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Many factors go into major decisions like moving states, from the cost of living to public education.
After considering these, it’s also perhaps worth asking: Will this place make me happy?
While what constitutes happiness is a highly individual experience, external factors like job security, leisure time, and access to outdoor spaces can contribute to life satisfaction.
In a recent study, WalletHub ranked the happiest US states using factors across emotional and physical well-being, work environment, and community and environment.
“The happiest states are those that provide above-average quality of life in a wide variety of areas, from strong state economies and high-quality physical and mental healthcare to adequate amounts of leisure time and good weather,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the study.
The study used data from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Feeding America, Gallup, TransUnion, and AmeriCorps, among others.
The highest-ranking states were found to have low divorce and unemployment rates and high economic security and life satisfaction.
Other factors that were considered in the ranking were sports participation, adequate sleep, volunteer rate, and safety.
The below 10 states were ranked the lowest out of all 50. See how they compare and what factors contribute to their ranking.
10. Colorado
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Ranked as the 10th-least-happiest state in the US, Colorado was also the second-lowest state in the study’s community-and-environment rank, which looked at factors like safety, divorce rate, volunteer rate, weather, and leisure time.
But it’s not all bad — the state is also ranked as having the third-highest rate of adequate sleep and the second-highest sports participation in the country.
9. Mississippi
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With the lowest sports participation rate and the second-least safe ranking in the study, Mississippi was the ninth-least-happy state in the US.
The state also had the fourth-highest divorce rate in the country, and the fifth-highest work hours in the country, tied with North Dakota.
The state also ranked 10th lowest on the study’s emotional-and-physical well-being ranking, which looks at factors like share of adult depression, suicide rate, life expectancy, food insecurity, and sports participation rate, among others.
8. Kentucky
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Ranked as the eighth-least-happy state in the nation, Kentucky ranked fourth-lowest on the study’s work-environment ranking, which considers factors like commute time, unemployment rate, and average work hours, among others.
It also ranked ninth-lowest for emotional-and-physical well-being out of all the states.
7. New Mexico
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New Mexico, with the highest divorce rate in the nation, was ranked as the seventh least-happy state in the US.
The state also had the fifth-highest suicide rate and fourth-lowest volunteer rate, contributing to its spot as seventh-lowest on the study’s emotional-and-physical well-being ranking and fifth-lowest on the work-environment ranking.
6. Tennessee
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Tennessee, which has the second-highest rate of adult depression (tied with Maine), was ranked fourth-lowest on the study’s emotional-and-physical well-being rank, contributing to its ranking as the sixth least-happy US state.
5. Alaska
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Alaska, which was ranked as the fifth-least-happy state in the US, had the highest suicide rate and highest average weekly work hours, as well as the lowest income growth out of all the states.
It ranked third-lowest in both the work-environment and community-and-environment rankings in the study.
4. Alabama
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Ranked as the fourth least-happy state in the US, Alabama was found to have the third-lowest volunteer rate and third-lowest adequate sleep rate out of all the states.
It ranked fifth lowest on the community-and-environment ranking, eighth lowest on the emotional-and-physical well-being ranking, and 10th lowest on the work-environment ranking.
3. Arkansas
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Ranked as the third-least-happy state, Arkansas was found to have the second-lowest sports participation rate and the fourth-lowest adequate sleep rate, tied with Ohio. It was also found to be the fourth-least safe US state.
The state ranked as the third-lowest state on the study’s emotional-and-physical well-being rank.
2. Louisiana
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The least safe state in the study, Louisiana, was named the second-lowest state on the happiness ranking. It was found to have the third-highest divorce rate, third-highest average work hours in a tie with Wyoming, fourth-lowest rate of adequate sleep, and fifth-lowest sports participation rate.
As a result, the state ranked as the second-lowest state in the study’s work-environment and emotional-and-physical well-being rankings.
1. West Virginia
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WalletHub found that West Virginia is the least-happy state in the US.
The state had the highest rate of adult depression, the second-lowest rate of adequate sleep, and the fourth-lowest sports participation rate.
It was ranked the lowest in the study’s work environment and physical well-being rankings.
The post A new study ranks the happiest states in the US. These 10 states were ranked the lowest. appeared first on Business Insider.
