do you agree with the ranking of the happiest states
@easymoney75503 (1702)
United States
December 18, 2009 6:37am CST
A new study found that a person's self-reported happiness matches up with objective measures of state-level happiness.
The results are based on an examination of two data sets, one that included personal reports of happiness for 1.3 million Americans and the other that included objective measures, such as how crowded that state is, air quality, home prices and other factors known to impact quality of life.
Here are the 50 U.S. states (and the District of Columbia) in order of their well-being:
1. Louisiana
2. Hawaii
3. Florida
4. Tennessee
5. Arizona
6. Mississippi
7. Montana
8. South Carolina
9. Alabama
10. Maine
11. Alaska
12. North Carolina
13. Wyoming
14. Idaho
15. South Dakota
16. Texas
17. Arkansas
18. Vermont
19. Georgia
20. Oklahoma
21. Colorado
22. Delaware
23. Utah
24. New Mexico
25. North Dakota
26. Minnesota
27. New Hampshire
28. Virginia
29. Wisconsin
30. Oregon
31. Iowa
32. Kansas
33. Nebraska
34. West Virginia
35. Kentucky
36. Washington
37. District of Columbia
38. Missouri
39. Nevada
40. Maryland
41. Pennsylvania
42. Rhode Island
43. Massachusetts
44. Ohio
45. Illinois
46. California
47. Indiana
48. Michigan
49. New Jersey
50. Connecticut
51. New York
personally i have lived in alot of the states and wwell number one is crazy no way i would rather live in a box on the street in dallas then in that state. i think south carolina should be higher and texas should be lower.
3 responses
@echomonster (2226)
• Greenwood, Mississippi
18 Dec 09
There are a bunch of factors that go into one's happiness, probably more than can be listed in a scientific study. One reason Southern states rank so high probably has to do with religion...I think the religious are more likely to report being happy with their lives because their religion gives them a purpose and makes them feel blessed. Another big factor is sunshine. Lack of sun exposure leads to depression so I'm not surprised sunnier states did well, although California did not (I think it's because high taxes tend to counteract the sunshine effects).
Personally, if I were to move anywhere I'd probably go to a cold western state like North Dakota or Wyoming. I actually love the heat, but I don't like the crime and unemployment in the sunnier parts of the country...ND actually has the lowest unemployment and crime in the nation!
Would you really rather live in a box than in Louisiana? That statement made me laugh because one of the nice things about Louisiana I believe is that real estate is fairly cheap there. People who practically ARE living in boxes in other, more expensive parts of the country could have homes in LA. I think I'd always pick a home over a box myself.
@michmich2 (432)
• United States
18 Dec 09
Great point about religion in the south - I agree that it probably makes a big difference in how happy people report being!
@bigplay (212)
• United States
19 Dec 09
Oh yeah i heard about that on the news today as well, some of the states that are on top should'nt be there i don't think, i'm surprised that alabama is ranked so high and ohio is ranked so low. Most of the happiest moments of my life were in ohio.
@michmich2 (432)
• United States
18 Dec 09
No, I don't really agree with the ranking. But I guess we all probably have different ideas of how we would rank the states, depending on where we've lived. I'm somewhat surprised that Ohio and Illinois are ranked so low, but in another sense I'm not surprised at all. I think they are both the kind of places that are really enjoyed by the people who live there, but are looked down on by people who haven't spent much time there (Ohio in particular). I disagree about Texas - I don't think it should be any lower. I'm with you about South Carolina being higher though! I thought it was a pretty interesting list. I'm very surprised about Louisiana being number one - I don't understand that at all!!!
