Happiness may come from within, but external factors can still play a role in how happy you feel.
Even if you’re a glass-half-full kind of person, factors like financial security, access to healthcare, and community can also impact your well-being.
A recent WalletHub study ranked all 50 states based on metrics that measure residents’ happiness.
All states were compared across three categories: emotional and physical well-being, work environment, and community and environment. These dimensions were broken down into 30 metrics, graded on a 100-point scale to create a happiness score.
The most heavily weighted category was emotional and physical well-being, which included metrics such as career well-being, physical health, the share of adults with depression, and life expectancy.
Work environment metrics included the number of work hours and the share of households earning annual incomes above $75,000.
For community and environment, the metrics included ideal weather, average daily leisure time, and safety.
WalletHub’s analysis used data from sources such as the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Gallup.
Here are the 50 states, ranked from least to most happy.
50. West Virginia
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 50
Work environment rank: 50
Community and environment rank: 40
49. Louisiana
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 49
Work environment rank: 49
Community and environment rank: 38
48. Arkansas
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 47
Work environment rank: 47
Community and environment rank: 30
47. Alaska
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 38
Work environment rank: 44
Community and environment rank: 50
46. Kentucky
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 48
Work environment rank: 41
Community and environment rank: 25
45. Alabama
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 45
Work environment rank: 35
Community and environment rank: 36
44. New Mexico
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 36
Work environment rank: 48
Community and environment rank: 37
43. Wyoming
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 40
Work environment rank: 42
Community and environment rank: 35
42. Oregon
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 44
Work environment rank: 38
Community and environment rank: 29
41. Tennessee
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 41
Work environment rank: 14
Community and environment rank: 44
40. Oklahoma
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 46
Work environment rank: 43
Community and environment rank: 4
39. Ohio
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 39
Work environment rank: 32
Community and environment rank: 26
38. Michigan
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 32
Work environment rank: 45
Community and environment rank: 28
37. Mississippi
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 35
Work environment rank: 46
Community and environment rank: 12
36. Colorado
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 28
Work environment rank: 23
Community and environment rank: 49
35. Texas
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 24
Work environment rank: 30
Community and environment rank: 46
34. Maine
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 42
Work environment rank: 10
Community and environment rank: 20
33. Indiana
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 34
Work environment rank: 19
Community and environment rank: 21
32. Nevada
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 37
Work environment rank: 39
Community and environment rank: 5
31. Missouri
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 33
Work environment rank: 15
Community and environment rank: 24
30. Montana
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 43
Work environment rank: 7
Community and environment rank: 10
29. Rhode Island
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 23
Work environment rank: 26
Community and environment rank: 45
28. Delaware
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 14
Work environment rank: 28
Community and environment rank: 47
27. Wisconsin
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 30
Work environment rank: 18
Community and environment rank: 34
26. Illinois
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 13
Work environment rank: 40
Community and environment rank: 42
25. Pennsylvania
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 20
Work environment rank: 37
Community and environment rank: 27
24. South Dakota
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 29
Work environment rank: 2
Community and environment rank: 41
23. Kansas
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 26
Work environment rank: 12
Community and environment rank: 31
22. Vermont
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 31
Work environment rank: 9
Community and environment rank: 7
21. Florida
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 9
Work environment rank: 29
Community and environment rank: 48
20. Iowa
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 27
Work environment rank: 16
Community and environment rank: 16
19. Washington
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 18
Work environment rank: 25
Community and environment rank: 33
18. Georgia
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 21
Work environment rank: 22
Community and environment rank: 22
17. Arizona
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 16
Work environment rank: 33
Community and environment rank: 13
16. Virginia
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 10
Work environment rank: 31
Community and environment rank: 32
15. South Carolina
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 25
Work environment rank: 13
Community and environment rank: 3
14. North Carolina
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 15
Work environment rank: 21
Community and environment rank: 15
13. Massachusetts
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 7
Work environment rank: 17
Community and environment rank: 43
12. North Dakota
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 22
Work environment rank: 4
Community and environment rank: 6
11. New York
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 3
Work environment rank: 34
Community and environment rank: 39
10. New Hampshire
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 12
Work environment rank: 8
Community and environment rank: 14
9. California
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 4
Work environment rank: 36
Community and environment rank: 19
8. Minnesota
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 8
Work environment rank: 11
Community and environment rank: 17
7. Connecticut
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 5
Work environment rank: 27
Community and environment rank: 9
6. Nebraska
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 11
Work environment rank: 6
Community and environment rank: 8
5. Maryland
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 6
Work environment rank: 20
Community and environment rank: 11
4. Idaho
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 19
Work environment rank: 3
Community and environment rank: 2
3. Utah
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 17
Work environment rank: 1
Community and environment rank: 1
2. New Jersey
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 1
Work environment rank: 24
Community and environment rank: 23
1. Hawaii
Emotional and physical well-being rank: 2
Work environment rank: 5
Community and environment rank: 18
With residents reporting the second-lowest rate of depression and high levels of life satisfaction, Hawaii was ranked the happiest state.
This is owing to factors such as good physical health — about 84% of adults report being in good or better health — and low unemployment rates.
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