Here on the East Coast, we might think we have it all: from New York City to the beaches of Florida, it seems that we want for nothing. However, it looks like we are fooling ourselves, and it’s really the West that’s doing the best. According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, for the first half of 2011, Hawaii has the highest Well-Being Index score of any state in the U.S., followed by North Dakota, Alaska, Nebraska and Minnesota, respectively.
Sadly, the South seems to be lagging the farthest behind in this area, with West Virginia having the lowest score of all, and Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio and Louisiana following. Out of the bottom 11 states, eight are located in the south. Notably, New York is also among one of the lower-index states.
The components that went into measuring well-being were life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors and access to basic necessities.
The findings of this mid-year study seem to be pretty consistent with what has been found in previous recent years, since 2008. But that doesn’t mean it can’t change-there’s still time to pull through, Southerners! But, admittedly, giving up and moving to Hawaii doesn’t sound half bad.
