Happiest States of 2011: The List

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Sun and surf? What's not to be happy about? (Image credit: tomas del amo | Shutterstock)

A survey called the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index reveals which states are happiest. The index includes questions about six types of well-being, including overall evaluation of their lives, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors (such as whether a person smokes or exercises), and job satisfaction.

Click here to learn more about the survey and what it means. Also see 7 Things That Will Make You Happy.

Here are the 50 U.S. states in order of their well-being scores, which are out of 100 points.

  1. Hawaii: 70.2
  2. North Dakota: 70.0
  3. Minnesota: 69.2
  4. Utah: 69.0
  5. Alaska: 69.0
  6. Colorado: 68.4
  7. Kansas: 68.4
  8. Nebraska: 68.3
  9. New Hampshire: 68.2
  10. Montana: 68.0
  11. South Dakota: 67.8
  12. Vermont: 67.7
  13. Maryland: 67.6
  14. Virginia: 67.4
  15. Iowa: 67.4
  16. Massachusetts: 67.4
  17. California: 67.3
  18. Washington: 67.3
  19. Connecticut: 67.2
  20. Oregon: 67.1
  21. Wyoming: 66.9
  22. Wisconsin: 66.9
  23. Idaho: 66.9
  24. New Mexico: 66.8
  25. Maine: 66.7
  26. Arizona: 66.6
  27. Texas: 66.4
  28. Georgia: 66.3
  29. New Jersey: 66.2
  30. North Carolina: 66.1
  31. Pennsylvania: 66.0
  32. Illinois: 65.9
  33. South Carolina: 65.7
  34. New York: 65.7
  35. Rhode Island: 65.6
  36. Louisiana: 65.5
  37. Michigan: 65.3
  38. Oklahoma: 65.1
  39. Indiana: 65.1
  40. Nevada: 65.0
  41. Tennessee: 65.0
  42. Florida: 64.9
  43. Missouri: 64.8
  44. Arkansas: 64.7
  45. Alabama: 64.6
  46. Ohio: 64.5
  47. Delaware: 64.2
  48. Mississippi: 63.4
  49. Kentucky: 63.3
  50. West Virginia: 62.3
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Jeanna Bryner
Managing editor, Scientific American

Jeanna Bryner is managing editor of Scientific American. Previously she was editor in chief of Live Science and, prior to that, an editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Bryner has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species, including the gorgeous Florida Scrub Jay. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a firm believer that science is for everyone and that just about everything can be viewed through the lens of science.