What does it mean to be happy living in the United States during a pandemic and economic recession? Depending upon which state you live in, your happiness and mental well-being can vary drastically.
A new survey from Wallethub ranked the 50 states by “happiness,” to see which states are staying happy during these trying times.
Hawaii is the happiest state overall for 2020, according to the survey.
Hawaii is consistently ranked the happiest state in the U.S. In 2019, Gallup named Hawaii the top state in its National Health and Well-Being Index for the seventh year in a row.
For the new survey, Wallethub used metrics to give each state an overall happiness “score” out of 100 points. These included emotional and physical well-being, work environment and community environment. WalletHub pulled data for the survey from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Gallup.
With a total score of 69.58 and top marks in emotional and physical well-being, as well as the community and environment category, it’s no surprise that the “Aloha State” came in first place for happiness.
Here are the happiest and least happy states for 2020.
Top 10 happiest states:
1. Hawaii
2. Utah
3. Minnesota
4. New Jersey
5. Maryland
6. California
7. North Dakota
8. Iowa
9. Idaho
10. Connecticut
10 least happy states:
1. West Virginia
2. Arkansas
3. Oklahoma
4. Louisiana
5. Kentucky
6. Tennessee
7. Mississippi
8. Alabama
9. Alaska
10. Oregon
