The Happiest People in these United (for now) States

Happy



The Happiest States:



In addition to rating the smile factor of U.S. states, the research also proved for the first time that a person's self-reported happiness matches up with objective measures of well-being.


Essentially, if an individual says they're happy, they are.

"When human beings give you an answer on a numerical scale about how satisfied they are with their lives, it is best to pay attention. Their answers are reliable," said Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick in England. "This suggests that life-satisfaction survey data might be very useful for governments to use in the design of economic and social policies," Oswald said.






1. Louisiana

2. Hawaii

3. Florida

4. Tennessee

5. Arizona

6. Mississippi

7. Montana

8. South Carolina

9. Alabama

10. Maine

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The Well-Being of 50 U.S. States

By Jeanna Bryner, Senior Writer

10 November 2009 08:08 am ET

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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