Happiest States

Total Score
Economic Well-being
Family & Relationships
Physical & Mental Well-being
Environmental & Societal Wellness
Total Score
1.North DakotaNorth Dakota73.2
2.New HampshireNew Hampshire72.3
3.WyomingWyoming72
4.South DakotaSouth Dakota70.8
5.IdahoIdaho70.6
6.IowaIowa70.6
7.HawaiiHawaii70.2
8.NebraskaNebraska69.7
9.MinnesotaMinnesota69.2
10.VermontVermont68.9
11.ConnecticutConnecticut68.9
12.VirginiaVirginia68.9
13.UtahUtah68.1
14.WisconsinWisconsin67.9
15.KansasKansas67.6
16.New JerseyNew Jersey67.2
17.MassachusettsMassachusetts66.9
18.Rhode IslandRhode Island66.3
19.DelawareDelaware65.4
20.MaineMaine65.4
21.MarylandMaryland65.2
22.MontanaMontana64.3
23.FloridaFlorida63.5
24.ColoradoColorado63.3
25.PennsylvaniaPennsylvania63
26.TexasTexas63
27.New YorkNew York62.9
28.MichiganMichigan62.1
29.IllinoisIllinois61.9
30.GeorgiaGeorgia61.7
31.OregonOregon61.6
32.WashingtonWashington61.5
33.AlaskaAlaska61.2
34.ArizonaArizona60.5
35.North CarolinaNorth Carolina60.4
36.OhioOhio60.3
37.CaliforniaCalifornia59
38.IndianaIndiana58.7
39.NevadaNevada57.3
40.South CarolinaSouth Carolina56.7
41.MissouriMissouri55.8
42.AlabamaAlabama54.5
43.KentuckyKentucky54.3
44.MississippiMississippi54.2
45.TennesseeTennessee53.9
46.West VirginiaWest Virginia53.4
47.New MexicoNew Mexico53.3
48.LouisianaLouisiana52.7
49.OklahomaOklahoma52.6
50.ArkansasArkansas52.4
Rankings
>
Rankings

The Pursuit of Happiness: A State-by-State Analysis

How does happiness vary across the 50 states of America? Is living in North Dakota fundamentally happier than living in Arkansas? Our perception of happiness is influenced by various internal and external factors. To understand and measure this elusive emotion, we need to consider an array of factors such as emotional & physical well-being, job security, income growth, work environment, and even the climate. To delve into this intriguing topic, we created a 'Happiness Score'. This score is a reflection of the state's performance across the three major categories: Emotional & Physical Well-Being, Work Environment, and Community & Environment.

  • North Dakota tops the list, dubbed the 'Happiest State', with a score of 73.2.
  • In general, states in the northern part of the country, including New Hampshire, Wyoming, and South Dakota, scored highly, indicating a higher level of happiness among their residents when compared to their counterparts in the south.
  • Hawaii stands out as an exception to the trend of Northern dominance, securing a seventh position on the list, owing largely to its unique mix of natural beauty and quality of life factors.
  • At the other end of the spectrum, Southern states like Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana scored the lowest, suggesting residents there face more challenges in maintaining optimal emotional & physical well-being, job satisfaction, and a favorable work and community environment.
  • There's a large disparity in scores between the happiest state (North Dakota) and the least happy state (Arkansas) – a difference of around 21 points, demonstrating significant regional differences in happiness levels across America.

By Region

Alabama

See Less
Alabama

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

54.5

#42

Economic Well-being

18.5

#40

Family & Relationships

11.4

#36

Physical & Mental Well-being

18.6

#37

Environmental & Societal Wellness

8.6

#45

Alaska

See More
Alaska

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

61.2

#33

Economic Well-being

20.7

#14

Family & Relationships

14.5

#6

Physical & Mental Well-being

19.1

#32

Environmental & Societal Wellness

12

#18

Arizona

See More
Arizona

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

60.5

#34

Economic Well-being

18.6

#38

Family & Relationships

10.2

#50

Physical & Mental Well-being

16

#43

Environmental & Societal Wellness

11.9

#20

Arkansas

See More
Arkansas

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

52.4

#50

Economic Well-being

19.4

#30

Family & Relationships

12.4

#30

Physical & Mental Well-being

20.2

#25

Environmental & Societal Wellness

10.4

#35

California

See More
California

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

59

#37

Economic Well-being

15.6

#50

Family & Relationships

10.6

#45

Physical & Mental Well-being

14.8

#46

Environmental & Societal Wellness

7.6

#49

Colorado

See More
Colorado

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

63.3

#24

Economic Well-being

20.5

#16

Family & Relationships

13.6

#17

Physical & Mental Well-being

22.2

#7

Environmental & Societal Wellness

12.6

#10

Connecticut

See More
Connecticut

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

68.9

#11

Economic Well-being

19.8

#24

Family & Relationships

13.6

#18

Physical & Mental Well-being

22.7

#5

Environmental & Societal Wellness

10.8

#29

Delaware

See More
Delaware

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

65.4

#19

Economic Well-being

20.8

#12

Family & Relationships

13.6

#16

Physical & Mental Well-being

20.3

#23

Environmental & Societal Wellness

14.1

#3

Florida

See More
Florida

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

63.5

#23

Economic Well-being

16.4

#48

Family & Relationships

11.8

#34

Physical & Mental Well-being

16

#42

Environmental & Societal Wellness

7.9

#48

Georgia

See More
Georgia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

61.7

#30

Economic Well-being

18.7

#37

Family & Relationships

10.8

#43

Physical & Mental Well-being

23.5

#3

Environmental & Societal Wellness

9

#40

Hawaii

See More
Hawaii

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

70.2

#7

Economic Well-being

17.9

#43

Family & Relationships

10.3

#48

Physical & Mental Well-being

13.4

#49

Environmental & Societal Wellness

11.6

#22

Idaho

See More
Idaho

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

70.6

#5

Economic Well-being

20.2

#18

Family & Relationships

14.2

#10

Physical & Mental Well-being

19.9

#27

Environmental & Societal Wellness

13.1

#6

Illinois

See More
Illinois

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

61.9

#29

Economic Well-being

19.3

#32

Family & Relationships

11.1

#42

Physical & Mental Well-being

19.2

#31

Environmental & Societal Wellness

11.3

#26

Indiana

See More
Indiana

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

58.7

#38

Economic Well-being

20.7

#13

Family & Relationships

14.2

#9

Physical & Mental Well-being

19.4

#29

Environmental & Societal Wellness

12.4

#13

Iowa

See More
Iowa

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

70.6

#6

Economic Well-being

21.9

#9

Family & Relationships

12.9

#24

Physical & Mental Well-being

23.5

#2

Environmental & Societal Wellness

12.6

#9

Kansas

See More
Kansas

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

67.6

#15

Economic Well-being

24

#2

Family & Relationships

14.9

#4

Physical & Mental Well-being

21.1

#13

Environmental & Societal Wellness

14.4

#2

Kentucky

See More
Kentucky

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

54.3

#43

Economic Well-being

19

#34

Family & Relationships

12.6

#27

Physical & Mental Well-being

18.6

#36

Environmental & Societal Wellness

10.6

#33

Louisiana

See More
Louisiana

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

52.7

#48

Economic Well-being

17.1

#46

Family & Relationships

11.4

#39

Physical & Mental Well-being

12.5

#50

Environmental & Societal Wellness

11.6

#23

Maine

See More
Maine

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

65.4

#20

Economic Well-being

19.9

#22

Family & Relationships

14.5

#7

Physical & Mental Well-being

20

#26

Environmental & Societal Wellness

10.4

#36

Maryland

See More
Maryland

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

65.2

#21

Economic Well-being

19.4

#28

Family & Relationships

13.1

#21

Physical & Mental Well-being

18.4

#38

Environmental & Societal Wellness

11

#28

Massachusetts

See More
Massachusetts

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

66.9

#17

Economic Well-being

19.9

#21

Family & Relationships

12.7

#26

Physical & Mental Well-being

21.6

#10

Environmental & Societal Wellness

11.5

#24

Michigan

See More
Michigan

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

62.1

#28

Economic Well-being

19.5

#27

Family & Relationships

12.8

#25

Physical & Mental Well-being

18.8

#34

Environmental & Societal Wellness

11.4

#25

Minnesota

See More
Minnesota

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

69.2

#9

Economic Well-being

22.2

#5

Family & Relationships

15.6

#3

Physical & Mental Well-being

21

#15

Environmental & Societal Wellness

13.7

#4

Mississippi

See More
Mississippi

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

54.2

#44

Economic Well-being

16.7

#47

Family & Relationships

10.3

#49

Physical & Mental Well-being

20.8

#16

Environmental & Societal Wellness

5.9

#50

Missouri

See More
Missouri

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

55.8

#41

Economic Well-being

20.3

#17

Family & Relationships

13.7

#14

Physical & Mental Well-being

20.5

#20

Environmental & Societal Wellness

12.8

#7

Montana

See More
Montana

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

64.3

#22

Economic Well-being

19.4

#29

Family & Relationships

11.6

#35

Physical & Mental Well-being

20.4

#22

Environmental & Societal Wellness

10.6

#31

Nebraska

See More
Nebraska

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

69.7

#8

Economic Well-being

22.1

#6

Family & Relationships

14.3

#8

Physical & Mental Well-being

21.8

#8

Environmental & Societal Wellness

12.5

#11

Nevada

See More
Nevada

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

57.3

#39

Economic Well-being

19

#35

Family & Relationships

11.9

#32

Physical & Mental Well-being

21.6

#11

Environmental & Societal Wellness

8.5

#46

New Hampshire

See More
New Hampshire

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

72.3

#2

Economic Well-being

21.9

#10

Family & Relationships

14.5

#5

Physical & Mental Well-being

20.6

#19

Environmental & Societal Wellness

12.5

#12

New Jersey

See More
New Jersey

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

67.2

#16

Economic Well-being

18.7

#36

Family & Relationships

12.6

#28

Physical & Mental Well-being

16

#41

Environmental & Societal Wellness

12.3

#15

New Mexico

See More
New Mexico

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

53.3

#47

Economic Well-being

16.2

#49

Family & Relationships

10.4

#47

Physical & Mental Well-being

13.4

#48

Environmental & Societal Wellness

8.9

#41

New York

See More
New York

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

62.9

#27

Economic Well-being

17.9

#44

Family & Relationships

10.6

#44

Physical & Mental Well-being

16.2

#40

Environmental & Societal Wellness

10.7

#30

North Carolina

See More
North Carolina

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

60.4

#35

Economic Well-being

18.5

#39

Family & Relationships

10.4

#46

Physical & Mental Well-being

18.7

#35

Environmental & Societal Wellness

9.1

#39

North Dakota

See More
North Dakota

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

73.2

#1

Economic Well-being

24.3

#1

Family & Relationships

17

#1

Physical & Mental Well-being

20.6

#18

Environmental & Societal Wellness

11.2

#27

Ohio

See More
Ohio

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

60.3

#36

Economic Well-being

19.5

#26

Family & Relationships

13.7

#15

Physical & Mental Well-being

19.7

#28

Environmental & Societal Wellness

11.6

#21

Oklahoma

See More
Oklahoma

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

52.6

#49

Economic Well-being

20

#20

Family & Relationships

13.3

#20

Physical & Mental Well-being

21.1

#14

Environmental & Societal Wellness

10.2

#37

Oregon

See More
Oregon

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

61.6

#31

Economic Well-being

18

#42

Family & Relationships

11.4

#38

Physical & Mental Well-being

14.9

#45

Environmental & Societal Wellness

9.7

#38

Pennsylvania

See More
Pennsylvania

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

63

#25

Economic Well-being

20

#19

Family & Relationships

13

#22

Physical & Mental Well-being

17.5

#39

Environmental & Societal Wellness

15

#1

Rhode Island

See More
Rhode Island

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

66.3

#18

Economic Well-being

19.2

#33

Family & Relationships

11.2

#41

Physical & Mental Well-being

20.5

#21

Environmental & Societal Wellness

8.8

#42

South Carolina

See More
South Carolina

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

56.7

#40

Economic Well-being

18.1

#41

Family & Relationships

11.4

#37

Physical & Mental Well-being

15.4

#44

Environmental & Societal Wellness

8.8

#43

South Dakota

See More
South Dakota

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

70.8

#4

Economic Well-being

21.9

#8

Family & Relationships

13.7

#13

Physical & Mental Well-being

20.7

#17

Environmental & Societal Wellness

12.7

#8

Tennessee

See More
Tennessee

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

53.9

#45

Economic Well-being

19.8

#23

Family & Relationships

12.3

#31

Physical & Mental Well-being

19.2

#30

Environmental & Societal Wellness

12.2

#17

Texas

See More
Texas

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

63

#26

Economic Well-being

19.3

#31

Family & Relationships

11.3

#40

Physical & Mental Well-being

20.3

#24

Environmental & Societal Wellness

11.9

#19

Utah

See More
Utah

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

68.1

#13

Economic Well-being

22.6

#4

Family & Relationships

16

#2

Physical & Mental Well-being

22.4

#6

Environmental & Societal Wellness

10.4

#34

Vermont

See More
Vermont

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

68.9

#10

Economic Well-being

20.9

#11

Family & Relationships

13.5

#19

Physical & Mental Well-being

21.3

#12

Environmental & Societal Wellness

13.4

#5

Virginia

See More
Virginia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

68.9

#12

Economic Well-being

20.6

#15

Family & Relationships

14

#12

Physical & Mental Well-being

19

#33

Environmental & Societal Wellness

10.6

#32

Washington

See More
Washington

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

61.5

#32

Economic Well-being

19.8

#25

Family & Relationships

12.4

#29

Physical & Mental Well-being

21.8

#9

Environmental & Societal Wellness

8.7

#44

West Virginia

See More
West Virginia

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

53.4

#46

Economic Well-being

17.9

#45

Family & Relationships

11.8

#33

Physical & Mental Well-being

14.3

#47

Environmental & Societal Wellness

8

#47

Wisconsin

See More
Wisconsin

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

67.9

#14

Economic Well-being

22

#7

Family & Relationships

12.9

#23

Physical & Mental Well-being

27.2

#1

Environmental & Societal Wellness

12.2

#16

Wyoming

See More
Wyoming

Metric

Value

Rank

Total Score

72

#3

Economic Well-being

22.6

#3

Family & Relationships

14.1

#11

Physical & Mental Well-being

23

#4

Environmental & Societal Wellness

12.3

#14

Additional Global Rankings

Most Stressful States

Most Stressful States

U.S.
| Regions 50
View Ranking
Worst Airports to Fly Out Of

Worst Airports to Fly Out Of

U.S.
| Regions 99
View Ranking
Worst Drivers By State

Worst Drivers By State

U.S.
| Regions 48
View Ranking
Worst States To Live In

Worst States To Live In

U.S.
| Regions 50
View Ranking