2017 study ranks Utah 2nd ‘Happiest State in America’

Sunrise at Partition Arch in Arches National Park, Utah, date unspecified | Stock image, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — People determine their own happiness, but where we choose to live can also influence our level of happiness, according a new study released Monday by the personal-finance website WalletHub, which ranked Utah as the second “Happiest State in America.”

Utah came in second to Minnesota while outranking Hawaii, California and Nebraska within the top five.

WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key metrics of happiness, ranging from emotional health to income levels to sports participation rates to determine which states are home to the happiest Americans.

As part of the study, analysts drew upon the findings of “happiness” research to determine which environmental factors are linked to a person’s overall well-being and satisfaction with life.

Apart from financial security, a pleasant state of being also depends on other factors, such as physical health, personal purpose and social connectivity, according to WalletHub.

Happiness in Utah | 1 = Happiest; 25 = Average

  • 6th – Adequate-Sleep Rate
  • 6th – Long-Term Unemployment Rate
  • 1st – Number of Work Hours
  • 1st – Volunteer Rate
  • 1st – Separation & Divorce Rate
  • 8th – Income Growth
  • 9th – Safety

The survey found Utah has the lowest divorce rate, the lowest number of work hours and the highest volunteerism rate.

Notwithstanding, the survey reports Utah has the fifth-highest suicide rate, ranking behind New Mexico, Montana, Alaska and Wyoming in the bottom five.

The unhappiest state was West Virginia, which was found to have the fourth-highest adult depression rate in the country.


Hover over each state to see its happiness ranking.

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5 Comments

  • JOSH DALTON September 12, 2017 at 3:11 pm

    This might be…only because everyone is high on meth and opioids! GO FALCONS!

  • comments September 12, 2017 at 7:16 pm

    maybe not 1st place for happiest, but for sure 1st place for happy happy happy thanks to the LDS church and a lot of LDS women on antidepressant medications. 😉

  • Icomments2 September 12, 2017 at 11:08 pm

    I dont know how this state can be the happiest at anything!!! The LDS members are mean, judgmental, and just the rudest people I have ever met!!! And the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree either, cuz their kids are bullies from elementary school to high school age and its really pathetic!!! Thank god I pulled my child out of one of the High Schools here or I’d be getting a lifetime of antidepressants for my kid!!! But thats a whole nother story…

    • Real Life September 13, 2017 at 12:59 pm

      But pills can make you hap, hap, happy! Just ask one of the many fine women around here in their 30’s with 6 kids, and an otherwise miserable life.

  • DRT September 13, 2017 at 4:35 pm

    Statistics can be manipulated to show whatever the folks paying for the “study” want them to show.
    Sure, Utah is the “happiest state,” with a suicide rate above 45 other states. Right. Uh-huh.

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