Happiest States of 2009: The List

Jeanna Bryner

Date: 16 February 2010 Time: 04:59 AM ET

A survey called the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index reveals which states were happiest in 2009. The index included 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 Top 5 Keys to Happiness.

Here are the 50 U.S. states in order of their well-being scores from 2009, which are out of 100 points, with the 2008 scores in (parentheses).

Hawaii: 70.2 (68.2)
Utah: 68.3 (69.2)
Montana: 68.3 (66.7)
Minnesota: 67.8 (67.3)
Iowa: 67.6 (65.6)
Vermont: 67.4 (66.6)
Colorado: 67.3 (67.3)
Alaska: 67.3 (66.2)
North Dakota: 67.3 (65.5)
Kansas: 67.2 (66.1)
Idaho: 67.1 (66.8)
Virginia: 67.0 (66.5)
New Hampshire: 66.9 (66.7)
Maryland: 66.8 (67.1)
Washington: 66.8 (67.1)
Maine: 66.7 (65.5)
Wyoming: 66.7 (68.0)
Massachusetts: 66.6 (67.0)
California: 66.5 (67.0)
South Dakota: 66.5 (64.3)
Arizona: 66.4 (66.8)
Connecticut: 66.3 (66.3)
Nebraska: 66.3 (66.4)
Texas: 66.2 (66.1)
Georgia: 66.1 (66.0)
Oregon: 66.0 (66.3)
Wisconsin: 66.0 (65.9)
Illinois: 65.8 (65.2)
New Jersey: 65.6 (65.8)
Pennsylvania: 65.4 (64.9)
New Mexico: 65.3 (66.3)
New York: 65.0 (64.7)
Michigan: 64.9 (64)
Missouri: 64.8 (63.8)
Florida: 64.8 (65.3)
South Carolina: 64.9 (65.7)
North Carolina: 65.1 (64.8)
Delaware: 64.7 (64.7)
Louisiana: 64.2 (64.2)
Oklahoma: 64.2 (64)
Rhode Island: 64.2 (64.6)
Mississippi: 64.0 (61.9)
Tennessee: 64.0 (64.0)
Alabama: 63.9 (64.9)
Indiana: 63.9 (63.3)
Nevada: 63.8 (64.5)
Ohio: 63.6 (62.8)
Arkansas: 62.8 (62.9)
Kentucky: 62.3 (61.4)
West Virginia: 60.5 (61.2)

The Story - Happiest States: Hawaii Moves into First Place