Kansas near the top — and Missouri the bottom — in ‘happy states’ ranking
What makes people happy? The research survey company WalletHub set out to answer that — and rank the states accordingly. (Click on a state to see its ranking.)
The company came up with 25 factors that various studies have correlated with happiness, from good weather, income, steady employment and commuting time to rates of divorce, depression and obesity. And Kansas, at 15th happiest, and Missouri, just eight states from the bottom of the list, came out quite differently.
The 25 factors were grouped into three larger categories: emotional and physical well-being, work environment, and community, environment and recreational activities.
Here’s how our states ranked in those wider categories.
MO | KS | |
Emotional and physical | 45 | 19 |
Work environment | 22 | 8 |
Community, environment, recreation | 36 | 20 |
Overall | 44 | 15 |
In some of the smaller breakdowns, Kansas was third in volunteerism rate and fourth in getting enough sleep. Missouri was 40th in safety and 39th in depression rate.
The top states were Utah, Minnesota, Hawaii, Colorado and North Dakota. Following Missouri to the bottom of the list were Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama and West Virginia.
This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 8:40 AM with the headline "Kansas near the top — and Missouri the bottom — in ‘happy states’ ranking."