2014′s most and least happy states in Americal
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- Published: Tuesday, 23 September 2014 15:14
Indiana is the 10th least happy state
financial writer for WalletHub
The question of whether money can buy happiness has continually baffled humanity. The ideal, morally principled response might be “no.” But money can indeed buy happiness — that is, up to a certain dollar amount.
A comprehensive study of the topic suggests that life satisfaction, one of the two main components of happiness besides emotional well-being, increases as income rises but only up to $75,000. Beyond that, money makes little difference in a person’s overall happiness.
Happiness in Indiana (1=Best; 25=Avg.)
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Reinforcing those findings are the annual results of a Gallup-Healthways poll, which measures well-being around the world. According to the pollsters, “there was a 10-percentage-point gap globally between the highest and lowest income brackets.” But income isn’t the only determinant of personal happiness. Apart from financial security, a pleasant state also depends on one’s mental and physical health, job situation, experience of positive feelings, environment, social connections and general outlook on life.
WalletHub took all of these elements into consideration to identify which states are home to the happiest Americans. We did so by analyzing the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 26 key metrics, ranging from emotional health to income levels to sports participation rates. The results of our study, as well as additional insight from experts and a detailed methodology, can be found below.
Overall Rank | State | Emotional & Physical Well-Being Rank | Work Rank | Community, Environment & Recreational Activities Rank |
1 | Utah | 3 | 1 | 2 |
2 | Minnesota | 1 | 3 | 4 |
3 | North Dakota | 10 | 6 | 3 |
4 | Colorado | 2 | 9 | 10 |
5 | Nebraska | 13 | 4 | 6 |
6 | Wyoming | 11 | 5 | 5 |
7 | Iowa | 14 | 2 | 8 |
8 | Hawaii | 4 | 32 | 1 |
9 | South Dakota | 12 | 10 | 12 |
10 | Idaho | 15 | 14 | 7 |
11 | Kansas | 16 | 11 | 15 |
12 | Alaska | 7 | 26 | 16 |
13 | District of Columbia | 5 | 17 | 29 |
14 | California | 8 | 23 | 22 |
15 | Maryland | 17 | 12 | 20 |
16 | Massachusetts | 18 | 20 | 10 |
17 | Washington | 20 | 21 | 9 |
18 | Texas | 30 | 7 | 22 |
19 | New Hampshire | 9 | 37 | 17 |
20 | Montana | 23 | 13 | 24 |
21 | Virginia | 25 | 18 | 13 |
22 | Wisconsin | 19 | 25 | 20 |
23 | Vermont | 6 | 42 | 26 |
24 | New Jersey | 21 | 38 | 14 |
25 | Illinois | 27 | 29 | 19 |
26 | Connecticut | 22 | 44 | 18 |
27 | Delaware | 29 | 19 | 32 |
28 | New York | 32 | 36 | 25 |
29 | Oregon | 26 | 46 | 30 |
30 | New Mexico | 28 | 27 | 49 |
31 | Arizona | 24 | 41 | 47 |
32 | Nevada | 31 | 35 | 43 |
33 | Pennsylvania | 38 | 22 | 27 |
34 | Georgia | 33 | 34 | 41 |
35 | Maine | 34 | 43 | 34 |
36 | Florida | 35 | 40 | 44 |
37 | North Carolina | 36 | 39 | 31 |
38 | Missouri | 43 | 15 | 38 |
39 | Louisiana | 40 | 16 | 48 |
40 | South Carolina | 39 | 28 | 36 |
41 | Oklahoma | 48 | 8 | 37 |
42 | Indiana | 44 | 31 | 28 |
43 | Michigan | 40 | 30 | 39 |
44 | Ohio | 45 | 24 | 33 |
45 | Rhode Island | 37 | 49 | 35 |
46 | Tennessee | 46 | 48 | 44 |
47 | Kentucky | 50 | 33 | 40 |
48 | Arkansas | 47 | 45 | 50 |
49 | Mississippi | 42 | 51 | 51 |
50 | Alabama | 49 | 47 | 42 |
51 | West Virginia | 51 | 50 |
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