Posted by: Richie Bernardo

Happiness comes from a combination of internal and external factors. We can influence it somewhat by approaching situations positively or choosing to spend time with people we love, doing activities we enjoy.

One thing that doesn’t drive happiness is money. Happiness only increases with wealth up to an annual income of $75,000. But one thing that can have a big influence on how we feel about life is where we choose to live.

In this study, WalletHub 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 31 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="https://ift.tt/2N4FYpH>  

Happiest States in the U.S.

Overall Rank (1 = Happiest)	State	Total Score	‘Emotional & Physical Well-Being’ Rank	‘Work Environment’ Rank	‘Community & Environment’ Rank
1	Hawaii	68.27	1	30	4
2	Utah	67.84	18	1	2
3	Minnesota	67.26	2	6	10
4	North Dakota	65.62	6	9	6
5	California	63.14	4	24	12
6	Idaho	63.09	24	2	1
7	Maryland	61.78	7	38	5
8	Iowa	61.07	8	18	11
9	South Dakota	60.80	14	13	8
10	Nebraska	59.11	10	17	28
11	Wisconsin	58.87	16	11	14
12	Connecticut	58.24	9	40	18
13	New Jersey	58.10	3	44	38
14	New York	57.35	5	42	39
15	Virginia	57.35	15	25	27
16	Massachusetts	56.85	13	14	42
17	Washington	56.44	29	5	9
18	Colorado	55.38	19	3	46
19	Georgia	55.15	25	16	7
20	North Carolina	53.69	21	21	37
21	Arizona	52.92	27	12	34
22	Texas	52.56	11	28	49
23	Illinois	52.47	12	45	44
24	New Hampshire	52.37	23	27	31
25	Kansas	52.30	22	33	36
26	Nevada	51.80	40	15	3
27	Delaware	51.67	17	37	45
28	Montana	51.08	37	7	17
29	Florida	51.01	20	20	47
30	Pennsylvania	50.54	28	41	15
31	Rhode Island	50.44	30	31	29
32	Indiana	50.20	32	22	25
33	Maine	49.81	36	10	30
34	Michigan	49.52	34	26	20
35	Wyoming	48.90	31	43	22
36	South Carolina	48.26	38	32	13
37	Ohio	48.19	35	36	16
38	Vermont	48.18	26	23	48
39	Oregon	48.05	43	4	24
40	Tennessee	46.13	41	8	40
41	New Mexico	43.35	39	47	35
42	Missouri	42.76	45	34	21
43	Mississippi	41.63	42	46	26
44	Kentucky	39.42	48	19	19
45	Alabama	39.35	46	39	43
46	Oklahoma	38.89	47	35	33
47	Alaska	38.21	33	49	50
48	Louisiana	37.15	44	50	41
49	Arkansas	36.61	50	29	23
50	West Virginia	33.42	49	48	32

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?

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• Lauren Braswell Ph.D., LP, Adjunct Faculty in Psychology, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul
• Amanda Watson Joyce Assistant Professor of Psychology, Murray State University
• Christine Weinkauff Duranso Ph.D., Positive Developmental Psychologist, Adjunct Professor of Psychology at California State University

Methodology

In order to determine the happiest states in America, WalletHub 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 31 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 overall 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 Rank: Full Weight (~2.56 Points)Note: This metric is based on Gallup’s “Well-Being Index”, particularly the “Purpose” element, defined by Gallup as “Liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals.”
• Physical Health Index: Full Weight (~2.56 Points)Note: This metric measures self-reported effects of disease on personal happiness.
• Adverse Childhood Experiences : Full Weight (~2.56 Points)
• Share of Maltreated Adults: Full Weight (~2.56 Points)Note: Prevalence of rape, physical abuse and or stalking (emotional abuse) among men and women by an intimate partner.
• Share of Adult Depression: Triple Weight (~7.69 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of adults aged 18 and older who were diagnosed with depression.
• Emotional-Health Index: Half Weight (~1.28 Points)Note: This metric measures self-reported effects of emotional well-being on personal happiness.
• Share of Adults with Alcohol Use Disorder: Full Weight (~2.56 Points)
• Adequate-Sleep Rate: Full Weight (~2.56 Points)
• Sports-Participation Rate: Full Weight (~2.56 Points)
• Share of Adults Feeling Active & Productive: Full Weight (~2.56 Points)Note: This metric is based on Gallup’s “State of the States” poll and measures the percentage of state residents who reported feeling active and productive every day for seven days prior to polling.
• Illness & Disability Index: Double Weight (~5.13 Points)Note: This metric measures self-reported effects of illness and disability on personal happiness.
• Life Expectancy: Double Weight (~5.13 Points)
• Suicide Rate: Triple Weight (~7.69 Points)
• Food-Insecurity Rate: Full Weight (~2.56 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)Note: This metric measures household income adjusted for cost of living.
• Share of Adults Worried About Money: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)Note: This metric is based on Gallup’s “State of the States” poll and measures the percentage of state residents who reported worrying about money every day for seven days prior to polling.
• 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)Note: This metric measures the probability of unemployment.
• Job Satisfaction Score: Full Weight (~1.92 Points)Note: This metric is based on Monster and Brandwatch’s “Job Happiness Report” and measures how much people love or hate their jobs based on an analysis of two million related tweets. The ratio score was calculated as follows: Number of People Who Love Their Jobs / Number of People Who Hate Their Jobs.
• Income-Growth Rate: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)
• Economic-Confidence Index: Full Weight (~1.92 Points)Note: This metric is based on Gallup’s “U.S. Economic Confidence Index”, which “is based on the combined responses to two questions, the first asking Americans to rate economic conditions in this country today, and second, whether they think economic conditions in the country as a whole are getting better or getting worse.”
• Median Credit Score: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)Note: This metric is based on the Chase Slate 2016 Credit Outlook Survey, in which three in five survey participants responded that “a higher credit score can make them happier”.

Community & Environment - Total Points: 25

• Volunteer Rate: Half Weight (~1.67 Points)
• Ideal Weather: Triple Weight (~10.00 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “Cities with the Best & Worst Weather” ranking and was calculated as the average of the ranking for the top three cities by population in the state.
• Average Leisure Time Spent per Day: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Separation & Divorce Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Safety: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “Safest States in America” ranking.

 Videos for News Use:

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• YouTube (for web embedding Local)
• Raw files (for editing into clips)

 Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Council for Community and Economic Research, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Feeding America, Corporation for National and Community Service, Gallup-Healthways, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, United Health Foundation, Brandwatch, TransUnion, Minnesota Population Center - University of Minnesota, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and WalletHub research.

Image: Lucky Business / Shutterstock.com

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