The Well-Being of 50 U.S. States
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 Top 5 Keys to Happiness.
Here are the 50 U.S. states in order of their well-being scores, which are out of 100 points.
1. Utah: 69.2 2. Hawaii: 68.2 3. Wyoming: 68 4. Colorado: 67.3 5. Minnesota: 67.3 6. Maryland: 67.1 7. Washington: 67.1 8. Massachusetts: 67 9. California: 67 10. Arizona: 66.8 11. Idaho: 66.8 12. Montana: 66.7 13. New Hampshire: 66.7 14. Vermont: 66.6 15. Virginia: 66.5 16. Nebraska: 66.4 17. New Mexico: 66.3 18. Oregon: 66.3 19. Connecticut: 66.3 20. Alaska : 66.2 21. Texas: 66.1 22. Kansas: 66.1 23. Georgia: 66.0 24. Wisconsin: 65.9 25. New Jersey: 65.8 26. South Carolina: 65.7 27. Iowa: 65.6 - 27/50 28. North Dakota: 65.5 29. Maine: 65.5 - 29/50 30. Florida: 65.3 - 30/50 31. Illinois: 65.2 - 31/50 32. Pennsylvania: 64.9 33. Alabama: 64.9 34. North Carolina: 64.8 35. New York: 64.7 36. Delaware: 64.7 37. Rhode Island: 64.6 38. Nevada: 64.5 39. South Dakota: 64.3 40. Louisiana: 64.2 41. Michigan: 64.0 42. Tennessee: 64.0 43. Oklahoma: 64.0 44. Missouri: 63.8 45. Indiana: 63.3 46. Arkansas: 62.9 47. Ohio: 62.8 48. Mississippi: 61.9 49. Kentucky: 61.4 50. West Virginia: 61.2
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Jeanna served as editor-in-chief of Live Science. Previously, she was an assistant editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Jeanna has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland, and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
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