Happiest States of 2011: The List

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A survey called the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index reveals which states are happiest. The index includes questions about six types of well-being, including overall evaluation of their lives, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors (such as whether a person smokes or exercises), and job satisfaction.

Click here to learn more about the survey and what it means. Also see 7 Things That Will Make You Happy.

Here are the 50 U.S. states in order of their well-being scores, which are out of 100 points.

1. Hawaii: 70.2
2. North Dakota: 70.0
3. Minnesota: 69.2
4. Utah: 69.0
5. Alaska: 69.0
6. Colorado: 68.4
7. Kansas: 68.4
8. Nebraska: 68.3
9. New Hampshire: 68.2
10. Montana: 68.0
11. South Dakota: 67.8
12. Vermont: 67.7
13. Maryland: 67.6
14. Virginia: 67.4
15. Iowa: 67.4
16. Massachusetts: 67.4
17. California: 67.3
18. Washington: 67.3
19. Connecticut: 67.2
20. Oregon: 67.1
21. Wyoming: 66.9
22. Wisconsin: 66.9
23. Idaho: 66.9
24. New Mexico: 66.8
25. Maine: 66.7
26. Arizona: 66.6
27. Texas: 66.4
28. Georgia: 66.3
29. New Jersey: 66.2
30. North Carolina: 66.1
31. Pennsylvania: 66.0
32. Illinois: 65.9
33. South Carolina: 65.7
34. New York: 65.7
35. Rhode Island: 65.6
36. Louisiana: 65.5
37. Michigan: 65.3
38. Oklahoma: 65.1
39. Indiana: 65.1
40. Nevada: 65.0
41. Tennessee: 65.0
42. Florida: 64.9
43. Missouri: 64.8
44. Arkansas: 64.7
45. Alabama: 64.6
46. Ohio: 64.5
47. Delaware: 64.2
48. Mississippi: 63.4
49. Kentucky: 63.3
50. West Virginia: 62.3