Even though it is hard to say what happiness means to each person, one of WalletHub’s most recent studies tried to find out what it means to people in different states.
A personal finance website looked at the 50 states and compared them based on three areas: job environment, community and environment, and emotional and physical health.
Thirty different metrics were used to measure these groups, such as life expectancy, the percentage of depressed adults, travel time, unemployment rate, and divorce rate.
They used information from the Cdc, AmeriCorps, the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other sources to do this.
After WalletHub made their final list, Business Insider chose the 10 states with the lowest rankings to find the 10 unhappiest.
According to Chip Lupo, an analyst at WalletHub, the unhappiest states in the country are “mostly rural low-income states, several in the Deep South where there is not just in terms of happiness, but in other economic and socioeconomic areas where this part of the country, and these states in particular, rank pretty low.”
1. Kentucky
Kentucky was rated the 10th least happy state in the US for both physical and mental health as well as the work setting.
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2022 from the CDC says that 25.8% of people in Kentucky have been diagnosed with a depressive disorder. This is almost 4% more than the national average of 21.7%.
The “Bluegrass State” also has one of the lowest life expectancies at birth in the country, at 73.5 years, according to the National Center for Health Statistics of the CDC in 2020.
The US Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) one-year estimates showed that the state’s job rate was 57.4%, which was about 3% lower than the national rate of 60.6%.
Even though these rankings are very low, Kentucky did very well for its community and environment, which helped it come 16th overall.
2. Mississippi
Mississippi was also one of the worst states for both mental and physical health and the work setting, coming in at number 41 and number 40, respectively.
At birth, people from Mississippi have the lowest life expectancy in the country, at 71.9 years. WalletHub also said that the state has the lowest rate of people playing sports in the country.
Mississippi’s job rate is 54.3%, which is much lower than the national average of 60.6%. Mississippi workers also put in longer hours than workers across the country. On average, women work 39.5 hours a week, while men work 41.7 hours, compared to 38.6 hours across the country.
In terms of community and environment, the state came in at number 35, and its volunteer rate was the second lowest in the country. A five-year look at the 2022 ACS by the Census shows that 12.3% of women and 10.5% of men in the state are divorced.
3. Oklahoma
The “Sooner State” came in 48th overall and got the worst score for mental and physical health.
Nearly 27% of adults in Oklahoma said they had been diagnosed with a depressive condition. This is one of the highest rates in the country, and at 74.1 years, life expectancy at birth is lower than the national average.
Oklahoma, on the other hand, did very well in terms of community and environment, coming in fifth overall even though only 27.1% of adults there volunteer and 13.9% of women and 11.7% of men are separated.
4. Alabama
Alabama was ranked 42nd in both community and environment and in the bottom 10 states for mental and physical well-being.
Life expectancy at birth for people born in the state is 73.2 years, which is one of the lowest in the country. Also, 24% of adults in the state have been labeled with a depressive disorder, which is higher than the national average.
The “Community Well-Being Index” from digital health business Sharecare says that Alabama is one of the five worst states for social determinants of health.
This index looks at things like access to healthcare, food, and resources, as well as economic security, housing, and transportation. A mere 27.4% of people in the state volunteer, which is one of the lowest rates in the whole country.
5. Alaska
Alaska was ranked 48th for work environment because it has the most hours worked and the slowest pay growth in the country.
In Alaska, most people work 41.6 hours a week, and men work 44.9 hours a week. This might be because there are more hard labor jobs in Alaska than in other states.
Only 1.6% of the national industry is in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining, which makes up 5.3% of the state’s industry.
With an average life expectancy of 76.6 years and an adult depression rate of 20.3%, “The Last Frontier” ranked 33rd in terms of both mental and physical health.
6. New Mexico
The fifth-unhappiest state in the country was New Mexico. It placed in the bottom 10 for both physical and mental health as well as work environment.
Along with having an employment rate of 55%, which is more than 5% lower than the national rate, the state had the second-worst economic security score on Sharecare’s “Community Well-Being Index.” It was also ranked 47th overall for work environment.
Based on Sharecare’s index, New Mexico was also one of the five worst states for community, physical, and mental health.
A good thing about the “Land of Enchantment” was that it had a good community and environment rank. It came in 24th overall, even though 14.9% of women and 11.4% of men there were divorced and the rate of helping was lower.
7. Tennessee
The state of Tennessee got a range of average to poor scores. It was ranked 24th for work environment and 46th for mental and physical well-being.
The job rate in the state was 59.9%, the average commute time was 26.3 minutes, and the mean number of hours worked each week was 39.1. These numbers were all close to the national averages.
Lupo said that Tennessee’s better work situation “kind of makes sense” since Nashville is a busy city. Yes, there are many jobs and chances there, but many of the rural stores there make up for it.
In the same way, the state had one of the lowest life expectancies (73.8 years) and the highest rates of adult depression in the country (29.2%). This was linked to its low ranking for both mental and physical well-being.
People have been moving to the state a lot lately, which makes the rankings even more interesting.
According to the US Census Bureau and the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s State Data Center, the state’s population grew by more than 82,000 people in 2022, which was the biggest annual growth since 2007.
8. West Virginia
West Virginia has the worst work situation and is the third unhappiest state in the US.
Sharecare gave the state the lowest score for economic security. The Census found that only 51.7% of people were working, which is almost 10% less than the national rate.
Also, commute times and work hours are longer than normal. The average commute is 27.7 minutes, and workers spend 38.8 hours a week on the job, with men working even more, 41.1 hours a week.
West Virginia also had one of the worst scores for both mental and physical health. It tied Oklahoma for having the second-highest rate of adult depression at 26.9%, and people there only lived 72.8 years on average.
The state did, however, rank in the top 10 for society and environment. Lupo told BI that the state, which helped it get such a high score, was ranked second in the country for the average amount of free time people spent each day.
9. Arkansas
Arkansas got the lowest score for both mental and physical health.
As of 2022, 26.6% of people in the BRFSS said they had been diagnosed with a depressive disorder. The National Center for Health Statistics says the average life expectancy at birth is 73.8 years.
WalletHub also said that Arkansas has one of the lowest rates of good sleep and sports involvement.
With a job rate of 56.1%, the “Natural State” came in 43rd for work setting and in the bottom 10 for job market. Also, workers spend an average of 39.1 hours a week at work, and men work an even higher average of 41.1 hours.
Arkansas’s community and environment rank, which put it in the middle of the pack at 25th overall, is its bright spot.
10. Louisiana
Louisiana is the least happy state in the US. It is ranked second-to-last for work environment and mental and physical health.
Life expectancy is 73.1 years, and just over 26% of adults said they had been diagnosed with a depressive condition.
WalletHub also found that Louisiana has one of the worst rates of getting enough sleep and one of the longest work weeks.
Men in Louisiana work an average of 42.9 hours per week, which adds to the 39.8 hours worked per week state average. The rate of work in the “Pelican State” is 55.9%, which is about 5% less than the national rate of 60.6%.
WalletHub placed the state as the least safe and ranked it 40th for community and environment. It also had one of the highest rates of divorce (12.7% of women and 10.5% of men).
