ Rank

‘Work Environment’ Rank

‘Community & Environment’ Rank

1 Minnesota 70.81 5 5 3
2 Utah 68.16 24 1 1
3 Hawaii 67.90 1 10 19
4 California 66.55 2 21 21
5 Nebraska 65.65 4 15 17
6 New Jersey 64.97 3 41 8
7 South Dakota 64.71 6 16 12
8 Iowa 64.52 12 8 7
9 Wisconsin 64.16 11 9 10
10 New Hampshire 63.47 18 22 2
11 Maryland 63.18 10 31 5
12 Virginia 62.43 8 29 13
13 Vermont 61.34 19 20 4
14 North Dakota 61.08 9 14 28
15 Colorado 60.84 13 7 33
16 Washington 60.35 25 4 15
17 Idaho 60.14 31 3 9
18 Connecticut 60.06 15 40 11
19 Massachusetts 59.42 20 12 16
20 Illinois 59.41 7 39 24
21 Arizona 56.97 22 19 27
22 New York 56.54 17 42 22
23 Montana 55.66 29 6 32
23 Pennsylvania 55.66 28 37 14
25 Maine 55.44 39 11 6
26 North Carolina 54.68 26 23 29
27 Kansas 54.64 21 34 34
28 Texas 54.64 14 33 46
29 Michigan 53.09 36 18 18
30 Georgia 53.03 27 24 36
31 Florida 51.83 16 32 49
32 Oregon 51.72 44 2 23
33 Rhode Island 51.17 35 27 26
34 Indiana 50.87 40 13 20
35 Delaware 50.65 30 25 40
36 Ohio 49.67 38 38 25
37 Nevada 48.95 32 36 41
38 South Carolina 48.55 33 30 45
39 Wyoming 46.96 37 47 30
40 New Mexico 45.53 34 45 39
41 Alaska 45.43 23 49 50
42 Tennessee 44.29 45 17 38
43 Missouri 43.86 41 26 44
44 Kentucky 41.69 46 35 37
45 Mississippi 38.89 42 46 47
46 Arkansas 37.33 50 28 35
47 Alabama 36.60 47 43 42
48 Louisiana 35.35 43 50 48
49 Oklahoma 34.97 48 44 43
50 West Virginia 34.89 49 48 31

Artwork-Most-and-Least-Happy-States-in-America-report-2016-v3

Ask the Experts

Happiness is more than a feeling of joy or excitement. It relies on various aspects of a person’s life — from emotional well-being to job satisfaction. To expand the discussion, we asked a panel of experts to share their advice and insight on achieving overall happiness and career contentment. Click on the experts’ profiles to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:

  1. What are the key ingredients to a happy life?
  2. How important is money to people’s happiness?
  3. What are the secrets to career contentment?
  4. How much does where you live influence your happiness?
< > Persephone L. Hall Hale Family Director of Career and Professional Development at Connecticut College Persephone L. Hall What are the secrets to career contentment? Here at Connecticut College, for example, we help students learn the critical skills necessary to be successful in any career. We know we are preparing students for careers that don't even exist yet. With a liberal arts education, and specifically with our Connections curriculum, students learn to put the world together in new ways, they learn to see connections outside of traditional disciplines, and they have the opportunity to work locally or abroad and experience the challenges and opportunities that exist in the "real world." Thus, our alumni are prepared to meet the challenges of today's complex, global society, and they tend to be more content in their careers because of this multi-faceted education. Kit W. Cho Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Houston-Downtown Kit W. Cho What are the key ingredients to a happy life? The most important ingredient to a happy (and long) life is to have strong social relationships. This finding is among one of the most well-replicated in the literature, with the most comprehensive study being a 75-year (and continuing) longitudinal study by Dr. Waldinger and his colleagues at Harvard University. How important is money to people’s happiness? Money is a predictor of happiness, but the correlation is not as strong as many would believe. Take for example one’s salary, in which the magical number seems to be around $75,000 a year. That doesn’t mean that someone who makes $100,000 isn’t going to be happier than someone who makes $75,000. However, after making $75,000, the change in happiness from the extra $25,000 is trivial compared to the equivalent change in going from $50,000 to $75,000. Thus, money matters, but only to a certain extent. However, there are ways to spend your money more wisely to increase your happiness. For example, it’s better to spend money on others than on yourself, so go ahead and treat your friend to a modest lunch rather than having a lavish lunch by yourself. Another effective method to spending your money more wisely is to spend it on experiential purchases rather than material purchases -- getting those dance or cooking lessons will make you much happier than upgrading to the newest iPhone. What are the secrets to career contentment? If you were to survey eminent figures in a particular industry and ask them how they would describe their job, you would find that many of them would describe it as a “calling” rather than, say, a “career.” People who describe their job as a calling gain a sense of meaning in their lives when they are performing their job duties. For those who are religiously inclined, this principle is nicely captured by the phrase “doing God’s work.” Thus, the secret to career contentment is finding a career in which you believe that you are doing meaningful work. How much does where you live influence your happiness? Research in the affective forecasting literature shows that we are terrible at predicting how we will feel in the future. We tend to consider only certain factors that may have some relation to happiness, at the expense of other variables that may be even stronger predictors of happiness. Thus, for many of us, where we live won’t affect our happiness all that much. This is because there are pros and cons to every location. Sure, the beautiful weather in San Francisco seems ideal, but have you considered the cost of living? Kimberly A. Daubman Associate Professor of Psychology at Bucknell University Kimberly A. Daubman What are the key ingredients to a happy life? Happy people seem to have two things in common:
  • Strong connections with other people, with whom to share experiences and who they can count on for social support;
  • A sense of meaning and fulfillment from the activities they engage in.
How important is money to people’s happiness? Struggling financially can definitely impair happiness, but after a certain point, the amount of money someone has doesn't impact happiness much at all. Some studies in the U.S. suggest that the tipping point is $75,000 -- income over this level does little to improve happiness. What is more, a lot of studies demonstrate that people who are more materialistic tend to be less happy. This is because of the hedonic treadmill: buying something new can boost one's mood for a while, but we quickly adapt to the new normal and start looking for the next "fix." What are the secrets to career contentment? People who can find meaning in their work are happier. Finding flow is also key, which suggests that people should avoid multitasking and focus fully on the task at hand. How much does where you live influence your happiness? Research that compare the average happiness across countries suggests that more egalitarian countries have greater happiness. Kevin Gaw Executive Director of the Amica Center for Career Education at Bryant University Kevin Gaw What are the key ingredients to a happy life? In my experience and in observing others, happiness appears to come from within the individual, and is reflected externally because there are others in that individual’s life. To unpack this a bit, our sense of self is central to our happiness, and how we relate to others and experience others as they relate to us. This has nothing to do with monetary income -- though I agree we need to experience security to experience happiness, and having sufficient financial means is important to being able to live a full and engaged life (but one doesn’t have to be “rich” to be happy; it is nice, but not a requisite; good financial planning is smart and will help). Security from the psychological perspective is the internal aspect of happiness and it is core. Lots goes into this internal sense of security, including the values with which we are raised and express, how we make and exhibit meaning in our lives, how we feel confident within ourselves and share with others, how we feel and manage our vulnerabilities (which are some of the best guides toward happiness), and how we relate to, care about, and love others. I very much believe that without others in our lives, we don’t really have the ability to express our truer sense of self. We have all witnessed countless examples of others who seem to “have it all,” yet they are deeply unhappy. These individuals appear to have the financial security, the toys, the lifestyles, and so on. All their “happiness” is expressed by external measures. If they do not have internal security within themselves, they will not experience happiness, for they will feel unfulfilled, alone and adrift. We have also seen examples of others who “have it all,” who deliberately guide themselves from their internal sense of self, and work to connect with others in meaningful ways. These individuals do experience happiness; they are value-driven, passionate, open to experience, willing to psychologically grow, recognize the importance of others in their lives, and understand that happiness is a process and an experience to constantly work to maintain, not a possession one can achieve and keep. Circling back, the old saying “know thyself” is key to a happy life. How important is money to people’s happiness? Not as important as many people think. Sure, we need money to live, to meet our obligations, to have a place we can call home, to pay the bills, to have the ability to engage with others, to do fun things, to save for retirement, and so on. Sound financial planning is indeed important for a forward-looking life plan. But there appears to be a “happiness” threshold between not making and having enough money and having enough (Google “happiness and salary” to get a read on this). This may seem counter-intuitive, but many people (not all) don’t manage their money well, and they over-extend themselves financially because they have the capacity to do so. Or they expend their resources in ways that prompt them to need to earn more. Or they hope the things they buy will deliver lasting happiness. These individuals become ensnared in the income and possession game, and experience the veneered meaning of status it imparts. However, simply put, happiness from things you obtain is transitory -- the euphoric sensation comes quickly but dissipates pretty fast, too. Happiness derived from internal resources (values, meaning, purpose, compassion, helping others, etc.) has a lasting and reflective effect. This is not to say buying a sailboat is a meaningless and extravagant purchase, for example. Instead, it means we need to engage in meaningful experiences with that sailboat and share those experiences with others. What are the secrets to career contentment? In short, engaging in a career path through which you continue to grow as a person and professional, where you can experience meaning and fulfill your purpose, where you can express your values and interests, where you experience challenges and rewards, where you can question what you are doing and make changes, where you feel you are contributing to a bigger picture (however defined), and where you are in one way or another engaging with others, so that your work is part of a greater whole. That’s quite a checklist -- and there are more details, to be sure. One guiding statement I share with students is, “your academic major doesn’t define your career path; you do.” In the world of work, we all know this to be true because we all have seen or personally experienced change in plans and situations. Our internal resiliency to change (which is normal and natural) and our ability to pivot is key to a successful career path. This resiliency goes back to the importance of knowing one’s self. How much does where you live influence your happiness? There’s no question where one lives can influence one’s internal sense of happiness, pending the amount of internal work one has done. This means, the more resolved one is within themselves, the external world is less critical for happiness. In addition, how one engages with their location also plays a factor. But location itself should not be the deciding factor. In fact, many young college graduates race from their rural communities to the big cities because it is more exciting and full of opportunities. This may be true, yet it is interesting how many of these graduates begin to long for (and many eventually return to) home, where they experience a deeper sense of happiness. Some locations simply cost more to live -- and financial stress does tend to negative impact happiness, unless one has done that internal work and is living by internal measures. Sometimes living in shared housing is a necessary (and planned) first step towards having your own place, which you’ll be able to afford once financially established. Sometimes foregoing the new car because you received a signing bonus is a wise decision, as the bonus can help with needs (as opposed to “wants”). Exploring how to balance quality of life factors (and deciding what’s essential and what’s not) is critical so that a person can find ways to experience happiness, wherever they live. Joan Gallagher Associate Director for Student Services and Career Counselor at Louisiana State University Joan Gallagher What are the key ingredients to a happy life? There is a wide range of possible ingredients. Each person will define happiness differently. For me, the key ingredients are safety, love, meaningful work and faith. How important is money to people’s happiness? Money is only a means to other things. It provides for safety, security, the necessities of life, and the means to a good education. A comfortable level of income is sufficient to be very happy. My students are always shocked to learn first-hand during mission trips to some of the poorest populations in the world that they are no less happy. They simply have their basic needs met. In Louisiana, though, food, music, family and culture are among the basic necessities. What are the secrets to career contentment? Surveys often say that 80% of the American working people are unhappy with their work. Secrets are:
  • Be intentional about choosing your career path.
  • Take the time to explore yourself and your viable career options, don’t just jump into a field by chance.
  • Discern who you are in the world: your interests, skills, values and personality, and understand what careers are needed. As Eunice Hii stated so succinctly in her YouTube video, “Your career lies where your passion intersects the world’s needs.” And don’t believe the famous quote, “If you find the right career, you won’t have to work a day in your life.” This is so misleading, and sets people up to think work will be something fun every day. It will be fun, but like success in sports, it takes a whole lot of sweat equity to reap the rewards of success and satisfaction.
How much does where you live influence your happiness? I live in the Greater New Orleans area and can say, as one born elsewhere, that people in this area are very happy. The warm weather and warm people form the foundation for a way of life very different than the northern culture in which I lived for more than 20 years. People here take their fun, food and family seriously. It is all about community. Jill Koehler Chou Associate Dean for Career Development and Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at Quinnipiac University Jill Koehler Chou What are the key ingredients to a happy life? The primary ingredient to a happy life is finding out what a happy life means to you. Sounds simple enough, right, but unfortunately, it could be an answer that people search for their entire lives, and no one else can do the legwork for you. How important is money to people’s happiness? Let’s be realistic, they say money isn’t everything and there’s a ton of merit to that statement, but money really does help people get to where they want to go. For some, money may be the key to gaining the education that enables them to work towards their dream career, to travel, to buy a car or home, to buy new clothes, to help others in need, or even as basic as to purchase one’s daily food. Money is not the only key to happiness, but it really does help make getting to where you want to go a whole lot more enjoyable and easier. What are the secrets to career contentment? The secret to career contentment comes in many different shapes and sizes and is driven by an individual’s interests, motivations, values, and attitude. For some, career contentment is earning potential, for others it is autonomy, geographic location, or their quality of work-life balance. For some, career contentment is based on making a difference on either a large or small scale, but at the end of the day, it all boils down to enjoying what you do on a daily basis, and that is why advertisers capitalize on phrases such as “do more of what you love, life is good and just do it.” How much does where you live influence your happiness? Location, location, location. In the career development field, we always tell job seekers that they need to be flexible in their career location, because sometimes the best opportunities for growth and career advancement are not in their backyards. All that is true, but people need to be mindful of what the happiness deal breakers are for them when it comes to geography. For example, if you are the type of person who is miserable being hot, living in a very warm climate may not be for you. One might argue that offices are typically climate controlled, but unless you work from home, you still have to get from point A to point B, as well as take part in everyday activities around you. The same goes for areas that are too rainy, or too dry, or too far from family or lack the brilliant change of seasons. I think you get the point -- where you live can have a very large impact on your overall happiness. Jennifer Zwagerman Director of Career Development and Associate Director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University Jennifer Zwagerman What are the key ingredients to a happy life? Finding things that satisfy you, both personally and professionally, to provide some balance. You won’t always be happy in both, you won’t always find balance in both, but if overall you can look at the big picture and realize that you enjoy what you do professionally (most of the time), and that you have a life outside work that you enjoy, that’s a good step towards a happy life. How important is money to people’s happiness? Money itself is important, not so much just having it, but for the amount of stress it brings to life when you don’t have access to sufficient funds. Being able to find contentment in life can happen with lots of money or very little money, but when there isn’t enough to make ends meet, pay loans, buy that first home, or when life requires significant choices based on funds, the stress that causes makes it much harder to find happiness, I think. What are the secrets to career contentment? There is no magic answer to finding career contentment. Instead, it requires some introspection and asking “what makes me happy and what do I enjoy.” If you can figure out your strengths and interests and somehow turn those into a career, you have a much better chance of finding contentment. Any set of interests or strengths provides numerous ways to parlay those into a career. Boredom and unhappiness tend to come when you end up in a career that doesn’t speak to you in any way, or keep your interest beyond the initial “newness.” A good work environment is important as well. You can love your actual job, but if the environment in which you work is toxic, contentment and happiness can be elusive. How much does where you live influence your happiness? Where you live is one of many factors that influences overall happiness and career satisfaction. If you love your job but feel isolated and alone, which can happen in the largest of cities or smallest of towns, you may not be happy overall. If you love where you live but can’t find a satisfying career, the same is true. People have huge differences of opinions as to what makes a location a great place to live, it’s a matter of finding the right mix of work, people, activities and lifestyle that meets your goals. This is also something that can change over time as life goes on. The place you thought was perfect for you in your 20s may no longer meet your life goals 5, 10, or 20 years later. Where you live can definitely influence happiness, but it’s also important that you take advantage and explore all the opportunities of where you live, to increase the potential for happiness. Bradley H. Smith Professor of Psychology & Director of the School Psychology Doctoral Program at the University of Houston Bradley H. Smith What are the key ingredients to a happy life? The hierarchy of human needs proposed by the famous psychologist Maslow implies that happiness requires meeting basic needs, such as for safety and security. However, even in the face of adversity, some people find happiness. Sometimes adversity brings people together, and that makes people happier. This is consistent with research that one of the keys to happiness is developing and maintaining strong, positive relationships. So, I would say that being frequently listened to and cared about strongly by others you love is a major ingredient of happiness, even if other things in life are challenging or even dangerous. How important is money to people’s happiness? The relationship between money and happiness is complex. In most Western societies, as people move from very low income to middle income, there are some large increases in happiness. Thereafter, the relationship flattens out, and there are diminishing returns as income levels go up. It takes huge gains income for an upper middle-class person to feel happier, and incredible amounts for a rich person to feel happier. Also, in some non-Western societies, people are very happy even though they have minimal material wealth. These societies are often rich in love, friendship, and social cohesion -- which may be the true keys to happiness. What are the secrets to career contentment? One type of happiness is eudemonic well-being, which captures the sense that a person is doing something meaningful, personally important, or self-actualizing. Accordingly, creating jobs that allow people to align their work and personal values seems like one of the important ingredients for career contentment. How much does where you live influence your happiness? There are a lot of external influences on happiness. Long periods of low sunlight and dreary weather decreases happiness and, in some extreme cases, may cause depression. Being in a society that has major income or social disparities is highly stressful, which demolish health and happiness. On the positive side, being surrounded by scenic beauty is very healthy and happiness-promoting. Likewise, being part of a society that promotes social justice, equality, and interpersonal harmony can greatly increase happiness. Danney Rasco Assistant Professor of Psychology in the College of Education and Social Sciences at West Texas A&M University Danney Rasco What are the key ingredients to a happy life? The essential components to a person's level of happiness can be divided into two categories: things we cannot control (e.g., genes), and things we can control (e.g., habits, lifestyle). This second category provides a chance to possibly get off the hedonic treadmill (occasionally by getting on an actual treadmill) and improve our happiness. How important is money to people’s happiness? There is some research to indicate that increases in financial resources can improve happiness to a point, but once you address your basic needs and have a little discretionary income, there does not appear to be much additional improvement in happiness by making more money. Ana T. Baida Executive Director of the Department of Career Planning and Development at Kennesaw State University Ana T. Baida What are the key ingredients to a happy life? I believe this is person-specific, but involves some combination of work that matters, being surrounded by people that foster growth, and having enough financial flexibility to enjoy the first two. For me, happiness comes from alignment. I find this to be true very often with my team, as well as with the students we serve. Happiness tends to be at the intersection of values, purpose, and talents. How important is money to people’s happiness? I think money can be very important to happiness, but is critically important when people do not have enough of it to sustain life, or to live the type of life they want. It becomes a focus in a scarcity mentality -- so much so that individuals will make poor long-term career choices to avoid short-term financial concerns. I believe once a person crosses the threshold of having enough (however the individual defines that), I think money becomes less important as a variable for happiness. What are the secrets to career contentment? I believe career contentment comes from being in the right positional fit. For me, this means having a job that strikes a balance between challenging me to grow, and making me feel capable. Many students circle back with our office as alumni and let us know they're content in their careers -- generally this translates into being at the "right place" at the "right time," while feeling appreciated along the way.

Methodology

In order to determine the happiest states in America, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states across three key dimensions: 1) Emotional & Physical Well-Being, 2) Work Environment and 3) Community & Environment.

We evaluated those dimensions using 28 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing maximum happiness.

Finally, we determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample. Our analysis draws upon the findings of the following research, each of which has indicated a correlation between our data and happiness:

  • Happy People Live Longer: Subjective Well-Being Contributes to Health and Longevity (Chan and Diener, 2010)
  • Happiness from Ordinary and Extraordinary Experiences (Bhattacharjee and Mogilner, 2014)
  • Sports Participation and Happiness: Evidence from U.S. Micro Data (Huang and Humphreys, 2010)
  • Unhappy Cities (Glaeser, et al., 2014)
Emotional & Physical Well-Being - Total Points: 50
  • Purpose Score: Full Weight (~3.70 Points)
  • Physical Health Index: Full Weight (~3.70 Points)
  • Share of Adult Depression: Triple Weight (~11.11 Points)
  • Emotional-Health Index: Half Weight (~1.85 Points)
  • Adequate-Sleep Rate: Full Weight (~3.70 Points)
  • Sports-Participation Rate: Full Weight (~3.70 Points)
  • Share of Adults Feeling Active & Productive: Full Weight (~3.70 Points)
  • Illness & Disability Index: Full Weight (~3.70 Points)
  • Life Expectancy: Full Weight (~3.70 Points)
  • Suicide Rate: Double Weight (~7.41 Points)
  • Food-Insecurity Rate: Full Weight (~3.70 Points)
Work Environment - Total Points: 25
  • Number of Work Hours: Triple Weight (~5.77 Points)
  • Commute Time: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)
  • Income Level: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)
  • Share of Adults Worried About Money: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)
  • Current Unemployment Rate: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)
  • Long-Term Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~1.92 Points)
  • Underemployment Rate: Full Weight (~1.92 Points)
  • Job Security: Triple Weight (~5.77 Points)
  • Job Satisfaction Score: Full Weight (~1.92 Points)
  • Income-Growth Rate: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)
  • Economic-Confidence Index: Full Weight (~1.92 Points)
  • Median Credit Score: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)
Community & Environment - Total Points: 25
  • Volunteer Rate: Half Weight (~3.13 Points)
  • Ideal Weather: Half Weight (~3.13 Points)
  • Average Leisure Time Spent per Day: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
  • Separation & Divorce Rate: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
  • Safety: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)

 



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