Happiness comes from a combination of internal and external factors. We can influence it somewhat by approaching situations positively or choosing to spend time with people we love, doing activities we enjoy.

One thing that doesn’t drive happiness is money. Happiness only increases with wealth up to an annual income of $75,000 to $95,000. But one thing that can have a big influence on how we feel about life is where we choose to live.

In this study, WalletHub drew upon the findings of “happiness” research to determine which environmental factors are linked to a person’s overall well-being and satisfaction with life. Previous studies have found that good economic, emotional, physical and social health are all key to a well-balanced and fulfilled life.

To determine where Americans exhibit the best combination of these factors, we examined the 50 states across 31 key metrics, ranging from depression rate to sports participation rate to income growth. Read on for our findings, additional insight from a panel of experts and a full description of our methodology.

Main Findings

Happiest States in the U.S.

Overall Rank

(1 = Happiest) State Total Score ‘Emotional & Physical Well-Being’ Rank ‘Work Environment’ Rank ‘Community & Environment’ Rank 1 Hawaii 66.48 1 25 12 2 Utah 65.93 15 1 2 3 Minnesota 65.57 3 6 15 4 California 64.11 4 12 16 5 New Jersey 60.54 2 45 24 6 Idaho 60.51 33 2 1 7 Massachusetts 60.50 8 3 43 8 Maryland 59.53 5 40 14 9 Nebraska 59.04 9 14 18 10 Connecticut 57.93 6 34 33 11 Iowa 57.88 16 10 10 12 North Dakota 57.53 11 28 11 13 Nevada 56.86 25 9 3 14 Virginia 55.59 13 24 28 15 New York 55.47 7 39 40 16 Delaware 54.64 19 26 13 17 Georgia 54.61 18 32 17 18 Arizona 53.95 24 7 31 19 Colorado 53.59 10 4 49 20 Vermont 52.74 28 22 6 21 Washington 52.41 30 5 30 22 New Hampshire 52.21 27 11 29 23 Texas 52.14 12 19 48 24 Illinois 51.64 14 42 41 25 Wisconsin 51.53 22 20 37 26 Pennsylvania 51.42 23 37 21 27 South Dakota 51.04 21 16 45 28 Florida 50.75 17 27 47 29 South Carolina 50.27 32 21 9 30 North Carolina 49.83 20 31 46 31 Montana 49.27 40 8 7 32 Kansas 48.92 29 30 38 33 Rhode Island 48.71 26 18 44 34 Wyoming 47.54 31 46 19 35 Indiana 47.27 38 17 23 36 Michigan 46.93 35 29 32 37 Ohio 45.19 37 41 22 38 Maine 45.11 36 23 39 39 Oregon 44.95 44 13 26 40 New Mexico 44.91 39 43 20 41 Missouri 42.99 41 33 35 42 Tennessee 42.75 42 15 42 43 Oklahoma 40.56 47 35 4 44 Alabama 40.11 46 36 36 45 Kentucky 38.86 48 38 8 46 Louisiana 38.41 43 50 34 47 Mississippi 38.28 45 48 27 48 Alaska 36.48 34 49 50 49 Arkansas 34.07 49 44 25 50 West Virginia 33.73 50 47 5

Ask the Experts

Happiness is more than a feeling of joy or excitement. It relies on various aspects of a person’s life — from emotional well-being to job satisfaction. To expand the discussion, we asked a panel of experts to share their advice and insight on achieving overall happiness and career contentment. Click on the experts’ profiles to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:

What are the key ingredients to a happy life? How important is money to people’s happiness? What are the secrets to career contentment? How much does where you live influence your happiness?

Methodology

In order to determine the happiest states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across three key dimensions: 1) Emotional & Physical Well-Being, 2) Work Environment and 3) Community & Environment.

We evaluated those dimensions using 31 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing maximum happiness.

Finally, we determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Our analysis draws upon the findings of the following research, each of which has indicated a correlation between our data and happiness:

Happy People Live Longer: Subjective Well-Being Contributes to Health and Longevity (Chan and Diener, 2010)

Happiness from Ordinary and Extraordinary Experiences (Bhattacharjee and Mogilner, 2014)

Sports Participation and Happiness: Evidence from U.S. Micro Data (Huang and Humphreys, 2010)

Unhappy Cities (Glaeser, et al., 2014)

Emotional & Physical Well-Being - Total Points: 50

Career Well-Being: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

Note: This metric is based on Gallup’s “ Well-Being Index ”, particularly the “Career” element, defined by Gallup as “Liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals.”

Physical Health Index: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

Note: This metric measures self-reported effects of disease on personal happiness.

Adverse Childhood Experiences: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

Share of Maltreated Adults: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

Note: Prevalence of rape, physical abuse and or stalking (emotional abuse) among men and women by an intimate partner.

Share of Adult Depression: Triple Weight (~6.82 Points)

Note: This metric measures the share of adults aged 18 years and older who were diagnosed with depression.

Social Well-Being: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

Note: This metric is based on Gallup’s “ Well-Being Index ”, particularly the “Social” element, defined by Gallup as “Having supportive relationships and love in your life.”

Share of Adults with Alcohol Use Disorder: Double Weight (~4.55 Points)

Adequate-Sleep Rate: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

Sports-Participation Rate: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

Share of Adults Feeling Active & Productive: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

Note: This metric is based on Gallup’s “ State of the States ” poll and measures the share of state residents who reported feeling active and productive every day for seven days prior to polling.

Illness & Disability Index: Triple Weight (~6.82 Points)

Note: This metric measures self-reported effects of illness and disability on personal happiness.

Life Expectancy: Double Weight (~4.55 Points)

Suicide Rate: Triple Weight (~6.82 Points)

Food-Insecurity Rate: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

Work Environment - Total Points: 25

Number of Work Hours: Triple Weight (~5.77 Points)

Commute Time: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)

Share of Households Earning Annual Incomes Above $75,000: Full Weight (~1.92 Points)

Share of Adults Worried About Money: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)

Note: This metric is based on Gallup’s “ State of the States ” poll and measures the share of state residents who reported worrying about money every day for seven days prior to polling.

Current Unemployment Rate: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)

Long-Term Unemployment Rate: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)

Underemployment Rate: Full Weight (~1.92 Points)

Job Security: Triple Weight (~5.77 Points)

Note: This metric measures the probability of unemployment.

Job Satisfaction Score: Full Weight (~1.92 Points)

Note: This metric is based on Monster and Brandwatch’s “ Job Happiness Report ” and measures how much people love or hate their jobs based on an analysis of two million related tweets. The ratio score was calculated as follows: Number of People Who Love Their Jobs / Number of People Who Hate Their Jobs.

Income-Growth Rate: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)

Economic-Confidence Index: Full Weight (~1.92 Points)

Note: This metric is based on Gallup’s “ U.S. Economic Confidence Index ”, which “is based on the combined responses to two questions, the first asking Americans to rate economic conditions in this country today, and second, whether they think economic conditions in the country as a whole are getting better or getting worse.”

Median Credit Score: Half Weight (~0.96 Points)

Note: This metric is based on the Chase Slate 2016 Credit Outlook Survey , in which three in five survey participants responded that “a higher credit score can make them happier”.

Community & Environment - Total Points: 25

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