Happiest States of 2009: The List

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A survey called the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index reveals which states were happiest in 2009. The index included 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 Top 5 Keys to Happiness.

Here are the 50 U.S. states in order of their well-being scores from 2009, which are out of 100 points, with the 2008 scores in (parentheses).

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  1. Hawaii: 70.2 (68.2)
  2. Utah: 68.3 (69.2)
  3. Montana: 68.3 (66.7)
  4. Minnesota: 67.8 (67.3)
  5. Iowa: 67.6 (65.6)
  6. Vermont: 67.4 (66.6)
  7. Colorado: 67.3 (67.3) 
  8. Alaska: 67.3 (66.2)
  9. North Dakota: 67.3 (65.5)
  10. Kansas: 67.2 (66.1)
  11. Idaho: 67.1 (66.8)
  12. Virginia: 67.0 (66.5)
  13. New Hampshire: 66.9 (66.7)
  14. Maryland: 66.8 (67.1)
  15. Washington: 66.8 (67.1)
  16. Maine: 66.7 (65.5)
  17. Wyoming: 66.7 (68.0)
  18. Massachusetts: 66.6 (67.0)
  19. California: 66.5 (67.0)
  20. South Dakota: 66.5 (64.3)
  21. Arizona: 66.4 (66.8)
  22. Connecticut: 66.3 (66.3) 
  23. Nebraska: 66.3 (66.4)
  24. Texas: 66.2 (66.1)
  25. Georgia: 66.1 (66.0)
  26. Oregon: 66.0 (66.3)
  27. Wisconsin: 66.0 (65.9)
  28. Illinois: 65.8 (65.2)
  29. New Jersey: 65.6 (65.8)
  30. Pennsylvania: 65.4 (64.9)
  31. New Mexico: 65.3 (66.3)
  32. New York: 65.0 (64.7)
  33. Michigan: 64.9 (64)
  34. Missouri: 64.8 (63.8)
  35. Florida: 64.8 (65.3)
  36. South Carolina: 64.9 (65.7)
  37. North Carolina: 65.1 (64.8)
  38. Delaware: 64.7 (64.7)
  39. Louisiana: 64.2 (64.2)
  40. Oklahoma: 64.2 (64)
  41. Rhode Island: 64.2 (64.6)
  42. Mississippi: 64.0 (61.9)
  43. Tennessee: 64.0 (64.0)
  44. Alabama: 63.9 (64.9)
  45. Indiana: 63.9 (63.3)
  46. Nevada: 63.8 (64.5)
  47. Ohio: 63.6 (62.8)
  48. Arkansas: 62.8 (62.9)
  49. Kentucky: 62.3 (61.4)
  50. West Virginia: 60.5 (61.2)

The Story - Happiest States: Hawaii Moves into First Place

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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.