Hawaii has the fewest depressed adults in the U.S., while Tennessee has the most—a gap of almost two times. Your mental health and happiness can be greatly affected by where you live. When it comes to stable economies and low jobless rates, states like Hawaii and Maryland are the best.
Researchers looked at all 50 U.S. states using 30 key measures, such as average scores for physical, social, economic, and mental health, to find the happiest states. This is the list of the 12 happiest states in the U.S. from Wallet Hub’s new study.
Hawaii
If you add up all of Hawaii’s scores, you get 68.71, which makes it the best state in the U.S. In terms of society, environment, and physical and emotional health, it comes in first.
The state has great schools, great health care, and low unemployment. It also gets a bad score for not having enough food. Small-scale food production and home gardens are popular trends that are making the island archipelago more self-sufficient and less reliant on food supplies.
Since the mountains and the ocean are close by, many people choose to be active and eat well. The state is ranked 31st for job environment, though, because wages are low and the cost of living is high.
Maryland
It is the second-happiest state in the U.S., with a score of 64.67. This score shows up in the categories for society and environment and physical and emotional well-being.
Folks feel safe and sound because unemployment is low and health care is some of the best in the country. Cities like Bethesda have some of the longest bike lanes and walking tracks in the country. This makes it easier for many of the 6.1 million people who live in the state to walk or ride their bikes to work.
Maryland is ranked 10th for best places to work. The cost of living is high, but many wages are higher than the national average. This makes life better in the state. The state of Maryland also has a lot of money.
New Jersey
It got a score of 62.46, which makes it the third-best state. Concerning health and happiness, it comes in second.
People who live in the state (9.3 million) can enjoy its beaches, parks, and natural places. It also has great healthcare and food security, and a lot of people can get fresh, healthy food.
The Wallet Hub study says that New Jersey is ranked 32 for its work setting. It has a pretty high unemployment rate and a high cost of living in places like Newark and Jersey City, which are close to New York City.
Utah
The state of Utah is ranked fourth in the U.S. for happiness, with a score of 62.20. National parks like Zion National Park are in the mountain state, and skiing is some of the best in the world. This helps the people who live there stay healthy and fit.
There are no better places to work or live in the country than this one. The communities in Utah are strong and have good safety ratings. There is good healthcare, and most of the state has clean energy.
27th on the list is physical and mental health. This is mostly because some places still don’t have good healthcare. Also, the state has the lowest rate of divorce in the country.
Delaware
Delaware gets a score of 60.43 because it is a great place to live, is safe and is close to nature. The state comes in at number four for nature and community.
Of Delaware’s 1 million people, most of them live near water or trees. People live just a few miles from healthy food choices, hospitals, and places to work out, and the state has good health care.
Delaware is ranked 27th for a good place to work. The Economic Policy Institute says that the rate of unemployment is 3.9%. It’s still hard for a lot of people to buy their own homes because housing costs are higher than the national average.
Minnesota
With several 60.43, Minnesota is the sixth happiest state in the U.S. The 5.7 million people who live there have a high standard of living thanks to its good healthcare, well-protected natural resources, and clean air.
Minnesota comes in at number four for the work environment. This is because jobs there pay well and the jobless rate is low. A lot of people in the state live near towns that do well economically.
Minnesota is ranked 12th in the country for its people’s health and happiness. It has long, cold winters that keep a lot of people inside and make it hard to exercise.
