It’s easier to be happy when you’re surrounded by happy people; we all buoy each other up. Smiles can be as contagious as sneezes, and when you live somewhere that has been designated as the happiest state in America, according to a new WalletHub study, you know you’ve dramatically increased your odds to be content, too.
Of course, happiness is an ephemeral emotion, hard to pin down, but certain aspects of your life can make it more likely. The criteria for happiness, according to the study, include things like how many people in the state volunteer, how much sleep they get, how much time they spend in the car commuting, job security, food security, and depression and divorce rates, to name just a few of the many metrics.
After crunching all this data, WalletHub found that Hawai’i is the happiest state. Hoʻomaikaʻi! The gorgeous island landscape and sunny, warm weather would make anyone happy, but residents also self-report the highest levels of “life satisfaction” in the U.S. and have the second-lowest depression rate. (The lowest is New Jersey.) In Hawai’i, 85-percent of adults have “good or better health,” and they have the longest life expectancy, perhaps due to 72-percent of them being active and productive each day. Surf’s up, clearly! Moreover, the state has very low unemployment and the second-highest household income (more than $75,000 annually), leading to very few Hawaiians experiencing financial anxiety.
In second place is Maryland, which also has low unemployment rates and the highest percentage of households earning more than $75k a year. While many states’ residents frequently post about job stress on social media, Marylanders are the fifth less likely to do so. Residents report being happy about the work and their goals (third highest in the U.S.). And, a component that weighs heavily in happiness calculations, they are the third least likely to report traumatic childhood events.
Nebraska pulls up in the third position, with positive rates for employment, financial security, good or better health, leisure time and happy marriages. They are low for depression rates and separation and divorce. All good!
A few quick takeaways: People get the best sleep in Vermont (probably because it's also ranked the safest state in the study) and the worst sleep, funnily enough, in the Aloha State. West Virginians report the most depression; people in Utah play the most sports and work the fewest hours (nice!), get the fewest divorces and volunteer the most; South Dakota has the lowest unemployment; and Idaho has the best income growth. Make your relocation decisions accordingly!
Here are the top 20 happiest states in America, according to WalletHub:
1. Hawai’i
2. Maryland
3. Nebraska
4. New Jersey
5. Connecticut
6. Utah
7. California
8. New Hampshire
9. Massachusetts
10. Idaho
11. Minnesota
12. Delaware
13. South Dakota
14. Florida
15. Virginia
16. New York
17. Iowa
18. Pennsylvania
19. Georgia
20. Wisconsin