Which American states are the happiest?

countries & regions, where we live — By Bob Riel on March 20, 2009 at 7:01 pm

If you want to be happy, apparently, it helps to be wealthy, to live in a family-oriented community, or to be surrounded by natural beauty. Those are at least some of the conclusions that can be drawn from the recently released study of well-being scores that ranked Americans by state and congressional district. Utah and Hawaii came out on top in this so-called “happiness study,” while West Virginia ranked last among U.S. states.

Looking for happiness — it’s family-friendly communities for some, tropical paradise or the rugged West for others. A survey of Americans’ well-being … gives high marks to Utah, which boasts lots of outdoor recreation for its youthful population. Speaking of outdoor recreation, the islands of Hawaii took second place and Wyoming was third in the poll that rated such variables as mental, physical and economic health.

By the way, if you enjoy topics like this you might also like to read some other recent posts along these lines:

- Do cities have personality traits?

- The geography of the American mind

- The geography of personality