What makes a state happy? Well, that may be different things for different people, but a new report claims to have figured it out, and named the happiest state in the nation.
The personal finance site Magnify Money used 20 wellness factors to decide which state is happiest, with factors ranging in areas of health, lifestyle and prosperity, which each state landing a “wellness score” out of 100. Topping the list is Minnesota, which earned a 73.3, with six of the ten happiest states landing in the Midwest.
Top Ten Happiest States
Minnesota South Dakota Colorado Utah North Dakota Wisconsin Nebraska Iowa New Hampshire Montana
On the flipside, the least happiest state in the country is Louisiana, with a score of 29.8, with all states in the Top Five earning a score below 34, and seven of the bottom ten landing in the South.
Ten Least Happy States
Louisiana Rhode Island West Virginia Alabama Mississippi Kentucky Arkansas Tennessee Nevada Georgia
Normally, I take issue when one of these survey's unfairly slams the Ocean State BUT on this one, I've got to agree. Being part of the Rhode Island News/Talk radio community for close to 4 decades, I've listened people moan and groan for a long time. Let's go, people...think happy thoughts and maybe we can get out from under the pile of misery.