Happiest US States

[kshillbillys]

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.

Click here to learn more about the survey and what it means.

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


The following comment is from one of the user's after the story and was just something that struck me as funny so I decided to add it here (and I pretty much agree with him...)..can't believe Kansas is so low on the list!  

"Interesting that ALL the classic LIBERAL states (NewYork,Conn,N.J.,Cal,Mass,R.I.,Wash & DC are in the "bottom 15" states for Happiness (Oregon excepted--made it all the way to #30) Wonder if anyone has researched THIS! Could it be the tendency of those of that mindset wanting someone else (Big Brother Govt.) to "make them happy? Wish someone would check it out because its definitely more than a coincidence!"

[Anmar]

lol, after overcoming 8 yeard of Bush, would you expect libs to be happy?

[kshillbillys]

They voted in Nobama's worthless a**...why aren't they happy?

[Anmar]

well, you'd have to give the date of the study to answer that.  Maybe they aren't happy that Obama is a sell out?

[Warph]

The reason we in Arizona are at a happy "5" is because we got rid of Janet Napolitano.... as far as the far left liberals, we got rid of them too, Wyatt Earp style.  Next time your passing this way through our desert and you see these little mounds out in the distance, smile... your in good hands until you hit CA.

[larryJ]

Some study!!!  1.3 million?  That's less than .005 percent of the population.  That's less than 1.2 percent of Los Angeles County alone. 

And, Warph, you seem to have it all wrong.  Those traveling through Arizona are delighted upon arriving at the Colorado River and the great state of California after having to travel through such a desolate area with few rest stops and fewer places to stop to eat or spend the night, not that anyone would want to.  Granted, once entering California, there are limited rest stops and places to eat and spend the night, but at least you are "somewhere"!  My old Master Sergeant was from Texas and once told me he was buying up all the land he could get in Arizona and New Mexico, so when California slid into the ocean, he would have all the beach front property!  I have often traveled east through Arizona on my way to better places and can honestly say when I see the mesas of New Mexico at the state line, I feel a sense of deliverance for I have spanned the great waste that is Arizona.

Larryj

[greatguns]

Perhaps you should just learn to be happy wherever you are!

[srkruzich]

The reason we in Arizona are at a happy "5" is because we got rid of Janet Napolitano.... as far as the far left liberals, we got rid of them too, Wyatt Earp style.  Next time your passing this way through our desert and you see these little mounds out in the distance, smile... your in good hands until you hit CA.

well Kansans ought to be happier, they got rid of sebalius

[kshillbillys]

Amen to that Steve! My family is quite happy right here in good ole Longton, KS, USA!! 

[Diane Amberg]

See where Delaware fell? Just about the middle, just like me!