Randy Bergmann

New Jersey is the 13th happiest state in the union and ranks third in “emotional and physical well-being,” according to Wallethub.com.

Needless to say, the report brought out the cynics. A sample of the comments on our Facebook page:

”What???”

“I can’t afford to be happy here.”

“They didn’t ask me.”

“So why does everyone want to leave?”

Actually, not everyone does want to leave. I don’t. I don’t like the high property taxes and the traffic, but other than that, all's good. And for those who believe the grass is greener elsewhere, it should be noted that New Jersey is happier than any of the states to which Jerseyans most commonly flee: North Carolina (20), Delaware (27), Florida (29), Pennsylvania (30) and South Carolina (36).

As with most polls of this sort, however, the results should be taken with a grain of salt. Their validity is totally dependent on the rigor and integrity of the methodology. No one should take the science too seriously.

But the Wallethub.com report points out some interesting aspects about New Jersey that left us close to the top quartile of happy states. In the emotional and physical well-being category — one of three main categories — New Jersey ranked behind only Hawaii and Minnesota. Our high score was helped by the lowest suicide rate, second lowest percentage of depressed adults and the third lowest rate of divorce and separation.

More:Are New Jerseyans really happy? Readers weigh in

Other metrics in that category included our physical health index (the self-reported effects of disease on personal happiness), adverse childhood experiences, the share of maltreated adults, share of adults with alcohol use disorder and adequate sleep rate.

Unfortunately, New Jersey’s overall ranking was dragged down by the two other main categories — work and environment (44th), and community and environment (40th). Despite those low rankings, New Jersey fared well overall because the “emotional and physical well-being” category accounted for 50 percent of the final ranking.

Clearly, much work remains to be done in the other two categories to make more Jerseyans happier. Some of the metrics that left the state near the bottom of the pack in the work and environment category were: share of adults worried about money, number of work hours, commute time, cost-of-living-adjusted income, underemployment rate, job security, income-growth rate, median credit rate and economic confidence index,

Factors included in New Jersey's poor showing in the community and environment category included the rate of volunteerism, average leisure time and safety,

How to explain the low rankings in two of the three major categories and the high ranking in emotional and physical well-being? The beaches? The ocean? Strong families? Great towns? The Jersey attitude? Whatever it is, don't look to any methodology to explain New Jersey's hold on us.

Randy Bergmann: 732-643-4034; app@opinion; rbergmann@app.com.