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Four Years in a Row - Hawaii Is America's Happiest State

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Maui Real Estate Advisors LLC

Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index Scores Hawaii as America's Happiest State for the Fourth year in a Row.
 

 

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which has surveyed 1.7 million Americans since the survey was first conducted in 2008, reflects the physical and emotional health of residents in each of the 50 states. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the scores of each state in the six categories that comprise Gallup’s index to identify objective measures that impact well-being.

 Gallup Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport explained to 24/7 Wall St. that well-being is important because happier, healthier citizens tend to have positive social and economic impacts on the places they live. “Well-being is important because of the hypothesis that it leads to good outcomes,” Newport said. “If your citizens have high well-being, they’re more likely to be better citizens and engage in better behaviors and make things better all the way around. It’s a positive goal for those that look at what we ought to emphasize in society.”

 Among the 55 questions Gallup asked residents in each of the past five years, there were certain categories that the states with low well-beingtended to do poorly in and high well-being states tended to do well in. States with high well-being had populations that smoked less, exercised more and tried to learn new things each day. These states also tended to share the outcomes of those behaviors and activities — residents had lower levels of key health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart attacks, and had more energy.

 Of the data 24/7 Wall St. considered in addition to Gallup’s indices, several showed a strong relationship with well-being. It appears that states with happy residents tended to have much lower poverty rates and higher median income. The states with the highest levels of well-being all have poverty levels below the national rate. Having stable income is important because it enables people to meet basic needs such as healthy food, clean water, medicine and health care.

 We also found a strong relationship between employment and high school graduation rates and well-being. All 10 high well-being states had unemployment rates lower than the national average. All 10 states were in the top 15 for adults with a high school diploma.

 In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Gallup research head Dan Witters explained how these may be connected. Health and emotional well-being, he noted are more likely to be present in “a more vibrant, more intellectually and psychologically attuned citizenry.” These people are more likely to be attractive to employers and to lead fulfilling lives. Witters added that healthier populations attract employers because they present less of a health care expense.

 While many of the happiest and most miserable states have remained the same, many other states, Witters added, have seen significant improvement over time. In particular, seven states — Colorado, Indiana, Nebraska, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin — have shown statistically significant improvement. What’s more, these states all improved in the same few categories. These included obesity, smoking, access to basic needs and safety. “I think there’s a good learning opportunity there for other states,” said Witters. “If you look at those states that have moved the needle, they’ve gotten there through similar means.”

 According to 24/7 Wall St.’s analysis, states in some areas of the country continue to do better than others. Of the 10 states with the highest levels of well-being, the majority are either in the West or Midwest. Of the 10 states with the lowest well-being scores, eight are located in the South. This has been the case since the survey began.

 On top of calculating an overall national level of well-being, the index also calculates the well-being for each state, assigning scores from 0 to 100, with 100 representing ideal well-being. The national score increased marginally in 2012, from 66.2 in 2011 to 66.7 in 2012. In generating the rank, Gallup combined six separate indices, measuring access to basic needs, healthy behavior, work environment, physical health, life evaluation and optimism, and emotional health. In addition to the index, we considered data from the U.S. Census Bureau, including income, poverty and the percentage of adults with a high school diploma or higher, all for 2011. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we reviewed state unemployment rates as of December 2012. We looked at life expectancy at birth, as of 2007, from the Kaiser Health foundation. We also considered violent crime rates for 2011 by state from the FBI Uniform Crime Report Program. All data are for the most recent period available.

 These are the top 10 of America’s Happiest States.

 1. Hawaii
> Well-being index score: 71.1
> Life expectancy: 81.5 years (the highest)
> Obesity: 25.7% (20th lowest)
> Median household income: $61,821 (8th highest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 90.6% (10th highest)

 In Gallup’s 2012 well-being index, Hawaii performed better than any other state. It ranked first or second in five of the six categories that make up the index, and 14th in basic access to care. Hawaii’s residents reported being generally happier with their current lives than those of any other state. They were also a more optimistic group. More than two-thirds of Hawaiians reported not feeling stressed, compared to just 52.8% of West Virginians who could say that. A larger proportion of Hawaiians exercise than any state but Alaska, and residents also eat healthily and do not smoke. At the latest count, life expectancy at birth in the state was 81.5 years, by far the best in the country.

 2. Colorado
> Well-being index score: 69.7
> Life expectancy: 79.9 years (9th highest)
> Obesity: 18.7% (the lowest)
> Median household income: $55,387 (15th highest)
> Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 90.2% (15th highest)

 Coloradans were among the most likely Americans to practice healthy behaviors, such as exercising regularly and eating fruits and vegetables. They were also among the least likely to smoke and among the most likely to report easy access to a safe place to exercise. Their healthy behavior appears to be paying off. Colorado was rated the best state for physical health in the United States, having some of the nation’s lowest rates of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity. Colorado residents were also among the nation’s healthiest emotionally, and they had high evaluations of their own lives.

For the Top Ten Happiest States in America, continue to next page (Click Here).

 

This content was originally published on 24/7 Wall St., February 28, 2013

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Comments (3)

Rob Lyszczarz
RE/MAX Properties Unlimited - Westfield, NJ

Robert,   Sounds like a great bundle of benefits, what are the top drawbacks in your opinion?

Mar 20, 2013 06:52 AM
John Pusa
Glendale, CA

Robert - I think, I should move to Hawaii. Thank you for sharing detailed information about Hawaii is America's happiest state, four years in a row.

Mar 20, 2013 09:53 AM
Robert H. "Robbie" Dein, Realtor-Broker/Owner
Maui Real Estate Advisors LLC - Wailea, HI
We are committed to your 100% Satisfaction.

Aloha Rob,  Thank you for your comment!  In regards to your question, whether it is considered a drawback or not, we are the furthest removed state from the Continental U.S.  That is the first thought that comes to mind.

Mar 20, 2013 11:11 AM